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Work starts on Cardiff's driverless transport system, from NewsWales 6-19-2001
Cardiff pins hopes on new transport system, from icWales (Western Mail), 8-9-2001
ULTra Transport System, NOW.COM 10-7-2001
A Public Pod At Your Service, The Independent, London
ULTra model goes on public display
ULTra's Cardiff test-track completed, UK Foresight Clear Zones
September 2001 newsletter, Page 2 (pdf p. 28)
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First photo of ULTra on elevated guideway Note Welsh winged dragon symbol, briefly visible in BBC video (.ram), but not in older publicity photos. 
HAIL THAT CAB: This alien-looking pod is a new driverless taxi in Cardiff, Wales. Rides on the ULTra, or Urban Light Transport, will cost £1 (S$2.64) when the first system is up by, possibly, 2004. Created by Bristol University's Martin Lowson, it travels at a speed of 40 kmh. -- AP/New Straits Times |
Hail, tomorrow's driverless taxis The Engineer (UK) Jan 11, 2002
Driverless rail system to be unveiled, Construction News Jan 16, 2002
Supertram test to ease traffic, BBC Jan 16, 2002. Audio report (.ram) and brief glimpse (.ram)
Driverless train system revealed, Press Assn Jan 16, 2002
Cardiff first with driverless taxi loop, The Guardian Jan 16, 2002
Dream transport system on track, Press Assn Jan 16, 2002
ULTra cool driverless taxi goes on show, NESTA Jan 17, 2002
"Successful cities innovate"-- Driverless taxi trial being launched in Cardiff, icWales (Western Mail) Jan 17, 2002
Ultra Culture, Beyond 2000 Jan 17, 2002
Hey Taxi! Globe Technology Jan 17, 2002
Driverless taxi goes for test run, The Guardian Jan 18, 2002
Cab of the future boffins weave synthetic web, South Wales Evening Post Jan 18, 2002. (Boffin: a scientific expert, esp. technological research)
EU-funded project launches driverless taxis, European Union, Community R&D Information Service (subscription) Jan 18, 2002
ULTra unveiling eyewitness report, Cities21. Includes photos and an AVI format video.
Meet the world's first driverless taxi, Motoring@iAfrica.com Feb 1, 2002
Experts assess Cardiff's driverless transport system, NewsWales Feb. 4, 2002
Cardiff's ULTra Scheme Goes European, Capital Times Feb 7, 2002
ULTra gets £18m boost, Capital Times Feb. 21, 2002
ULTra: Travel pod adds new twist to transit, MSNBC Feb. 25, 2002
ULTra lines up funding, service details, Cities21 Mar. 12, 2002
Travel Pod, NPR Living On Earth, Mar. 22, 2002
Item: Spirited debate over ULTra. Apr. 5, 2002
Shape of Things To Come? news@TTR, June 2002
ULTra Vehicle at Alternative Transport Day, Winchester UK, Sept. 2002
EDICT website. The D stands for Demonstration
"It has all gone to plan" ULTra passenger trials to start, Jan. 10, 2003
Tomorrow's taxi starts trials today, Jan. 15, 2003
Youngster rides ULTra while critics cry 'low capacity', Jan. 16, 2003
New urban transport system for Cardiff, p.2. Jan. 2003
• Assembly shelves grant for Ultra taxi Jan. 31, 2003
• Wales government rejects ULTra funding again, but 'could still happen.' 3-18-2004
ULTra Passenger Trials report Feb. 19, 2003
Cardiff gridlock is also political Feb. 22, 2003
Travelling Light May 2003
Welsh still "very supportive" of PRT. June 19, 2003
ULTra: New hopes; back on track? one | two July 17, 2003
ULTra opponents want expensive light rail trams, already proven ineffective at reducing congestion- one | two
ATS Ltd. (ULTra) is fastest growing company in southwest UK Oct. 20, 2003
M11 corridor town Harlow, Essex UK... figure 4.7
Rider response to ULTra PRT February 2004
Study of ULTra PRT for Heathrow Airport February 2004
Driverless cabs Part 2 of GGR series. March 2004
Idea: driverless cabs BBC, Mar 30, 2004
ULTra dual mode questionnaire July 2004
New ULTra video—PRT works! :07 Quicktime. May 2004
Transport for the city of the future
Electric taxi scheme is on track (BBC) 5-11-2004
Futuristic transport system to be trialed in the South West 5-11-2004
Could taxis solve traffic traumas? 5-14-2004
Rapid transit: not rapid enough 6-27-2004
ATS in talks with Heathrow for an ULTra system 7-23-2004
The UK Design Council studies ULTra
EDICT survey results from Cardiff conference. 11-12-2004
Car Ports Salon.com 11-19-2004
Taking the mass out of transit by Rachel Petkewich. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39 (3), pp 61A–62A. 12-15-2004
ULTra interest in Finnish project? Image depicts ULTra cab at "APGM" station. 6-14-05
Moving ahead with PRT Summer 2005 (European Commission Environmental Research)
Agreement reached for Heathrow Airport PRT
Driverless pods to get airport users off to a flying start up to 30 mile system & 500 vehicles. (Wired forum, scroll down) 1-20-2005
BAA sees future in electric driverless taxis
University firm flying high 11-16-2005
Cardiff misses out on ULTra and PRT industry 11-18-2005
Telesanterno report: Innovative transport conference, sponsored by road fatalities group (Italian) Nov. 2005
ATS image.
ULTra passes first three testing milestones 12-8-2005
(Dec. 9, 2005) The technology plan for the ATS Urban Light Transport (ULTra) PRT program originally featured the Free Ranging On Grid (FROG) system produced by FROG of The Netherlands. However, a careful reading of the revamped ATS website does not mention FROG in the context of the current version of ULTra.
