Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is deploying four Teksbotics autonomous patrol cars (APCs), which were developed in partnership with UISEE.
The APC is an all-weather unmanned vehicle that uses video analysis to automatically detect if someone has entered a restricted zone.
Four unmanned APCs are currently deployed at HKIA’s South and North Runway, where they autonomously patrol the perimeter. Each APC is equipped with 8 high-definition cameras, which can monitor any abnormal conditions or intruders along the barbed wired boundary.
Each vehicle is also equipped with 3 lidars and 2 sets of differential global positioning systems (dGPS) to monitor its surroundings and avoid collisions to ensure safe operations.
“Our engineers have been working closely with Airport Authority Hong Kong and other business partners in the work of implementation of the vehicle with our autonomous driving system. We are very proud of having successfully launched one of the world's first unmanned patrol vehicles at HKIA.”
The APC was introduced to replace routine patrols with a human driver and minimise human errors. The autonomous unmanned vehicle also reduces air resistance to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions, making them a more eco-friendly alternative.
In future, the APCs will be also deployed for cargo transportation.
“We are confident that our industry-leading autonomous driving technology in logistics and patrol vehicles showcased in this project will lead into a revolutionary paradigm shift in the airport operation. We will strive to create constructive synergy by sharing our know-how and experiences of developing autonomous driving technology between a commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle sectors to expedite autonomous driving technology.”
The autonomous patrol cars can operate in all weather conditions and were successfully tested to work normally during the typhoon that hit Hong Kong in October 2021, withstanding wind speeds of up to 180 kilometres per hour.
