London Gatwick Airport will begin trials of autonomous vehicles to transport staff between locations on the airfield. The pilot, which will not carry passengers, is being run in partnership with software developer Oxbotica. Employees will use the vehicles to travel along the roads connecting the North and South Terminals.
Gatwick believes this is the first trial of its kind at an airport. If the pilot proves successful, it could evolve into an on-demand, ride-hailing service for staff to request transport when they need to move between points on the airfield.
Airport officials say a successful trial could allow airfield transport needs to be met by a smaller pool of autonomous vehicles, reducing the size of vehicle fleets, cutting emissions and lowering operating costs.
Dr Graeme Smith, CEO of Oxbotica, commented on the trial: “Airports present an especially interesting environment for our autonomous driving software. There is a wide range of vehicle types, each with distinct roles, and the task of coordinating activity around each aircraft and across airport operations is complex. We look forward to collaborating with Gatwick on this initial pilot to demonstrate our self-driving technology transporting staff around the airfield.”