WMG at the University of Warwick have been awarded £3.2 million by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to create one of the world’s most adaptable and advanced driving simulators. Support from industry including a further £1 million of funding has been gained to begin research projects with the new technology led by research students embedded in JLR, bringing the total cost of the simulator and its research programme to £4.2 million.

In its first phase the simulator will be tested and piloted in WMG’s International Manufacturing Centre before moving to its final home in the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC).

The simulator, which will be available to a range of research groups, will use a LIDAR scan (a high resolution laser scan of a real driving environment) of 30 miles of real roads around the City of Coventry to test vehicles in the simulator. While the simulator will use a fixed test car for many tests it will also be configured so that any make of car can be driven into the simulator for testing which is believed to be a unique capability for such an advanced simulator.

On Tuesday 17th March, Mr Ratan N. Tata (Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons), Cyrus P. Mistry (Chairman of Tata Group) met with Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya the Chairman and Founder of WMG at the University of Warwick and unveiled the foundation stone of the new £150 million National Automotive Innovation Centre on the campus of the University of Warwick.

The National Automotive Innovation Centre will be the largest automotive research centre of its kind in Europe. Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, and WMG have made an investment of £150m in the capital building and research activities, with £30m capital costs funded by the Government's Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The 33,000m² complex will provide space for 1,000 engineers, designers and academics to work together, from apprentices to senior managers. Teaching facilities will support the education of tomorrow’s engineers with the Centre being open to students from the WMG Academies for Young Engineers to work on real world applications.

The high tech research facilities will include: a design and simulation space creating innovative automotive solutions: an Advanced Propulsion Research Laboratory which will address the national requirement to position the UK as the leading innovator in advanced propulsion systems; the world’s most adaptable and advanced fully immersive drive-in car simulator. There will be close working on collaborative research projects with the research councils and the department of Business Innovation and Skills. Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors will also use the NAIC to take forward autonomous vehicles research through a £19m Autodrive UK project.

Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts has announced today, Thursday 10^th July 2014, a £65 million pound research programme for WMG at the University of Warwick in partnership with Jaguar Land Rover.

Jaguar Land Rover and WMG, at the University of Warwick, have appointed Professor David Greenwood as the Jaguar Land Rover Professorial Chair in Advanced Propulsion Systems for the National Automotive Innovation Centre.

Jaguar Land Rover announced last year that it would invest £1.4m in the new position to lead a world-class team of international researchers to advance new and innovative propulsion systems. Professor Greenwood will take up the position, at WMG, on April 7th.

The new Chair is a key element of a long-term strategic plan at the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) that will create a new research base that will enhance the UK’s capacity and capability in key areas of automotive research. These systems will be essential to enable the UK automotive industry to embrace and robustly deploy new vehicle technologies and deliver a low carbon future, which will have a major impact on the supply chain and the wider economy.

The University of Warwick, WMG and Jaguar Land Rover have agreed, and signed, the Heads of Terms for the construction of the National Automotive Innovation Campus.

The National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC) is a unique Research and Development facility for the UK automotive industry. An iconic £100m building will provide an environment that will foster collaboration, cohesion and cross-fertilisation of knowledge. NAIC will provide a national focus for research capability by combining the expertise nationally and internationally from industry, universities, supply chain companies and SMEs. Over 900 staff from academic and industry teams from WMG, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors European Technology Centre and other partners will work collaboratively on research projects to deliver world-class breakthrough products, processes and services.

The agreement will enable the delivery of this 30,000m² unique and state-of-the-art facility, which will include engineering, labs and powertrain facilities, virtual reality areas, design studio, demonstration and education facilities.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced a £1.4m investment, over 5 years, to create a new Chair (Professor) at the National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC) with WMG at the University of Warwick.

The Chair will lead a world-class team which will achieve international research leadership in advanced propulsion systems. These systems will be essential to enable the UK automotive industry to embrace and robustly deploy new vehicle technologies and deliver a low carbon future.

The new Chair is part of a long- term strategic activity at NAIC that will ensure that this new research base enhances the UK’s capacity and capability in key research areas which will have a major impact on the supply chain and the wider economy.

It has been announced today, July 17^th 2013, that WMG at the University of Warwick will receive over £7m funding to research ‘The Smart and Connected Vehicle’.

Through the National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC), robotics and autonomous systems research will lead the development and implementation of intelligent vehicles.

Co-funded by EPSRC (over £3m) and industry (over £3.5m), the research will focus on the long-term multi-disciplinary research challenges identified by the industry.

A multi-sensory virtual real-world environment will be built in NAIC which will enable intelligent vehicle systems to be developed to learn driver behaviour.

The systems will be optimised to enable drivers to reduce emissions and fuel consumption, assist monotonous tasks and react to hazards, increasing vehicle safety. The research will be delivered with leading academics and industry groups.

The new facility will support the extensive and world-leading research capability at WMG, and in the network of international universities collaborating with industry through NAIC.

A £92 million National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC) is to be established at the University of Warwick. NAIC will be part-funded through the Government's UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF), which is administered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and which supports university capital research projects. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP, has announced today, Monday 8th October, a further £200 million of public investment in the fund.

George Osborne said: "Today we deliver with some of our leading businesses and universities £1 billion of new science investment in the areas where we lead the world."

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said: “The UK has world-class companies and great universities. This new investment will get them working together to deliver innovation and growth."