UISEE’s AI driver T30A enters China’s largest airport

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The AI driver T30A, an autonomous baggage tractor developed by Chinese autonomous driving solution provider UISEE, has officially commenced trial operations at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, according to a press release UISEE issued on July 18 via its WeChat account. This unmanned tractor provides full-process, automated transportation for baggage transfer on the apron, handling luggage for both arriving and departing flights.

Photo credit: UISEE

In 2024, Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled 76.8 million trips, a 41% year-on-year surge, securing its place as the largest airport in China by passenger throughput. This significant volume has presented substantial challenges to the airport’s baggage transport operations, with the traditional manual-based logistics system in urgent need of transformation and modernization.

With the aim of addressing these challenges and facilitate a smart upgrade of the airport, the Shanghai Pudong International Airport has partnered with UISEE and Feeyo Technology Co., Ltd. to launch an unmanned luggage transfer project. This project is poised to become China’s first autonomous vehicle initiative integrated with the Total Airport Management (TAM) system, a major advancement in the industry.

UISEE stated that its autonomous baggage tractor T30A employed in this application has been modified from a civil aviation standard vehicle base, incorporating UISEE’s self-developed, high-performance vehicle-grade domain controllers. The T30A is equipped with a fully integrated autonomous “vehicle brain”, which includes a multi-sensor fusion-based positioning system, perception system, and control planning system, delivering comprehensive Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving capabilities, according to UISEE. Additionally, an autonomous “cloud-based brain” powered by big data and an intelligent driving computation platform enables the cloud management of autonomous vehicles, facilitating remote monitoring and vehicle dispatch.

In the airport logistics environment, the autonomous baggage tractors are able to automatically receive transport tasks from the cloud, carrying out full-process, round-the-clock unmanned transportation across designated areas and routes. These tractors can navigate autonomously, avoid obstacles, dock, park, and collaborate with other vehicles, while operating in complex indoor and outdoor settings, including aprons, cargo stations, and baggage sorting halls.

At the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, autonomous vehicle technology has been successfully integrated with the TAM system for the first time. Within the collaborative operational framework built by the TAM system, the SURF Agent and the GMAN Agent work in tandem with the autonomous baggage tractors, enabling efficient coordination that enhances both the safety and operational efficiency of the unmanned vehicles.

By leveraging real-time flight information and smart decision-making capabilities, the TAM system effectively optimizes scheduling, route planning, and task assignments of the autonomous vehicles, improving airport operational efficiency and flight turnaround speed. By strengthening safety risk management and enabling precise resource allocation, the integrated approach not only improves safety but also reduces resource wastage and downtime.