A driverless pod car system has been announced that will become available to testers later this year, it's called the LUTZ Pathfinder.

The clue to the downside to this 'car' is in its name, it'll only be allowed to work on pedestrianised areas in the UK. The plan is to introduce them into cities to allow for speedy, emission free transport of people about the paths available to the pods. The first test will be held in Milton Keynes later this year with around 40 pods in use.

The Pathfinder pods are able to seat two people, reach speeds of 15mph and can go for 6 hours on a charge. The electric pods are half the length of a Smart Car and two-thirds the width.

The LUTZ Pathfinder system uses advanced optics and sensors to drive itself. This system was developed by the University of Oxford's Mobile Robotics Group in conjunction with advanced engineering company RDM Group who designed and built the vehicles.

Since announcing the launch as a £20 million twin-city UK Autodrive project in Greenwich it has had interest from around the world. A company in China has already enquired about having 3,000 units made for them.

Keep your eyes peeled around the streets of Milton Keynes as you may see a LUTZ Pathfinder zip past you soon.

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