Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI)

Reliable automation in adverse conditions.

The Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI) is a world-leading robotics research group. Pioneers in autonomous vehicle research, they were among the first to run an autonomous car over 10 years ago, before many thought it possible. Today, reliable automation in adverse conditions is a major challenge for autonomous vehicles, with traditional autonomous car sensors often unable to operate reliably in low visibility.

In response, ORI is dedicating a programme of work to research, what they see to be, the huge potential of radar as an enabling technology for automation and autonomy, with its all-weather sensing and ability to see beyond limits of human capability. The Navtech radar sensor detects reliably in rain, fog, dust, and dirt, and in all light conditions from complete darkness to strong sunlight, overcoming the limitations of other technologies like Lidar and cameras. It provides a 360° long-range, data-rich picture of its surroundings, like no other single sensor can.

However, the interpretation of imaging radar for autonomous vehicles is challenging. While image processing has seen years of investment, radar image processing has been largely overlooked. This is the challenge ORI is taking up in its cutting-edge research, in collaboration with Navtech.