An Oxford start-up that builds an affordable, autonomous-ready electric car and software so smaller teams can test self-driving code on a real vehicle.
StreetDrone is a start-up based in Oxford that makes it easier to develop self-driving vehicles. Rather than building a driverless car for sale to the public, it supplies the hardware and software that let developers, universities and businesses try out their own driverless code on a real vehicle, so they do not need the budget of a giant car maker.
Its first product was the StreetDrone ONE, an autonomous-ready electric car built on the Renault Twizy EV and developed with Renault. Alongside it sits StreetDrone OS, an operating system that lets the car talk to connected and autonomous software. Together they give engineers a safe, ready-made vehicle platform for experiments, education and early business trials.
The founders put the mission in simple terms. Founder and chief executive Mark Preston has said that the greatest innovations in self-driving technology need to come from a wide base of companies and developers, and that StreetDrone wants everyone to be able to become part of the autonomous revolution. Preston has spoken about the idea in terms of a wide base of companies and developers, which tells you the firm thinks of itself as a helper for other innovators as much as a product maker. The vehicle is deliberately small and electric, which keeps testing safer and cheaper for the people using it, and the approach suits universities and start-ups that want to learn by doing. In other words, the company wants to open up a field that is usually closed to small teams.
StreetDrone is based in Oxford, one of the UK's busiest areas for autonomous-vehicle research. It has also been linked to UK projects, including 5G-connected autonomous trucks moving parts to Nissan's Sunderland plant. Mark Preston has a background in motorsport, with experience at McLaren in Formula One and in Formula E, and managing director Mike Potts brings digital marketing and business experience from agencies and the travel industry, so the team mixes engineering and commercial skills.
A company like this employs people in many functions: vehicle and software engineers, testers, operations and manufacturing staff, and sales and partnership roles. If you like cars, robotics, coding or electronics, it shows how a small UK team can sit at the centre of a global technology shift. The range of people involved is wide, from the hands-on mechanics of preparing a car for autonomy to the code that tells it where to go. The company also sits in the Oxford area, where the University of Oxford, other research groups and several driverless-car firms are close neighbours, which makes it a handy place to meet people working on the same problems. We have not found details of the current headcount or day-to-day culture, so ask about the team when you get in touch.
Website: streetdrone.com
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