UK Startup To Use CCTV Cameras For Its Self-Driving Tech

An autonomous vehicle startup in the UK intends on using existing CCTV cameras in cities to improve self-driving technology.

Local company FiveAI recently raised 26.8 million pounds ($34.9 million) in funding and intends on building a complete autonomous software system that could be retrofitted to existing vehicles. Beyond the typical use of LiDAR, radar, cameras and ultrasound, the company believes CCTV cameras could be a useful tool to monitor human behaviour and make self-driving tech safer.

Speaking to Wired, FiveAI chief executive Stan Boland said people drive differently in one city from the next and that a prediction system is needed to understand how humans react in varying situations. The solution? CCTV cameras already used in major cities, including London.

FiveAI believes that it can transform CCTV footage to a birds-eye view using computer simulations. This would ultimately allow it to predict what happens at different intersections and for the self-driving system to adapt accordingly.

“What we would want to be able to do is learn behaviours in a semantic content by observation,” Boland said.

Note: Waymo prototypes pictured