Coventry-based Aurrigo, one of the UK’s leading autonomous-vehicle specialists, has now racked up export orders worth
over £1.5 million.

The company, which has created 10 new jobs in the last 12 months, has seen demand for its driverless pods soar after the successful completion of trials — in the UK and Australia — that proved they can deliver safe and efficient ‘first and last mile’ transport solutions.

Orders have come from customers in Australia, Canada, Finland, Singapore and the USA, with the latest deal seeing one of its Pod Zeros heading to China.

Aurrigo chief executive David Keene said (www.aurrigo.com): “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 world-wide that we offer a viable, safe and cost-effective solution for ‘first and last mile’transport issues.

“Our pods are now in operation at universities, airports and innovation districts; there has even been talk about putting one into a shopping centre in the Middle East.”

The Pod Zero seats four people, travels at a maximum speed of 15mph, and will run for 60 miles on a single charge.

Mr Keene said: “At the last count, we had 30 pods operational around the world, and this number could double in 2020.

“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 Heathrow’s Terminal 5.”