All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will carry out trials for an autonomous electric bus at Haneda International Airport. The trial will take place from 22 January and last until 31 January.
“ANA is committed to actively embracing the most innovative technology to improve all aspects of the passenger travel experience,” said Shinzo Shimizu, Senior Executive Vice President of ANA. “Once fully implemented, the autonomous electric bus will allow us to provide a more convenient transit experience for our passengers while also improving efficiency for our airport staff. As sustainability has always been a priority for ANA, we will continue looking for opportunities to make our products and services more eco-friendly.”
ANA and SoftBank Corp. subsidiary SB Drive Corp first began trials for the driverless bus in 2018, with SB Drive providing the advanced “Dispatcher” technology that oversees safety functions by monitoring for obstacles and potential hazards. Other partners in the development of the autonomous electric bus include Advanced Smart Mobility and BYD.
ANA has selected a specific course for the trial, with the bus set to travel the same 1.9km segment of restricted area in Haneda Airport multiple times throughout the testing period. During the test, the bus will be evaluated based on its ability to perform the conditional automation with little human oversight.
ANA is holding the bus to the highest performance standards to ensure safety, and the tests are specifically designed to replicate common real-world scenarios. If testing proceeds as projected, ANA plans to implement the autonomous electric buses at Haneda International Airport by the end of this year.
