Argo AI says its autonomous vehicles will begin testing at Munich Airport on an asphalted area of around 55,000m2. 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 it says was completed on schedule.
Over the course of the construction work, 220m3 of concrete was used, 16,000m of cable conduit was laid and over 1km of fencing erected. Among other things, 16 LED floodlight masts, each 18m high, are used to illuminate the facility. The second construction phase of the test track, which will increase the area by approximately a further 36,000m2, 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 (FMG), at the official handover of the test track.
Thomas Weyer, the airport’s MD for 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.”
and FMG CFO Thomas Weyer at the new test track