Zurich airport: autonomous buses near the tarmac for employees
Keystone-SDA
Zurich airport could become the first in Europe to use autonomous buses to transport employees around the runway. The system is currently being tested with a driver on board in case of problems.
The pilot project has been underway since March, Zurich airport said on Tuesday. Since June, employees have been able to board an autonomous bus to get to their place of work. The vehicle travels between an airport service building and a maintenance depot located on the other side of a runway.
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The journey takes place on the edge of the tarmac and runways, over a distance of around 2 km. There are several stops along the way.
Next phase without a backup driver
From the end of this year at the earliest, the next phase of testing will take place without a driver or passengers. The buses will continue to run automatically, but they will be monitored and, if necessary, restarted remotely from a cockpit installed in the Circle business and shopping centre opposite the airport.
This facility is intended to act as a monitoring centre once the autonomous buses have entered regular service. When a bus encounters an unexpected obstacle, it stops automatically. The staff in the remote control cockpit can then assess the situation and, if necessary, support the autonomous bus in its manoeuvre.
Once the next test phase has produced conclusive results, the autonomous buses will be able to transport employees without a backup driver on board. Should this be the case, Zurich airport would become the first in Europe to introduce such a transport system at its operating site.
Adapted from French by DeepL/ac
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