The second phase of the trial of electric self-driving buses starts today at Schiphol Airport. During this phase, the airport, together with KLM Cityhopper and KLM Ground services, is testing a fixed, pre-programmed route to and from the apron.
Crew from KLM Cityhopper arriving at Schiphol can use the shuttle service. Earlier this year, Schiphol conducted a successful initial trial of these self-driving buses from supplier Ohmio.
During the first phase of the trial, the focus was on testing technical features and ease of use. The current phase will take place at the apron, an even more complex setting where there is always a lot of simultaneous activity: ranging from aircraft arriving and departing, to flight handling operations and airline crew transport.
Several times a day, until the end of July, the bus will fetch KLM Cityhopper crew from Apron A, where KLM Cityhopper aircraft park before departure and on arrival at Schiphol. The self-driving bus then drops off the flight crew at the terminal. The vehicle is equipped with sensors and special cameras and makes use of GPS to manoeuvre. The bus has a 360-degree view because it is equipped with LIDAR technology. This allows the vehicle to detect and move around objects located up to 30 meters away.