Fusion Processing

A Bristol-based developer of autonomous driving systems for buses and freight vehicles, behind the CAVStar system.

About Fusion Processing

Fusion Processing is a Bristol company that designs the technology which lets large vehicles drive themselves. It focuses on buses and freight vehicles, which it sees as more practical places to start than private cars. Its core product is CAVStar, an automated driving system that includes its own hardware as well as the software that runs on it.

The company was founded by Jim Hutchinson, who came from the car industry and is its chief executive. He has said the team saw that disruption was coming for the industry, that its early focus was on hard problems such as spotting vulnerable road users when autonomy was still just an idea for most companies, and that autonomy needs a different approach to traditional automotive. The company says it builds its own hardware and writes software to run on it, which it says makes its systems highly optimised.

Fusion Processing is based at Future Space in Bristol, alongside the University of the West of England and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which provide knowledge and facilities such as rapid prototyping. It has worked on UK projects, including CAVForth, which brought the first fleet of commercial autonomous buses to Scotland, operated by Stagecoach between Fife and Edinburgh from May 2023. It also took part in Hub2Hub, a project with ASDA and the company HVS to develop a hydrogen-powered autonomous heavy goods vehicle.

Its core team is described as coming from high-performance computing, AI and aerospace, as well as the car industry. That mix suggests a workplace where electronics engineers, software developers, safety specialists, testers and project managers work together on real vehicles on real roads. The company has said it expects to grow to more than 180 people, although that was a 2023 plan, not a confirmed headcount.

If you are curious about transport, robotics or computing, Fusion Processing shows how a Bristol firm can end up running buses in Scotland and lorries for national retailers. Because the company works with real operators such as Stagecoach and ASDA, the job is not only about clever code. It is also about making technology reliable enough for passengers, drivers and delivery customers to trust, and about working with other firms and public bodies on trials that follow UK road rules. Look at its CAVStar, CAVForth and Hub2Hub projects to see the kinds of problems its engineers solve, from sensing the road to keeping passengers safe.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Hardware and software that lets buses and freight vehicles drive themselves.', 'title': 'CAVStar automated driving system'}
• {'desc': 'Autonomous bus service project between Fife and Edinburgh with Stagecoach.', 'title': 'CAVForth'}
• {'desc': 'Autonomous hydrogen heavy goods vehicle project with ASDA and HVS.', 'title': 'Hub2Hub'}

Key facts

• Based at Future Space, Bristol
• Founded and led by Jim Hutchinson
• CAVForth launched in May 2023 between Fife and Edinburgh
• Formed almost ten years before 2023 (company interview)

Website: fusionproc.com