Visitors can see the latest driverless technology from French startup Navya at this year’s Passenger Terminal Expo in Amsterdam.
The Navya Arma is an electric, driverless airport bus produced for last-mile transportation. It can carry up to 15 passengers at a time, travels up to 50km per hour, and operates on inductive charging batteries with durability ranging from 8-24 hours.
The shuttle is adapted to handle impromptu situations and gains experience over time on a given circuit by memorizing the fixed obstacles on the route to boost performance. It also boasts technology including lidars (light detection and ranging), stereo vision, GPS, infrared, IMU and odometry.
The designers have concentrated their efforts on the comfort of the passengers to include a closed cab and comfortable seats. Automatic doors linked to voice information messages and informative videos means that passengers can get on and off safely.
Christophe Sapet, CEO of Navya, said, “There are many issues associated with driverless vehicles, but we are focused on three main objectives: safety, reliability and comfort.
“Several tests have demonstrated that passengers need to be reassured when using new travel systems. While the Navya Arma remains loyal to the tradition of public transport, its means of interacting with the public show how innovative it is.
“The vehicle’s leading-edge technology has to fade away in order for the trip to become more natural. Our aim is that each trip taken in a Nayva Arma shuttle has to be convincing enough to change the habits of the user and reduce the risks linked to traffic flow.”
The Navya Arma shuttles operating today are for private sites only, but will be able to circulate freely on public roads or urban centers when pending legislation is approved.