Aurrigo backs German air cargo project at Stuttgart

by Payload Asia

Aurrigo International PLC has announced its support to the Digital Testbed Cargo Project (DTAC) Consortium on the proposed trials of the Auto-DollyTug tractor, an autonomous electric vehicle for baggage and cargo handling, at Stuttgart Airport starting next year.

Designed from the ground up to be electric and autonomous, Auto-DollyTug combines the utility of a baggage or cargo tractor can load and unload itself without driver involvement. The German project follows from successful testing at Changi Airport in Singapore with the same technology, which has been running since February 2022.

Auriggo said the ‘subproject’, funded by the Germany Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) and carried out under the academic leadership of the Frauhofer IML (Institute for Material Flow and Logistics) and the Frankfurt University of Applied Science, is part of the German DTAC project. Preparation work has already begun, the company mentioned, for a possible start in March next year.

“Auto-DollyTug combines the utility of a baggage /cargo tractor, with the ULD carrying capability of an airport dolly, making a more flexible and space efficient vehicle. This means that a combination of an Auto-DollyTug and three trailers carries four ULDs or over 30% more than a traditional tug set-up of the same overall length. Auto-DollyTug incorporates robotic arms on the body, allowing the vehicle to autonomously load and unload a ULD itself,” the company noted in a statement.

Aurrigo CEO David Keene is delighted to win this first deployment in Germany, following on similar announcements in Singapore, the US, and the UK.

“This is an endorsement of our strategy to concentrate on aviation, a sector where there is a clear demand for autonomous, electric vehicles to reduce emissions, improve efficiency and allow for continued growth in volumes, despite a shortage of security cleared ground staff.”

The operational part of the project is for an initial four-week period at the project test site in Stuttgart Airport, which is expected to start in March 2024.