Autonomous technology company Aurrigo has secured nearly £700,000 of funding to extend an autonomous cargo project at East Midlands Airport (EMA) in the UK.
The funding from The Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Pathfinder – Enhancements programme will enable Aurrigo to accelerate its Ramp Ready project that will see it deploy two of its Auto-Cargo autonomous vehicles and one eight-passenger Auto-Shuttle.
The objective is to refine a multi-vehicle fleet framework for airside logistics over the next nine months, enabling simultaneous cargo and aircrew transport.
Innovations include improved environmental testing, expanded simulation capabilities, and modular, low-volume manufacturing to reduce costs and accelerate scalability.
The project supports the commercial readiness of both cargo and passenger autonomous vehicles, whilst generating critical operational data for ongoing development.
David Keene, chief executive of Aurrigo, commented: “Auto-Cargo is our largest aviation vehicle to date and is set to transform airside logistics by autonomously carrying a total payload of 16,500kg. The vehicle is a fully electric, zero-emission alternative to existing diesel-powered models.
“The latest funding will allow us to accelerate deployment at East Midlands Airport, as well as integrate our Auto-Shuttle to cater for short-distance passenger and staff transport. It’s about proving out a multi-fleet approach, as well as gaining valuable insights into real-world situations that we can build into our solutions as we scale.”
The Pathfinder programme is funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), a joint unit between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Transport (DfT), delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.
In April, Aurrigo launched the "Auto-Cargo" vehicle for UPS to move heavy loads at EMA.
