DHL Supply Chain has announced the first deployment of a totally autonomous vehicle in live airport traffic at London Heathrow Airport (LHR).
Following the completion of 1300km of autonomous driving over the course of two weeks; DHL hopes that introducing the vehicle will aid in the optimisation of airside operations, providing innovations across the inter-terminal baggage transfer services as well as providing a test case for automation within other areas of airport services.
Prior to official deployment, the vehicle, which is operated by Oxa’s own self-driving software, undertook a set of installation tests at the airport, running autonomously on the first day of the project with no specialist modifications or adjustments.
Dan Peacock, Managing Director, DHL Supply Chain, said:Our priority is to deliver an exceptional service to our customers that meets their unique needs, and this project supports Heathrow by modelling an innovative solution which could really help drive capacity safely and sustainably.
Our strong partnerships with leading companies such as Oxa, enable us to evolve and improve our operations, creating a competitive advantage for customers like Heathrow.
The vehicle’s performance was constantly evaluated over the two week period, with parties involved finding results to be in line with a set of strict safety benchmarks and thus safe for full autonomous operation.
Initial testing was performed using a typical passenger vehicle in order to demonstrate the project’s feasibility, with a view to transition the technology to a fleet of vehicle platforms suited to baggage-transfer further down the line.
Gavin Payne, Director of Engineering and Baggage, Heathrow said:Intelligent autonomous logistics will play a key role in the future of operations at Heathrow. It was great to be able to support and join DHL, OXA, and the Heathrow team in achieving the first safe and significant step towards this vision.
Working within the Baggage Strategic Partnership in this way is critical to our Innovation journey and I am excited to see what comes next.
