What's the idea?

Put your feet up while your car drives itself - and say goodbye to traffic jams.

The autoconvoy is a convoy of cars on autopilot heading in the same direction, controlled by a central computer and using hi-tech satnav and guidance systems to keep the cars close together on the road, travelling at a constant speed.

Using the autoconvoy saves fuel, is safer than manual driving and frees up the driver's time to do other things.

The driver enters the place she wants to drive to into her car's computer and it will calculate the route for her. Say she wants to drive from north London to Bournemouth. She drives normally through the London streets and on arrival at a trunk road or motorway, the computer offers the option of using the autoconvoy. If she wants to continue driving herself, fine, if not, she answers yes, and the car takes over, joining the Autoconvoy, until arriving at the other end of the journey when the driver takes over again to drive the last few miles herself. In the meantime she's been playing cards with the kids or has been watching a film.

Why is this a low carbon product?

Cars being driven in convoy and controlled by a centralised system could use a much smaller space on the road, freeing up space to dedicate lanes to public transport and other shared vehicles. The Autoconvoy can also ensure that cars are driven in the most fuel efficient manner possible, at the right speed and with little variation in speed, thereby saving fuel and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

How could Autoconvoy fit into our lives in 2022?

If this was a real service, would you be interested?