The Australian Army has begun development on a new autonomous driving technology that will be used in convoy vehicles.

The "leader-follower" concept means that a single driver would lead the convoy of driverless vehicles, thus reducing the number of personnel needed to transport supplies - and also the number of people exposed to attack in environments where conflicts.

The Australian Road Studies Board has partnered with the Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation at Melbourne's Deakin University for the project, hoping to create a "platform agnostic" prototype that can fit into any car or truck in the fleet. the Australian army, Drive reports, Telegrafi conveys.

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Early testing of the system has already begun at the Royal Australian Air Force's Point Cook base west of Melbourne, with MAN trucks being remotely driven to test the effectiveness of the vehicle's controls.

The project is now focused on developing the autonomous systems needed for driving on public roads.

The Australian Road Studies Board says it aims to simulate a scenario in which vehicles move in a convoy from an airport, along a major supply route, to deliver supplies to a tactical location in the field.