Changi Airport to trial use of driverless tractors to move baggage from planes
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A DRIVERLESS tractor will start fetching luggage from planes landing at Changi Airport Terminal 3 from next month, in the next stage of a trial that began in October last year.
This is the first push in the airport's goal of using autonomous vehicles at scale, with the aim of increasing manpower productivity.
The autonomous tractor can tow up to 6,000 kg of baggage, which is the same load as the traditional driven tractor. Two tractors are needed to clear baggage from a plane with a full load of passengers.
At a preview of the vehicle on Friday, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said it will be working with ground handler Sats to use the vehicle for live flight operations. This will free up airside staff from driving duties to focus on more complex operations such as last-mile baggage handling, said Ms Juliette Chia, senior associate of airport operations at CAG's airside transformation office.
CAG executive vice-president of airport management Tan Lye Teck said: "Changi Airport believes that autonomous vehicle technology and robotics will play a big part in the airport of the future. "These trials will help us to understand the requirements for safe driverless transportation and how best to design operational processes."
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About 400 traditional baggage tractors being in use at the airport.
The autonomous tractor was developed by airport ground support equipment manufacturer TLD and autonomous vehicle firm EasyMile. Both are French companies. The tractor uses lidars (light detection and ranging) global positioning systems technology and wireless technology to enable it to operate without a driver. It is able to track distances accurately down to 1 cm.
The tractors now ply programmed routes without the need for a safety driver in the vehicle. It is now programmed to go at 15 kph, half the speed that traditional baggage tractors operate at.
CAG declined to reveal the cost of each tractor, citing commercial sensitivities.
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