Unmanned taxi

London Heathrow - it is not just the airport, this is a complex consisting of five passenger terminals, two runways and a huge parking space for car passengers and airport staff. And between all these parts of a Heathrow to somehow move! That for these trips, and the system is designed ULTra, representing several dozen unmanned taksi.

Almost a year ago we told you about the working machine with the autopilot from Google, which itself can quite successfully ride through the city streets. But mass production of such cars - the matter of the distant future. And now in London's Heathrow Airport launched a system of unmanned taxis naming ULTra.

Of course, the technical part of the system ULTra (Urban Light Transit) is very far from the machine with the autopilot from Google. Everything is much easier to work, but at the same time, very reliable and harmoniously. After all, machines are not ULTra travel on ordinary roads, and in their own dedicated tracks, located either on racks or in fenced areas of existing trails or on specially constructed dorozhkah.

ULTra not need a driver. They go on a special chute and automatic directed against collisions, not allowing them to rest on the railing of the gutter. And stop such machines is not where the passenger wants or missing driver, and special stops, stations, tram or if it metro.

That's Heathrow airport are planning to build such eighteen stations to terminals, near public transport and car parks. This will allow passengers and airport employees as quickly as possible to get to their cars from the terminal to the terminal or to the nearest ostanovke.

But this is the future! Now, there are yet two stations and the length of the path length of 1.9 kilometers in each direction connecting the terminal 5 and the parking zone 3. This route is moving twenty one unmanned vehicle ULTra. Each of them is capable of accommodating up to six people with their luggage. The average speed of the vehicle - 40 kilometers per hour.
Now the waiting time of one such trailer ULTra is about 30 seconds. In the future, it is planned to reduce this figure to 12 seconds.

Source: www.novate.ru/blogs/240911/18846/