Wayve, the London-based company developing deep learning for autonomous urban mobility, is to run a Fleet Data Collection pilot program with parcel delivery firm DPD.
The companies are working together to explore how innovations in computer vision and machine learning can be applied to existing fleet and delivery operations to increase the safety of smart urban delivery solutions.
“Real-world driving data is fundamental to building the core capabilities of Wayve’s technology and we have built industry-leading expertise in the collection and utilization of fleet-scale data,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve CEO.
“Working with DPD is an incredible opportunity to accelerate the collection of peta-byte scale data sets that expand our coverage in more areas of the UK and helps us improve the safety and driving intelligence of our technology.”
For the pilot program, data-collection devices have been deployed on 50 DPD vans in Greater London, which will enable Wayve to collect driving data from vans during their normal driving operations. Wayve’s camera-first system, which works off of 4G connectivity, provides a 360° surround view of the vehicle with claimed zero impact to the vehicle operator. DPD says it is leveraging Wayve’s expertise in capturing, processing and managing driving data in a compliant and secure way.
“DPD’s delivery fleet drove over a 156 million miles in 2018, covering 96% of the UK road network on average, at least once a month. Working with Wayve, we plan to use this data to improve insurance claim handling for vehicles on the road,” said Max Glaisher, senior product manager, Innovation, DPD UK.
Wayve has been developing its AI-driven autonomous mobility technology for the past four years, including on-road testing in multiple cities in the UK. This pilot program will, says the company, allow it to collaborate closely with a last-mile delivery customer on fleet learning technology that will help large-scale operators enhance fleet safety.