Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of the Safe Autonomy Research Group at WMG, University of Warwick, comments on the announcement of the Regulatory Innovation Office.

Professor Khastgir said: “The creation of the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) by the government is welcome. It’s good to see recognition that regulation can be used for implementing innovation and supporting the UK to be at the forefront of global science and technology.

“I hope the RIO will draw on learnings between the various transport domains (land, air, and marine) to develop timely regulations for cross-cutting developments like connected and autonomous technology, and AI. WMG’s cross-domain safety assurance framework will provide scientific evidence that can support the RIO’s policymaking.

“I also urge the RIO to prioritise sector-specific regulations, especially in areas such as self-driving technology. This will enable developers to work from a more concrete set of requirements to develop the technology safely.”