ANA and Toyota Industries have been conducting Level 4 autonomous driving towing tractor demonstration project at Tokyo Haneda Airport since July 1, 2024, the two companies announced on July 16, 2024. The project is expected to conclude on July 19, 2024.
The current demonstration is based on the results of previous experiments the two companies conducted utilizing Level 3 autonomous driving, i.e. conditional automation, which allows the driver to take their eyes off driving temporarily under certain conditions. The current Level 4 demonstration is being done after the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau oversaw a successful simulated field test in April 2024.
As part of the test, the autonomous towing tractor tows containers from aircraft parked at spots 63 through 65 to one of Haneda Airport’s cargo areas. The route is about 2km one-way. The towing tractor tows up to 13 tons of cargo at up to 15 km/h when driving autonomously.
Currently, the companies are testing the concept with one vehicle to identify operational and economical viability of rolling out autonomous towing tractors at a wider scale. Should the two companies’ experiments progress as planned, ANA aims to start commercial operations with unmanned vehicles by 2025 to counter Japan’s ground handling staff shortage.
