Last weekend (16th – 18th July) Weston College and the West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT) held the ‘Future Tech Weston’ event, in partnership with Weston Town Council, on the Italian Gardens.
The 3-day event which proved very popular with locals, and holidaymakers alike, as over 2,000 people visited the event, which showcased a range of technology, from drones to electrical cars, all with the aim of demonstrating how future technology can impact our region.
The main attraction was the Westfield Pod, an autonomous vehicle, which provided demonstrations around Weston across the weekend – with over 1,000 people experiencing the Pod. The Pod is an electric powered 4-6-seater, which can be driven manually, via an externally connected joystick, or automatically along a predefined route. There were two examples on display, as passenger transport pod, and a street sweeper, both fully autonomous.
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston Group, said: “We were very pleased to host ‘Future Tech Weston’, and it was really exciting to see what the future of transport might look like in Weston.
“We believe that it is vitally important to be promoting aspects such as future green technology and showcase the exciting career opportunities there are for our communities.
“I would also like to mention how proud I am of our Computing learners, who have worked closely with Westfield on the coding and the development of Westfield’s autonomous vehicles – something I really enjoyed testing out!”