Boeing is to build its largest autonomous vehicle programme outside the US in Queensland, Australia in a deal with the state government. Boeing said the project will target land, air and marine projects for both civil and defence uses. The focus of the Australian team will be on providing autonomous functions to existing vehicles. However, the company admitted it was unsure how close flying autonomous vehicles are to large-scale adoption. “Autonomous driving technology has been around since the early days of aviation, but until recently there hasn’t really been much interest from commercial customers.
Boeing is to build its largest autonomous vehicle programme outside the US in Queensland, Australia in a deal with the state government. Boeing said the project will target land, air and marine projects for both civil and defence uses. The focus of the Australian team will be on providing autonomous functions to existing vehicles. However, the company admitted it was unsure how close flying autonomous vehicles are to large-scale adoption. Boeing said it chose Queensland because it already had facilities there and because of the state's tech sector and “progressive airspace regulator”.