Site at Munich Airport is ready for the autonomous vehicles of tomorrow
Argo AI’s autonomous vehicles will begin testing at Munich Airport on an asphalted area of around 55,000 square meters. Around four months after the start of construction work, the management of Munich Airport has now been able to hand over the preliminary test track of the new development site, which was completed on schedule.
In the course of the construction work, 220 cubic meters of concrete were used, cable conduits with a total length of 16,000 meters were laid and a fence more than one kilometer long was erected. Among other things, 16 LED floodlight masts, each 18 meters high, are used to illuminate the facility. The second construction phase of the test track, which will increase the area by a further approx. 36,000 square meters, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.
As part of the development of its self-driving system, Argo AI will use the area to test autonomous vehicles in different scenarios from normal traffic events. The company will also be testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads in Munich.
“We are very pleased that Argo AI, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of autonomous vehicle technology, is located here. The new test area raises the profile of our airport as a location for intelligent and forward-looking mobility concepts,” explained Jost Lammers, CEO of Flughafen München GmbH (FMG), at the official handover of the test track.
Thomas Weyer, FMG Managing Director Finance and Infrastructure, added: “With the research site and the rooms that Argo AI will occupy in the first building of the new LabCampus innovation center at Munich Airport, the company has secured an ideal starting point at our airport. On behalf of Munich Airport, we wish our new tenant every success for the further development and testing of autonomous vehicles.”
