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An Adelaide tech company has announced it has secured $2 million of grants from the state government, and will spend a part of it on buying two self-driving cars.

Cohda Wireless, which specialises in connected vehicle technology, revealed that it has received the cash from the Future Mobility Lab Fund over two grants, and that it would allow it to get two autonomous cars on real Adelaide roads for testing its products.

“Not only was South Australia the first state in Australia to pass laws allowing autonomous vehicles to be tested on the road, but The Future Mobility Lab Fund demonstrates the South Australian government’s commitment to fostering new technologies and new industries in the state,” said Cohda chief executive Paul Gray.

The company already sells tech that allows vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian communications, but the new grant will allow it to further its foray into connected autonomous vehicles (CAV).

Cohda chief technology officer Paul Alexander said the company was in a good position to become “a major player in CAV globally”, by solving problems such as localisation, sensor fidelity and system cost.

“With a history of connected and autonomous vehicle projects including the Freight Signal Priority trial in NSW and the Jaguar Land Rover Off-Road Connected Convoy, we are deploying cutting edge technology,” he said.

The South Australian government’s Future Mobility Lab Fund will give out $10 million over the next three years to startups that are working in the transport vertical and contributes towards Adelaide’s smart city aspirations.

Cohda Wireless was formed in 2004 by scientists at the University of South Australia’s Institute for Telecommunications Research, and now has branches in South Korea, Germany and the USA. The privately held company lists Cisco, NXP, SciVentures, Epicorp, Mooroolbark and ITEK Ventures as its investors.

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