Airport to expand use of unmanned vehicles

Passengers will be able to ride on the new unmanned shuttle between the Hong Kong port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and 11 SKIES shopping mall at Chek Lap Kok from the end of next year, Airport Authority executive director Steven Yiu said. With the shopping mall located near Terminal 2, the shuttle service is expected to boost travel between the mega bridge and the airport, and facilitate shoppers. The journey between the port and 11 SKIES will only take three minutes. Yiu said 26 vehicles will be put into use in the initial stage and can carry 500 passengers an hour, with the capacity set to double later. He said the 16 seaters boast state-of-the-art features. “Every car, we equip with different positioning systems. We have cameras. They equip with all the video and analytic functions, so they can detect any abnormality on the road,” Yiu said. “The second is GPS. It’s not one GPS. We have four different GPS, supplied by China, the US, Russia and Europe. We have 10 radars to detect all the motions on the road so as the vehicles can react.” Yiu also said the authority plans to launch an unmanned vehicle link between the port and Tung Chung in 2028. A fleet of 100 vehicles can carry 5,000 people per hour, and the capacity would be raised to 8,000 later. A designated road will be built in Tung Chung for the unmanned vehicles. The authority also plans to expand the pooling service fleet for airport staff within the airport restricted area by using unmanned vehicles within two years.