JUST IN: SELF-DRIVING AIRSIDE VEHICLE INVENTED BY OXOBOTIC

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London's largest airport Heathrow is investing in autonomous vehicles for their fleet of transport vehicles. The airport recently announced that it finished primary trials of self-driving airside vehicles. 
The idea comes from a partnership with cargo specialist IAG Cargo and a United Kingdom-based startup called Oxbotica. Oxbotica makes a particular software that allows vehicles to operate in a self-driving mode without using GPS or any other technology beyond what it has in the vehicle.

The “CargoPod” vehicle, designed by Oxbotica, spent three and half weeks running autonomously along a cargo route around the airside perimeter. The trial collected over 200km of data that will enable IAG and Heathrow to assess potential opportunities for the use of autonomous vehicles in airport environments of the future.

Technology is evolving at an incredible pace. We are working with fantastic businesses like Oxbotica to develop new capabilities that will change the way airports function around the world. The trial has yielded valuable insights and is another step in our ongoing commitment to embrace new technologies, improve processes and enhance our offering to our customers said Lynne Embleton, CEO at IAG Cargo.
https://youtu.be/bFEaVWsi23c

We’ve previously trialled autonomous vehicles on public roads but this is the first test of how they could operate airside at an airport. While there were a huge number of variables to consider including transitioning from indoors to outdoors during each journey, our vision-based localisation system performed exceptionally. For us, the trial marks the first step in an ongoing relationship with Heathrow Airport and IAG Cargo.Dr Graeme Smith, CEO of Oxbotica.


We’re delighted to have hosted this UK-first trial which will make our cargo facilities faster and more efficient for our customers. We look forward to this technology being adopted across the airport. Nick Platts, Heathrow Airport Limited, also added
This trial is just the start and much more research will be needed, but ultimately this could be the start of widespread use of autonomous vehicles on airfields across the world," said Gatwick's Chief Information Officer Cathal Corcoran. "The new technology is a more efficient way to manage vehicles and could lead to a reduction in the number of vehicles required, their associated costs and harmful emissions.”

 Source: www.oxobotica.ia

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