This summer, staff at London’s Gatwich airport will make automotive and aviation history when they travel on driverless buses in an initial six-month trial of autonomous vehicles, a world’s first trial of this nature.
The aim of the trial is to see the widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles which access the airfield, also referred to as ‘airside’. The hope is that with a successful trial, the results will see a substantial reduction in the number of vehicles airside, and related reduction in emissions and costs.
Last year Gatwick dealt with 45.6 million passengers and hosted 56 different airlines, operating 300 individual airside vehicles. However, for 90% of the time, these vehicles stand idle. This summer, the trial will begin with the use of autonomous electric-powered buses which will be used for ferrying staff between Gatwick’s North and South Terminals. Airline passengers will not be included in the trial, and vehicles will have no contact with aircraft.
According to Cathal Corcoran, Gatwick’s chief information officer: “If this trial proves successful then in the future we could have an Uber-like service operating across the airfield which staff can hail as and when they need to travel.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is also anticipating the Gatwick trial and has identified over 40 potential uses for self-driving vehicles at airports, including aircraft pushback tugs, passenger loading bridges, and baggage vehicles.
The buses will be managed by autonomous control software from Oxbotica. The software company is also involved in developing autonomous vehicles which will travel between Oxford and London, as well as in trials on other U.K. roads.
