The Royal Air Force is testing its own autonomous vehicle to deliver supplies around a base in Oxfordshire to 'free up personnel from mundane tasks'.
Its specially-designed self-driving car, called Kar-Go, is a zero-emissions delivery vehicle capable of travelling at speeds of up to 60 miles/hour.
It's been zipping around the Royal Air Force base of Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, delivering tools, equipment and supplies to personnel as part of a trial.
When arriving at its destination on the base, RAF personnel meet Kar-Go and a hatch is automatically released enabling them to collect the cargo.
Slightly odd in appearance, Kar-Go looks a bit like a gigantic green computer mouse with protruding wheels, complete with flashing lights and a spacious boot.
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The strange-looking vehicle, currently being used as part of a Royal Air Force trial, has the appearance of a gigantic green computer mouse with protruding wheels
By transporting various cargo, the helpful green vehicle frees up RAF human personnel from mundane tasks, according to the Royal Air Force
Kar-Go is pictured here with Squadron Leader Tony Seston, RAF Engineer and Astra ambassador, at the Royal Air Force base of Brize Norton in Oxfordshire
Kar-Go is a zero-emissions delivery vehicle, powered by electricity, and capable of speeds of up to 60 miler per hour
Staff at RAF Brize Norton have been working with the Academy of Robotics, a Sussex-based technology company, on the trial.
If successful, the RAF may even scale-up its autonomous vehicles at some point in the future so that they can carry larger loads, like the tires of its aircraft.
'Bringing self-driving technology onto a base offers many advantages,' said Squadron Leader Tony Seston, RAF Engineer and Astra ambassador.
'Ultimately, we could see fleets of autonomous vehicles with different autonomy levels delivering supplies, spares, tools, food and also providing airfield services such as aircraft fuelling, runway sweeping and snow and ice clearance.'
For security reasons, only trained and authorised personnel can normally move goods around an airbase.
But the use of secure, autonomous vehicles can free up their time to focus on the core roles they were trained for.
Kar-Go is also electric, meaning it reduces harmful greenhouse gas emissions and can help the RAF towards its previously-made pledge of becoming net zero by 2040.
Net zero means any emissions would be balanced by schemes to offset an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
When arriving at its destination on the base, recipients meet Kar-Go and a hatch is automatically released enabling them to collect the cargo
Staff at RAF Brize Norton have been working with the Academy of Robotics, a West Sussex-based technology firm, on the trial
Kar-Go performs autonomous and semi-autonomous procedures with a safety team monitoring from a unique mobile command hub known as Athena. (RAF considers any point where they switch to a human operator as semi autonomous.)
The 'Athena' command hub is a secure
