How autonomous vehicles can sustainably solve the first/last mile challenge Westfield

Westfield Technology Group is one of the UK’s leading autonomous vehicle providers dedicated to developing, designing and building autonomous vehicles. The company is the pioneer behind Pods on Demand (POD) - the UK’s first fully autonomous vehicle developed in conjunction with Heathrow Airport for the open environment. The Westfield POD provides a cleaner, quicker and more reliable transport solution for passengers.

Operational at Heathrow Terminal 5 since 2011, the original ULTRA POD is the only autonomous transport system in the world that is commercially proven. The technology has since been key to transferring people in the first/last-mile connection from public transport and parking lots to venues and communities.

The Westfield POD is fully electric and has zero emissions, making it one of the most environmentally friendly ways of transporting people across relatively short distances. The vehicles operate on an on-demand basis, meaning only vehicles that have been called by a passenger will move, eliminating the movement of empty vehicles.

The Westfield POD is fully electric and has zero emissions, making it one of the most environmentally friendly ways of transporting people across relatively short distances. The vehicles operate on an on-demand basis, meaning only vehicles that have been called by a passenger will move, eliminating the movement of empty vehicles.

Westfield is a testament to the UK’s expertise in smart city development

The UK Government is fully committed to ensuring that Britain stays ahead of the curve in developing smart cities and deploying smart technologies around the world. The UK has internationally recognised strengths in integrating city-wide systems around transport. In fact, in some cases, the UK has set the global benchmark in the development of smart mobility solutions. Westfield’s technology forms an important part of the UK’s smart mobility offering.

How the Westfield POD is revolutionising first/last mile journeys in the UK

The original ULTRA system has now completed over five million kilometres in a live commercial environment serving Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 POD Parking. The POD was developed to solve the challenge of long bus journeys from the airport car park to the door of Terminal 5 Departures; this trip previously took 27 minutes and can now be completed in just six minutes using the POD.

The Greenwich Intercontinental Hotel to Greenwich Peninsular transport hubs, also known as the GATEway Project, is another important example of the successful use of the POD. The hotel’s management expressed concerns about the arrival experience of its guests, specifically the difficulty faced by visitors to travel to the hotel by taxi due to a lack of public access roads. The POD, however, enables passengers to complete the journey in under five minutes. During this trial, advanced sensors and state-of-the-art autonomy software were deployed to detect and avoid obstacles as they picked up and dropped off passengers at four designated POD stops. The trial also enabled developers to engage with the general public to explore their perceptions, understanding and acceptance of autonomous vehicles.

Steve Chambers, Director of Engineering and Asset Management at Heathrow said: “The GATEway Project has provided a fantastic opportunity to successfully trial the leading-edge 'Ultra POD' technology, which has already removed 70,000 bus journeys a year from Heathrow roads and the equivalent of 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.”

Westfield has secured a contract in Saudi Arabia for PODs which will soon be announced

Some other keys examples of Westfield’s work in the UK include

Lake District National Park Authority – A World First demonstration at a UNESCO World Heritage Site - Linking Brockhole Visitor Centre to the Ferry and Activity Centres

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – Moving people around the Olympic Park in London connecting different modes of transport and buildings

Royal Welsh Show – A World First demonstration of 5G in an Autonomous POD

Disused Railway Project – Converting Disused Railway lines to be cycle tracks and POD lanes for using dual mode PODs that can then utilise roads

Bristol Airport – Trialling Autonomous PODs

Westfield is dedicated to working with overseas governments and companies to solve their unique mobility challenges

In addition to trialing the POD in the UK, Westfield has already been assisting governments internationally in countries such as South Korea, China, Australia, Germany, UAE and Canada to achieve their strategic objectives. A prime example is a project that is underway at Ulleungdo Island - a tourist hotspot in South Korea that is only accessible via ferry and lacks all forms of transport on the island itself. In order to tackle this issue, Westfield has delivered two autonomous vehicles to support the country’s ongoing infrastructure development. As part of the £30 million commercial contract, the PODs will be used by residents and tourists alike to explore the remote volcanic island in the middle of South Korea's East Sea. Westfield has also been working with leaders in Dubai to establish the strategy for Area 2071 – defining the roadmap for future transportation and communication.

How Westfield can support the UAE in the present and future

Safer roads form a key component of the UAE Vision 2021. As part of the plan, the UAE Government has pledged to work with all key stakeholders to halve the number of traffic accident fatalities from six to three per 100,000 people within two years. In April 2019, the UAE Ministry of Interior revealed that innovative technology is one of the key factors behind the 34% decrease in traffic deaths over the past five years.

Julian Turner, Chief Executive at Westfield Technology Group, said: “We believe that smart cities should be safe and sustainable cities. Driver error continues to be a major contributing factor to a significant proportion of accidents and loss of life on the road. Autonomous vehicles could drastically reduce the accident toll, eliminating factors such as driver exhaustion and loss of control. They also eliminate heightened stress levels resulting from driving in car rich economies, enduring congestion and erratic road users.”

Supporting the UAE Smart Autonomous Mobility Strategy

Westfield’s autonomous vehicle has already been undergoing testing in Dubai. In addition, Westfield Technology Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Emirates Airline and will develop a Proof of Concept (POC) for a complete airside transport system – following on from the success of the Heathrow project.

Turner said: “Our MoU with Emirates Airline means that travelers to the state-of-the-art Dubai Hubs will enjoy comfort and convenience travelling in robust and reliable vehicles that are built from off-the-shelf automotive industry components and use advanced technology to provide a unique transport solution. Passenger safety is paramount, and it has been demonstrated that the risk of an accident is lower than with any other form of wheeled transport.

"The UAE is transitioning to driverless mobility in Dubai and is on its way to cementing its leading position worldwide in Autonomous Mobility by 2030. The Dubai Smart Autonomous Mobility Strategy which is aiming for 25% of all journeys in Dubai to be transformed into driverless journeys by 2030 is particularly exciting for us and we look forward to exploring opportunities to work towards this in partnering with the UAE government.”

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