The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has launched an enquiry into the future use of driverless vehicles in the UK.
The inquiry will explore potential uses of autonomous vehicles in transport, farming, and space exploration.
Lord Selborne, chairman of the committee, said: “If the UK is to be at the forefront of this transport revolution, investment into research is vital to ensure the technology is perfected.
“There are potentially considerable economic opportunities and public good benefits from this technology. We will look at whether the Government’s actions are appropriate in supporting these opportunities.”
Among the key questions the inquiry hopes to answer will be issues of legislation, market opportunity, and whether autonomous vehicles will require infrastructure changes in order to accommodate them.
The committee invited people from all sectors to provide evidence in order to assess the possible applications of autonomous transport.
Selborne continued: “We welcome submissions of written evidence – and later oral evidence – to ensure that we can carry out the most thorough and informative inquiry possible.”
The committee has set a deadline for receiving evidence of 26 October.
