Aurrigo International has developed a new software to help airports overcome the challenge of operating autonomous vehicles in intense wet weather and snow.

According to the UK-based specialist in smart airside solutions, its new rainfall algorithm will help it detect the difference between drops of rain and objects while operating in up to 50mm of precipitation per hour.

In addition to new housing to better protect LiDAR sensors, the software means the firm’s Auto-DollyTug can safely and effectively move baggage and cargo around airports in conditions that previously would have prevented manual operation. It has been successfully tested in both scheduled simulated rain and opportunistic heavy rainfall, both proved by observation and by rain meter readings.

“Traditionally, very heavy rain has presented a significant problem for autonomous vehicles, particularly for LiDAR detection and navigation,” said Simon Brewerton, chief technical officer at Aurrigo International.

“AVs [autonomous vehicles] using this technology rely on the reflection feedback of laser beams for localisation and object recognition and, in intense weather, the scattering and absorption of laser beams by raindrops can lead to distorted signals, compromising the vehicle's ability to accurately perceive its surroundings.”

Brewerton continued: “The first stage of the solution was to design the latest Auto-DollyTug with better casing protection for the LiDARs, which we duly did. However, the big ‘Eureka’ moment for us is the algorithm we have trained to strike a balance between the removal of raindrops and retaining the ability to detect real obstacles.

“This means that airlines and airport operators have complete confidence that, even in extreme rain conditions, our autonomous dollies will operate efficiently.”

At the heart of the software are two key features. Firstly, Aurrigo International’s technical team has ensured that the filtering of the rain is split into five spatial zones around the vehicle, the strength of the filtering varying based on proximity.

Secondly, due to differences in the scan properties between the unfiltered and filtered scans, low-lying obstacles and reflective surfaces were not naturally detected and this had to be built into the software, leading to the adjustment of field height settings and ‘near field’ low profiles being added.

Sam Layton, regional VP Singapore at Aurrigo International, said: “The tests we did at a leading international airport had to prove the Auto-DollyTug could operate autonomously with no ghost or intermittent stops, react to a box and person injected into the vehicle’s path and safely navigate a T-junction airside with oncoming traffic left and right.

“All of this had to be achieved under 15mm of rainfall per the customer's requirement, which we successfully passed. Since then, we have increased our capabilities and operated airside on live trials with rainfall of 50mm per hour. This is a real game-changing moment for autonomous vehicles and aviation.”

Aurrigo International, which is pioneering the iGSE (intelligent ground support equipment) concept, has recently raised £5.25m for the scale-up of its Auto-DollyTugs.