Singapore Changi continues to act as test bed for autonomous vehicles

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has signed a formal partnership agreement with Aurrigo International for the continued joint development and testing of the company’s autonomous vehicles.

According to Aurrigo, its innovative solutions offer the ability to reduce emissions and improve efficiencies in getting passenger bags to and from the terminal.

The multi-year partnership with CAG provides an opportunity for the further development of Aurrigo’s autonomous solutions at Changi Airport and demonstrations to showcase the technology to other airports and stakeholders.

This partnership follows on from the agreement with CAG announced on October 28, 2022, for the next phase of development of Aurrigo’s Auto-Dolly.

The development and testing of Aurrigo’s autonomous vehicles is partially funded by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) through its Aviation Development Fund (ADF), which supports initiatives to improve productivity in the Singapore aviation sector through the use of innovative solutions.

David Keene, CEO of Aurrigo, commented: “We have worked closely with the team at Changi for several years and this partnership cements our collaboration to bring the best automated solutions to airlines and airports, enabling them to improve efficiency, safety and sustainability.”

Poh Li San, CAG’s SVP of Terminal 5 Planning, noted: “Similar to major airports throughout the world, recruiting enough ground handling personnel and drivers to support our growth is a challenge.

“We have been encouraged by Aurrigo’s innovative autonomous technologies to help address these issues, and we’re excited to partner with Aurrigo in the joint development and testing of these solutions.”

In addition to Auto-Dolly, UK based Aurrigo produces the Auto-DollyTug and the airport simulation software platform Auto-Sim.

Aurrigo notes that previous trials at Heathrow and other airports have proven that its autonomous tugs can reduce the number of traditional tugs and trailers used to transport cargo and luggage by two thirds, as well as substantially cutting carbon emissions.