UK-based AV startup Capri has been working with Bristol Airport to trial the on-site deployment of autonomous shuttle pods.
Focusing on trips of up to five miles, Capri aims to develop the next generation of autonomous pods, capable of safely navigating both pedestrian and on-road environments.
George Lunt, technical director, Aecom, said, “Connected and autonomous vehicles are predicted to make a huge impact on society, but require significant research and development to support their future commercial use. With a wide range of potential markets for on-demand mobility services, our project has clear economic benefits that will inform the business cases for these types of schemes. Our work with Bristol Airport is an important stage of the project as we look in detail at the underlying operating models required to deliver a viable service.”
Capri is an AECOM-led consortium that was awarded £4.2m (US$5.2m) in funding from Innovate UK and the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). The funding was part of a competition to invest £35m (US$43m) in industry-led research and development projects on CAVs.