The snazzy driverless vehicles are being adapted from the ‘UltraPods’ which carry passengers around Heathrow airport.
The futuristic transporters are already being used on tracks at the airport, but will be made roadworthy before being trialled by ‘invited’ users and then opened up to the public.
Greenwich, Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes will first see the pods launched as part of the £8m project, which is jointly funded by government agency Innovate UK and industry.
Previous designs, including one that looked like a milk float, were rejected until designers settled on the bulbous, state-of-the-art pod style, according to project bosses.
The roadworthy pods, which are set to be trialled for three months, are being manufactured by British companies Westfield Sportscars, Heathrow Enterprise and Oxbotica.
Up to six passengers will fit in each pod, with one steward needed at all times to slam on the brakes in case of an emergency.
Prof Nick Reed, one of the project’s leaders told the BBC: “[The trials] will tell us whether people trust and accept these vehicles and how they would work as part of the urban landscape.
“This vehicle has millions of miles under its belt and now we have to take it outside of the track and modify it for use on pavements.”
Similar automated vehicles are being developed by other companies including Google, Ford and Tesla, although these pods are set to be some of the UKs first.
Meanwhile, Swiss tech experts are set to launch self-driving nine-seater busses this year whilst a cutting-edge Dutch scheme has seen driverless shuttles tested on public roads.
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