Engineering news
The 10-seater Aurrigo shuttle, owned by Solihull Council, is driving alongside ‘live’ traffic.
The shuttle manufacturer, based in nearby Coventry, mapped out a route that will initially transport staff from the departures entrance and an office building to a car park. The trial could extend to passengers later this month.
The zero-emission autonomous shuttle uses a suite of sensors, including Lidar, to understand its surroundings and move safely around the environment.
A safety operator will be onboard at all times during testing, in line with current legislation. It can also be manually driven with conventional controls to allow for operational flexibility.
The council-led project is aimed at testing how Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) could be integrated into the borough’s transport network in the future. It follows a successful trial at the adjacent National Exhibition Centre last year.
“CAV technology has the potential to revolutionise the way we get around our towns, cities and rural areas, as well as transport goods,” said Solihull Council leader Ian Courts. “I’m excited that we are the first council in the country to purchase our very own zero-emission, road legal, shared use CAV, and we are keen to put it to use.”
Aurrigo has also developed the Auto-Dolly, an autonomous luggage and cargo system that it claims could deliver 60% carbon savings for airports.
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