Transport for NSW is committed to keeping our regions, not just our city, equipped with the latest technologies to improve the safety and li

We are working with industry, research partners and community to trial automated passenger vehicle services.

Cooperative Intelligent Transport Initiative

To help prepare our road network for autonomous vehicles, Transport for NSW ran the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Initiative to test and

Asset AI

Trialling artificial intelligence to revolutionise road asset maintenance and operations.

Dubbo Automated Smart Ute Project

Transport for NSW is committed to keeping our regions, not just our city, equipped with the latest technologies to improve the safety and livelihood of our customers.

The Automated Smart Ute project is a NSW and Australian first underway in Dubbo, NSW.

As part of the project a Ford Ranger ute is being converted by Conigital into an automated vehicle capable of partial driverless travel.

The project is partially funded by Transport for NSW and is a collaborative partnership between Conigital, Liftango, NRMA, QBE, BusLines and Dubbo Regional Council.

Automated Smart Ute at the Future Mobility Testing and Research Centre, Cudal NSW.

What are we investigating?

The Automated Smart Ute project focuses on customer mobility use cases and investigates the benefits and challenges involved in introducing emerging connected and automated vehicle technology in regional NSW.

The Automated Smart Ute will operate in real world environments, along regional, and city roads. It will help project partners develop scalable transport solutions to improve safety and mobility outcomes relevant for regional Australia, such as improving the detection and avoidance of wildlife on roads.

The project is an example of how Transport for NSW are using the latest, cutting edge technology and smart infrastructure to improve network mobility.

The vehicle is retrofitted to Level 3+ conditional automation and will support rides between mapped routes. Level 3+ automation means the vehicle can accelerate, brake and steer autonomously in certain situations or within operational limits.

Project phases

This is a multi-year development project with the initial phases focusing on:

developing and testing software integration,
vehicle retrofit and
road mapping.

Late in 2021, we began the physical testing of the Automated Smart Ute at the Future Mobility Testing and Research Centre.

At the facility, we are providing systems assurance support through our automated vehicle trial framework to ensure the vehicle is safe before allowing it to be released on our roads for testing in our communities.

This is an example of how the knowledge and capabilities of a local team are supporting automated vehicle development in NSW, Australia, and the global community.

More information about this project will be released in late 2022.

Dubbo Automated Smart Ute Project