Oxford, UK-based autonomous vehicle software developer Oxbotica has raised £14 million ($18.4 million) to scale up its activities in Europe, Asia and the US, in sectors including mining.

Founded in 2014 on research from Oxford University’s Robotics Institute, Oxbotica’s software uses computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence to enable vehicles to operate autonomously in any environment and on any terrain, the company says.

Its control system, Selenium, allows vehicles to sense their surroundings without external infrastructure such as GPS, while Caesium, Oxbotica’s cloud-based fleet management system, can schedule and co-ordinate fleets of vehicles.

Oxbotica’s software has been deployed across multiple projects where the future application of autonomy is being trialled, such as with online grocery company Ocado, at Heathrow Airport (pictured) and on major city streets in the UK. A spokesman for the company confirmed the software is also being trialled with mining organisations.

Graeme Smith, CEO of Oxbotica, said: “We are on a mission to bring autonomous software to the world’s biggest markets. We have already seen extraordinary demand from a range of sectors and markets, with the successful deployment of our technology across a strong customer base over the previous four years.

“This injection of funds comes as we move the business into its next growth phase, enabling us to deliver our ambitious plans to scale our capabilities and international presence.”

Oxbotica says its mission is to enable its customers to access, customise and integrate the world’s leading mobile autonomy IP into their own products.