Aurrigo showcase SWARM demonstration at the University of Warwick in collaboration with WMG and Milton Keynes
During a public demonstration at the University of Warwick, Aurrigo’s very own PodZero vehicles showcased their ‘swarming’ capabilities and shuttled keen attendees on campus. Demonstrating the exciting development in autonomous technology from research conducted at Warwick Manufacturing Group – designed, manufactured and deployed locally in Coventry.
The Innovate-UK-funded project ‘SWARM’, in collaboration with the University of Warwick’s WMG and Milton Keynes Council, is a concept that was developed with the idea that pods navigate collectively and within close proximity of one another – similarly to the way birds and bees communicate (and the concept that inspired the term ‘swarm’).
This new ‘swarming’ technology will also increase efficiency by reducing the number of safety drivers required to supervise individual vehicles. Instead, safety drivers can observe one vehicle leading the rest. Aurrigo’s Chief Technology Officer, Simon Brewerton, explains:
The collaborative SWARM algorithms have been developed to enable our autonomous vehicles to optimise their own trip schedules, so they deliver the optimum efficiency from a fleet of vehicles. The swarming technology is very exciting and has the potential to operate large fleets of remotely supervised autonomous vehicles in a safe and scalable way. Interest in this will be huge.
A successful day
The demonstration and pod rides swiftly followed a welcome and introduction speech about the project delivered by Simon. Taking on two passengers at a time, members of the Aurrigo engineering team shuttled guests on a loop, demonstrating the immense scale of work and research behind this exciting and innovative project.
This ground-breaking technological development not only demonstrates the goals Aurrigo continue to surpass, but marks a significant step in autonomy: complete automation. Embarking on level 5 autonomy essentially means that vehicles have adapted the capabilities to operate with zero human attention in more dynamic scenarios; successfully identifying and safely avoiding surroundings such as pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles.
What’s more?
The event closely followed the recent announcement of Aurrigo’s new product for the aviation sector: A Transport Safety System (TSS). In the hopes to reduce the number of incidents involving baggage and cargo containers falling from towed dollies due to them not being locked down properly.
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