ANA trials autonomous bus system at Haneda

All Nippon Airways is conducting further trials of an autonomous, “driverless” bus at Tokyo Haneda Airport, and could introduce the system operationally by next year. The latest trial will run through Jan. 25. This will be the second stage of testing, following earlier trials by ANA in February 2018. In addition to the ANA project, other companies are investigating the technology at Tokyo Narita, Sendai and Nagoya airports. The bus will be guided using magnetic trackers embedded in the ground, and sensors onboard the bus. For these tests, someone will also be sitting in the drivers’ seat to take over if an emergency stop is required, ANA said. However, this person will otherwise not touch the steering wheel. The bus also has an advanced dispatcher system, which allows an operator in a remote location to monitor the bus and control it if necessary.<br/>