Picture credit: Roger Cremers for Royal Schiphol Group
Two buses are being tested on a fixed route and making stops at airside locations close to facilities for cleaning and ground handling companies as a shuttle service for employees.
In the first phase, the technology is being tested and adapted for airport infrastructure and the user experience is being measured.
Of the employees who used the service, 89% said they would use it again and initial findings show that the service is seen as safe with a positive experience.
The airport will continue testing the technology and is assessing expanding the project until the end of April.
Jan Zekveld, Head of Innovation at Royal Schiphol Group, said: “This trial represents another step towards our ambition of having an emission-free and autonomous ground operation by 2050. The knowledge and insights gained during this test period are of significant added value to future autonomous developments at Schiphol.”
Schiphol is the first Dutch airport to use the technology from Ohmio, which are programmed to run on fixed routes while considering other road users, their position on the road and when they should stop or give way to traffic.
The autonomous buses can carry eight people and employees can board from a staff passageway that provides airside access.
Each journey lasts around five minutes.
Mohammed Hikmet, Executive at Ohmio, said: “This collaboration underscores Ohmio's commitment to advancing visionary approaches for the future of transport. We are enthusiastic about the opportunity and are honoured to join hands with Schiphol Airport, a leading player in Europe's aviation industry.”
