Autonomous shuttle trial on live roads at Birmingham Airport
Birmingham airport is trialling a driverless shuttle alongside live traffic on roads within the airport complex.
(l-r) Cllr Ian Courts (Solihull Council), Nick Barton (Birmingham Airport) and Henriette Breukelaar (Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP)
Owned by Solihull Council and designed and built by Aurrigo in Coventry, the 10-seater Auto-Shuttle will initially transport staff from the Departures entrance and the airport’s office building Diamond House to Car Park 5, with a plan to extend the service to passengers by Easter.
The trial is part of a Solihull Council-led initiative to test how connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) might be integrated into the borough’s transport network in the future and follows a successful trial at adjacent National Exhibition Centre last year.
For the purpose of testing, and in line with current legislation, a safety operator will be on-board at all times. The shuttle can also be driven manually with conventional controls.
Nick Barton, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport said, “Autonomous technology promises enormous benefits to airports and the service companies that support them, with the potential to transform the way we work and improve efficiency and safety for passengers, staff and other airport users.
“We are really excited to be working with Solihull Council on this trial, which will provide us with invaluable insight into how we can start to safely incorporate CAVs into our vehicle fleet.”
As an example, Aurrigo is currently working with Changi Airport in Singapore on development work for a new autonomous luggage and cargo system which has the potential to deliver 60% carbon savings over conventional luggage trailers.
Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council, added, “CAV technology has the potential to revolutionise the way we get around our towns, cities and rural areas as well as transport goods. I’m excited that we are the first Council in the country to purchase our very own zero-emission, road-legal, shared use connected autonomous vehicle and we are keen to put it to use.
“This project is all about looking at how we can practically and safely start to incorporate autonomous vehicles into our future transport infrastructure. Already one of the best-connected destinations in the UK and Europe, Birmingham Airport is the perfect place to trial our shuttle providing us with a busy but controlled environment in which to gain further real-world operating experience.”
This project forms part of the wider West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) funded UK Central investment programme, which is delivering a wide range of projects, from walking and cycling improvement schemes through to town centre redevelopments and build on the establishment of the Midlands Future Mobility testbed.