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Felixstowe unveils terminal truck of the future

[ December 13, 2022   //   ]

The port of Felixstowe says it may be the first in Europe to introduce autonomous terminal tractor units into mixed traffic container terminal operations, with the first two Westwell battery-powered vehicles.
The trucks use a digital map loaded into a fleet management system that controls navigation around the port combined with their on-board GPS navigation to track position in real time.
Project director, and Hutchison Ports UK chief information officer, Karen Poulter explained: “The ATs use LiDAR – a light sensing technology that creates a 3D map of an AT’s surroundings using a laser and receiver, which, when combined with its on-board 360-degree cameras, provide real-time, all-round ‘vision’. This enables it to ‘see’ everything instantaneously in its vicinity to allow safe and accurate navigation.
“With the support of Extreme Precise Position system, it can achieve positioning accuracy of 2 cm and a steering angle accuracy of 0.5 degrees.”
Following a thorough commissioning and testing programme, the trucks will be used initially to transport containers between the Trinity and North Rail terminals.

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