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24 I n the 1980s, automated guided vehicles were little more than dumb machines snuffling around factories following buried electric wires for guidance. Dutch company 2getthere’s development history starts then, with the innovation of localisation through reference to external landmarks to make their vehicles smart. Its latest, third-generation self- driving shuttle, is a battery-powered, 22-passenger autonomous group rapid transit (GRT) vehicle based on technology that already operates at SAE Level 4 in controlled environments without a safety steward aboard, and will soon begin doing the same thing in mixed traffic. The company’s autonomous vehicles still use a combination of odometry and landmarks, but they also support advanced navigation, sensing and decision-making systems. Over the past 30 years, that core localisation strategy has been applied in theme parks, factories and container terminals, as well as public transit applications. An installation at Schiphol Airport in 1997 represented the company’s first foray into the automated people mover (APM) market, and although the industry regarded APMs as elevated railways, this system was very different. Identity crisis It wasn’t until the Society of Automotive Engineers (now SAE International) came up with its levels of autonomy numbered 0 to 5 that the company had a widely recognised label for its products – Level This Dutch company’s latest autonomous shuttle operates at SAE Level 4 and is set for use in mixed traffic. Peter Donaldson reports on its development Autonomy to the four October/November 2020 | Unmanned Systems Technology