Getting on an airplane should be the start of a relaxing trip to another location. But nothing triggers panic quite so much as seeing your baggage precariously balancing on towing vehicles from outside the plane window prior to departure. Thankfully, these human-driven baggage tow'tractors' could soon be a thing of the past. British Airways is to start using a self-driving baggage robot called'Auto-DollyTug' at Gatwick Airport later this year. The machines will pick up suitcases from the terminal building and ferry them across the tarmac in closed containers to awaiting aircraft.

Aston University has completed a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Coventry-based global transport technology firm Aurrigo, resulting in a sophisticated machine vision solution making its autonomous vehicles more capable. A KTP is a UK-wide program that helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. This project has led to Aurrigo's driverless vehicles being able to see and recognize objects in greater detail, resulting in improved performance across a wider spectrum of operational domains. Previously the company's driverless vehicles were only capable of detecting that there was an object in their path and not the type of object. The project team leveraged computer vision systems, coupled with machine learning and artificial intelligence, to differentiate between objects of interest.

As part of a major new study led by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and insight and strategy specialist BritainThinks, Aurrigo has embarked on a four-day trial of its self-driving vehicles. Based in the heart of the UK's traditional Midlands automotive home in Coventry, Aurrigo claims to be a leader in the development of "first and last mile" transport solutions. Its self-driving pods are designed to provide mobility within urban areas, shopping malls, airports, university campuses, science parks and other areas that are poorly served by traditional transport providers. The Great Self Driving Exploration allowed residents local to Alnwick Castle and Alnwick Gardens in Northeast England see the first time that self-driving vehicles have been tested in rural communities. The trial saw Aurrigo's Auto-Pod carry up to two passengers on a shared 500-metre path that connects Alnwick Gardens to Alnwick Castle.

The Internet of Things (IoT) – and what it will enable – has been a discussion point for well over a decade, but the speed, low latency and reliability of 5G promise to bring the concept to life. Network slicing will allow a wide range of product types, with distinct reliability and throughput requirements, to be run out of the same architecture, and edge computing will allow nodes to communicate directly with one another, bypassing the network's core and enhancing speed and reliability. These characteristics underpin some the most interesting projects currently making use of 5G, and have made a plethora of 5G use cases possible. Here are 18 of the best. Robots are already widely used in factories, particularly in the automotive industry.

The streets of Cambridge are to play host to Britain's first self-driving shuttle from today in milestone tests that will see the bus ferry passengers on a busy main road. Developed by Aurrigo, the three Auto-Shuttles are running a two-mile route from Madingley Road Park and Ride around the University of Cambridge's West Campus. This is the first time that a custom-made driverless shuttle has operated a route in the UK while surrounded by other traffic, bicycles and pedestrians. Each shuttle will be able to seat 10 passengers after social distancing measures are lifted, with the passengers selected for the trial using an app to arrange a journey. The streets of Cambridge are to play host to Britain's first self-driving shuttle (pictured) from today in milestone tests that will see the bus ferry passengers on a busy main road Aurrigo's Auto-Shuttle is the world's first conventionally driven electric and autonomous purpose-built vehicle.

The streets of Cambridge are to play host to Britain's first self-driving shuttle from today in milestone tests that will see the bus ferry passengers on a busy main road. Developed by Aurrigo, the three Auto-Shuttles will run a two-mile route from Madingley Road Park and Ride around the University of Cambridge's West Campus. This is the first time that a custom-made driverless shuttle has operated a route in the UK while surrounded by other traffic, bicycles and pedestrians. Each shuttle will be able to seat 10 passengers after social distancing measures are lifted, with the passengers selected for the trial using an app to arrange a journey. The streets of Cambridge are to play host to Britain's first self-driving shuttle (pictured) from today in milestone tests that will see the bus ferry passengers on a busy main road Aurrigo's Auto-Shuttle is the world's first conventionally driven electric and autonomous purpose-built vehicle.