The AIM-listed company will deploy its Auto-Shuttle on a 1 km route within the port, carrying passengers, baggage and freight through an operating environment shared with conventional vehicles and pedestrians.     The trial is expected to begin in December and will examine whether autonomous vehicles can be used safely and reliably for routine movements within a busy commercial port.     Aurrigo was selected for the next stage of the UK’s Freight Innovation Fund, delivered by Connected Places Catapult on behalf of the Department for Transport.     The company had previously received a £10,000 ($13,400) grant to undertake a feasibility study. Its latest funding award will support the move from planning into a practical demonstration.     The Portsmouth project marks a move into seaports for Aurrigo, which has been developing autonomous ground-handling systems for airports, including the movement of baggage and other loads between operating areas.      The company sees potential to extend the technology into cargo-focused ports through its larger Auto-Cargo vehicle, although no deployment agreement for that system has been announced.    

The test will be carried out against a backdrop of growing interest in automating landside port movements, where conventional road vehicles, cargo-handling equipment and pedestrian traffic often share limited operating space.