Sources knowledgeable about the ULTra program now confirm that indeed FROG had been replaced on the project in 2003.
It appears that initial ULTra testing in Cardiff showed that the FROG system was unable to meet the level of reliability desired by ATS. The solution for ATS was to develop its own guidance in-house, it is this system with which ULTra successfully completed its trials, reporting no failures in the last two years.
Although for the time being ATS declines to publicize exactly how the guidance system works, other than that it is sensor-based, they report a very high level of accuracy—better than 1cm laterally. Timing accuracy during whole trips is better than 0.1 seconds, and longitudinal docking accuracy better than 2cm.
A recent announcement from ATS states that their system has been able to complete trials even with one of the sensors intentionally disabled.
Emergency stop system (AVP) successfully demonstrated for BAA, regulators. March 2006
ATS launches production program for ULTra vehicle
ULTra starts work program for Heathrow
• "personalised rapid transit is probably the future" 7-12-2006
Movers & Shakers: Martin Lowson interview
Major investment planned in trams to help beat city centre congestion (ULTra) Rail Industry International 8-12-2006
EU picks ULTra for CityMobil project
Driverless Taxis of the Future (Der Spiegel) 9-7-2006
Lowson to step down from CEO post ATS girds for transition away from R&D, toward marketing and sales. 9-24-2006
Cheap smear against ATS board member 9-26-2006
ULTra meets 2 more milestones. Headway maintenance and multi-berth stations demonstrated. 10-30-2006
Pod power for airport
The Engineer Online, 21 December 2006
BAA has been granted planning permission to begin construction
of the Arup-designed infrastructure for an automated Personal Rapid
Transit (PRT) system at Heathrow Airport.
By 2008, passengers will be able to use driverless pods for the journey
from a car park to Terminal 5. The pilot system has been designed to
extend along the northern perimeter to link hotels, car parks, rental
car depots and offices with Terminal 5 and the Central Terminal Area.
The electric-powered system consists of driverless taxis running on
concrete tracks which are automatically routed according to passenger
demand. Each pod carries up to four passengers at speeds up to 40kph.
The pods use 70 per cent less energy per mile than a car and the system
can move up to 4,800 passengers per hour.
The BAA pilot contract is the first commitment in the world to a small
car PRT system.
Cardiff ULTra now visible on MS Virtual Earth 1-10-2007
• "Masterplan of the future of the town unveiled, Transport pod network to link up to rail station" 1-19-2007
• Daventry PRT planning documents (link updated 2-4-09)
• Green Light for pod test track? Report completed; Daventry joining EU CityMobil 2-23-2007
Illustration from Daventry planning.
"How will you get to the terminal?" (ULTra PRT Heathrow)
Moving more people, making less impact (Business Week, 5-14-2007)
"Robocabs" await at Heathrow (Times of London) 5-26-2007
Made to Measure Transit (IEEE). Vukan Vuchic of UPenn states same objections as 11 years ago 6-1-2007
Construction Underway at Terminal 5 6-8-2007
Photos show guideway footings underneath the elevated roadway.
Coming to an airport near you: The next pod revolution - "Pretty Reliable Transport." (June 2007)
ATS Inc. hires Principal Consultant
First ULTra production vehicle delivered Cardiff test site now replicates Heathrow conditions. 8-20-2007
ULTra Aims To Prove Pods Are The Transportation of Tomorrow
Forbes: ATS signs Benelux deal with Heijmans 9-25-2007
Daventry "resounding success" "the only place in the world where we are looking at putting a network across the town"; worldwide media exposure 10-4-2007
Liberal-left The Guardian reports on PRT: Welcome to the Transport of Tomorrow 10-11-2007
• Are driverless pods in the future?
• BBC Video: WMP | Real
New terminal to have travel pods
Futuristic transport pods to serve Heathrow passengers
Work starts on new transport at Heathrow
Futuristic transport for Heathrow Terminal 5
Heathrow electric pod transport system
ITN video report (CNN)
Airport casts pods in future transport role (Railway Gazette)
PRT to the sea (L.A.) 1-18-2008
The Cleantech Show interviews ULTra's Martin Lowson (podcast)
Queen opens Heathrow Terminal 5 (remember, no PRT until 2009)
Photos of ULTra taken in early March. (London Connections blog) One vehicle is displayed on guideway as construction continues
ULTra photos on Flickr -- (1) Guideway passing below roadways, (2) parked ULTra cab
:: PRT station in Heathrow T5 under construction
Bath studies PRT To receive EU funds to combat pollution, congestion. (Bath Chronicle)
Mix a car, a train and an elevator, and get this (Kansas City Star, 7-5-2008)
Daventry: People's pod panel meeting - Citizens getting involved in PRT planning. 7-30-2008
Heathrow ULTra guideway completed, Aug. 2009 launch planned -report, 10-10-2008
FlightGlobal.com report from Heathrow on ULTra | Link to just the video 10-14-2008
Pod makes first transit of Heathrow guideway Photos and brief account of Sept. 21, 2008 test
Photos of ULTra post-construction testing 12-12-2008
"South Bay considering pod travel" 12-15-2008
PRT on display in Almelo (NL) 8-22-2008
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EU "EDICT" program study city; "Heijmans cabins" (ULTra)
•
Display at municipal center
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See 2007 article on Heijmans deal
::
Almelo ends interest - can't win backing or secure funding 3-23-2011
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Only a tiny amount, EU funds, was spent 3-23-2011
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"Missed opportunity"; operation "almost cost neutral" 3-24-2011
