Singapore Changi (SIN) airport has debuted autonomous vehicles (AVs) for transporting baggage around the site.
A year of trials involved more than 5,000 test trips, and now two AVs are running at Terminals 1 and 4. The rigorous trial process was required to ensure the vehicles could perform in a complex airport environment, as well as Singapore’s changeable weather conditions. Now operational, the AVs are equipped with 10 sensor and cameras, while a remote control sensor monitors their activity in real-time.
Liu Yanling, Senior Vice President for Airport Operations Strategy and Transformation at Changi Airport Group, said:
The operationalisation of our autonomous tractors represents a huge step forward as we move towards our vision of the airside of the future. By redesigning work processes and infrastructure, we are creating a future-proofed environment where autonomous vehicles and human workers operate seamlessly.
An additional six autonomous tractors will be added to Terminal 2 later this year, with a total fleet of 24 predicted by 2027. In the future, the AVs will be applied to cargo and airside equipment towage as well as baggage transportation.
As a result of Changi’s modernisation strategy, job redesign could affect as much as 30% of its workforce over the next five years. Angela Ng, Director of Aviation Industry at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), who co-fund the AV project, added:
The scaled deployment of autonomous tractors allows stakeholders to develop new systems and job transformation programmes, helping workers transition to higher-value roles.
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