Aurrigo Autonomous Shuttle trials begin in Cambridge
Aurrigo takes off as it announces the global launch of its new autonomous luggage and cargo transport platform for the aviation sector called Auto-Dolly®
| A new autonomous luggage and cargo system has been launched today that promises to offer a host of operational and financial savings to the aviation sector.Aurrigo, one of the world’s leading autonomous vehicle specialists, has officially unveiled the Auto-Dolly®, which will give airports the opportunity to move luggage and cargo around indoor and outdoor settings without the need for human operators.Auto-Dolly® has the ability to navigate autonomously from one task to another, collecting and dropping off the luggage or cargo automatically using a powered roller deck and the |
| unique ability to ‘crab’ sideways when docking and parallel parking.All weather running is achieved by weather-hardened sensors and innovative software processes that allow the Auto-Dollies to operate in snow, heavy rain, direct sunlight and fog.A recent trial at Heathrow and a digital-twinning project with a leading Far Eastern airport have revealed that this technology can reduce the number of traditional tugs and trailers used to transport luggage and cargo by two thirds, as well as substantially cutting carbon emissions.“The aviation sector is going through one of the worst periods in living memory. When it emerges, it will need to explore ways where it can achieve cost savings and increase operational efficiencies, including turning around planes and getting them away on time,” explained David Keene, Chief Executive of Aurrigo.“Auto-Dolly® will revolutionise airports by improving efficiency in the way aircraft luggage and cargo is loaded, unloaded and handled. Auto-Dolly® virtually eliminates all human contact from the baggage and cargo process, extremely important in today’s Covid world and unlike the tugs that are used today, every Auto-Dolly® is able to carry a load. This results in improved space utilisation in the baggage hall as no valuable space is taken up by a vehicle that cannot move something.”He continued: “Our autonomous vehicles are controlled by our Ai based cyber secure fleet management system called Auto-ConnectTM, which intelligently assigns Auto-Dollies in the optimum way to meet the strict operational deadlines at the airport.”“Together with the Auto-Dolly® launch we are also releasing our Auto-SimTM product which is a sophisticated airport simulator software tool allowing customers to baseline current |
| operations and then model how to migrate from manual methods through to a fully automated Auto-Dolly® operation.”He concluded: ““Engagement with lead customers, together with continuing on-site airport trials, have been fantastic and we’re now in the position to launch our Auto-Dolly® solution to the world. This could equate to hundreds of millions of pounds of cost reduction every year for the airport industry, plus the huge environmental savings gained by reducing overall emissions of the fleet of today’s inefficient tractors and trailers.” For further information, please visit www.aurrigo.com or follow @aurrigotech on twitter |
Aurrigo delivers autonomous vehicle technology to new £4m Milton Keynes 5G Create project
A Coventry-based autonomous vehicle specialist has been chosen to play a significant role in the £4m Milton Keynes MK 5G Create project.
Aurrigo, which has already completed a successful driverless vehicle trial in the town, will join forces with Milton Keynes Council, MK Dons, BT and five other consortium partners to test out how 5G applications can create a world class visitor experience for users of the stadium and surrounding campus facilities.
The company will manufacture and operate a ten-seater shuttle running a short autonomous route from Bletchley train station to MK Dons Stadium, together with two pods operating around the retail park perimeter.
In a world first, there will also be a driverless Security Pod equipped with a tethered drone patrolling and streaming CCTV footage over 5G direct to the security centre.
“This is another very exciting chance for Aurrigo to deploy our expertise here in the UK, showcasing our autonomous technology and allowing us to engage with the wider public,” explained Simon Brewerton, Chief Technical Officer at Aurrigo.
“We have a fantastic opportunity with this project to integrate several cutting-edge technologies, including 5G cellular communications that allow guaranteed low data latency and available bandwidth, even when the stadium and retail park are bustling on match days.”
He continued: “5G allows data from our autonomous vehicles to be monitored remotely in real-time and enables safe and secure communications between multiple vehicles and the central control room, as well as direct communications with each other.
“All of the vehicles are being manufactured in our state-of-the-art engineering centre in Coventry and we will have a dedicated team of 15 people producing them and then operating them on site.”
MK 5G Create is one of nine projects to receive funding as part of a £28.3million joint investment between Government and business to explore how the country can seize the full benefits of 5G and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology.
Trials are dependent on Covid-19 restrictions but could start as early as the end of March and will run for just over a year, providing autonomous transport options for local people and visitors to the MK Dons campus.
It is expected that users will be able to use the new Aurrigo app to book a ride in the shuttle or pods.
Simon went on to add: “It’s great to be returning to Milton Keynes to showcase another type of autonomous transport in the form of our shuttles and how they can deliver an even more engaging rider experience through the power of 5G.
“There is also a lot of anticipation for the unmanned Security Pod that will provide protection and a ‘constant eye’ in the sky. This is a world first and it’s great that we can potentially prove out a solution for businesses to improve and reduce their costs using automated security solutions.”
Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure, concluded: “5G is about so much more than faster mobile internet speeds, so we’re investing millions to help some of Britain’s brightest innovators explore the huge potential of the technology to improve and enrich our lives.
“The projects we’ve selected will demonstrate how the blistering speeds of 5G can put some rocket fuel in our economy and help businesses bounce back from the pandemic.”
Aurrigo has a number of exciting plans for 2021, including delivering an autonomous shuttle trial at the University of Cambridge’s West Cambridge site and the roll-out of its autonomous luggage dolly for aviation.
The latter is being supported by a number of international airports and promises to offer a host of operational and environmental improvements over using the current manned luggage dollies that are commonly in use today.For further information, please visit ww.aurrigo.com or follow @aurrigotech on twitter.