A PIONEERING prototype designed to establish the feasibility of self-driving mass transit solutions across the UK is now on display in Wythall.
Wythall Transport Museum recently took delivery of an Aurrigo Auto-Shuttle, an example of the world’s first conventionally driven electric and autonomous purpose-built vehicle.
Aurrigo designed, developed and built this autonomous vehicle at its Advanced Engineering Centre in Coventry, supplying a number for evaluation in various locations across the UK including Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Solihull.
The museum is proud to have been offered this prototype for permanent display as a static exhibition now it has completed its research and development programme.
This specific example was used by Solihull Council as part of a pioneering study into the feasibility of self-driving mass transit solutions across the UK.
The Shuttle was purchased using funding provided by the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), making Solihull Council the first local authority in the country to own and operate its own autonomous shuttle.
This Shuttle was first tested at the NEC in 2020, where it operated autonomously along a 1-mile pre-mapped section of Pendigo Way between the Atrium and Resorts World, catering for more than 1000 people during the four-week test period. It also took part in subsequent passenger trials at Birmingham Airport and Birmingham Business Park.
Carrying up to ten passengers, the vehicle uses a suite of LIDAR scanners (laser imaging and detection), cameras and sensors and sophisticated software to detect, measure and understand its surroundings, allowing it to move around safely, interacting with live traffic and street furniture with little or no operator input.
Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) technology has the potential to revolutionise the way we travel around our towns, cities and rural areas as well as transport goods.
Solihull Council was the first Council in the UK to purchase its own zero-emission, road-legal, shared use Connected Autonomous Vehicle.
The trial was all about investigating how to practically and safely start to incorporate autonomous vehicles into the future transport infrastructure.
The Shuttle is presented in the Solihull Council livery it carried whilst running its demonstrations in the Borough (which is appropriately local to Wythall) with on-board audio visual displays showing its background history and test films.
The Museum is grateful to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for its donation of the Shuttle and to Aurrigo for its technical support in converting the vehicle to a static exhibit, with audio visual stories being told on screen.
For insurance and safety reasons, the traction battery has been removed. It is now on display amongst the museum’s wide range of buses and battery-electric vehicles from across the decades.
