Goodwood Festival to Feature Driverless 1965 Mustang by Siemens
Autonomous Mustang will roam the hills using sensors, algorithms, and 3D scans of the course at the U.K. event, July 12-15.
Before the Mustang was the king of pony cars, before it was a WWII fighting ace, it was, and still is, a breed of feral horses roaming across the Western United States whose heritage goes back to the colonial horses brought over from Spain to the West in the early days of Spanish settlement in the late 1590s. Today, the Mustang roams free in areas managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, no saddles or reigns or riders to control their every movement.
Thanks to Siemens, another Mustang is ready to roam free. Motoring Research says the tech giant will debut a 1965 Mustang that will perform “the very first autonomous hillclimb” in the history of the Goodwood Festival of Speed during the event’s 25th anniversary at the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, England, set for July 12-15.
Siemens & Cranfield Coalition at Goodwood
In partnership with Cranfield University in Cranfield, England, the specially-liveried autonomous Mustang will be able to make the climb repeatedly over the course of Goodwood thanks to its horse lead of sensors, algorithms, and 3D scans of the course. This all will bring “connected awareness of the car’s own position” to the pony car, though a driver will be riding along to keep the semi-aware Mustang on track should it go estray like its equine brethren.
Cranfield University’s Dr. James Brighton says the joint project is designed to connect “the classic spirit of automotive adventure” presented every year by Goodwood “with advanced technology.” Siemens UK & Ireland CEO Juergen Maier adds that this autonomous pony ” will allow guests to take an awe-inspiring look into the future and experience the technology of tomorrow, today.” And who knows? Maybe one day down the road, there will be a herd of metal Mustangs galloping freely on the highways of the West alongside their flesh and blood relatives, all thanks to the one horse that could climb an English hillside.
Photos: Siemens
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