One of the UK’s leading autonomous vehicle specialists, Aurrigo, has recorded an international boom after securing more than £1.5m of orders from across the world.
Aurrigo has seen demand for its driverless pods soar following the successful completion of major trials in the UK and Australia proved that its technology can deliver safe and efficient ‘first and last mile’ transport solutions.
Sales have come from customers in Australia, Canada, Finland, Singapore and the US, with the latest deal seeing one of its Pod Zeros heading to China – a potential landmark moment for the Coventry-based business.
The growth has created 10 new jobs over the past 12 months and has taken annual sales up to £4.2m. With a strong pipeline of future orders in place, Aurrigo is predicting a further £6m of contracts between now and the end of 2020.
Chief executive of Aurrigo, David Keene, commented: “Our Pod Zeros have been in development for several years and, thanks to trials with UK Autodrive, Blind Veterans UK and Elliot Gardens in Australia, we have been able to refine the autonomous technology on real-world applications.
“This has helped us prove to potential customers across the globe that we offer a viable, safe and cost-effective solution for ‘first and last mile’ transport issues and our pods are now in operation at Universities, Airports and Innovation Districts. There has even been talk about putting one of them into a shopping centre in the Middle East.”
In an effort to expand its global presence, offices have so far been opened in Houston, Ottawa and in Adelaide, with the business currently focused on increasing its network of distributors.
“This [strategy] is proving extremely successful, with deals already agreed in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam,” noted Keene.
Aurrigo is the autonomous vehicle division of RDM Group, with the latter boasting more than 25 years’ experience in providing advanced driverless technology design solutions to major vehicle OEMs.
The company’s Pod Zero seats four people, travels at a maximum speed of 15mph off road and will reportedly run for 60 miles on a single charge.
Customers can buy the full ‘autonomous’ pod or just purchase the platform and then fit their own autonomous control system.
There are currently 30 pods in operation across world, with the company expecting that number to double by the end of 2020.
Keene added: “We’re now looking at applying our solutions to other applications, most noticeably a 12-seater autonomous shuttle in Cambridge and the world’s first autonomous luggage dolly, which is currently being trialled at Terminal 5, Heathrow.”
