Aston University and Aurrigo advance autonomous airport vehicle intelligence through new AI partnership

Credit: Aston University

Aston University has partnered with autonomous vehicle specialist Aurrigo to develop advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that will allow airport baggage and cargo vehicles to make smarter decisions independently, improving efficiency and sustainability.

The collaboration is being delivered through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, a UK programme funded by Innovate UK that links businesses with academic expertise to drive innovation. The project focuses on the growing challenge of managing fleets of autonomous vehicles used for baggage and cargo handling as airport operations scale up.

As airports deploy increasing numbers of self driving vehicles, fleet coordination becomes more complex. Traditionally, vehicle task allocation and scheduling are handled by centrally controlled systems overseen by human operators. These systems must process large volumes of real time data, including vehicle location, workload and battery status, while responding to constant operational changes such as flight delays or gate reassignments. While effective for smaller fleets, centralised control can create decision bottlenecks and slow responses as operations expand.

Under the partnership, Aston University researchers will develop new algorithms that enable decentralised decision making. Each vehicle will be able to assess its own status, environment and role within the wider fleet, allowing it to make safe and efficient local decisions without waiting for central instructions.

The research team will apply expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning to address several challenges. These include dynamically assigning tasks based on vehicle location and battery level, enabling communication between vehicles operated by different ground handlers, and planning routes in real time to adapt to unexpected operational changes. The approach is also designed to scale effectively as airports increase their autonomous vehicle fleets.

Aurrigo, based in Coventry, designs autonomous vehicles and software specifically for aviation environments. The company expects the project to lead to improved fleet coordination, fewer unnecessary vehicle movements and reduced emissions and fuel consumption.

Simon Brewerton, chief technology officer at Aurrigo, said the partnership builds on successful previous collaborations and combines strong academic expertise with practical operational insight.

Dr Farzaneh Farhadi, lead academic on the project from the Aston Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application, said the goal is to enable vehicles to cooperate intelligently as part of a fleet while operating with greater autonomy.

Aston University is a national leader in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, ranked joint first in the UK for active projects and first for overall project quality.

SIGN ME UP