Ultra Pods are fully-automated pods that have, for about five years, been successfully used at Heathrow Airport. They’ve carried about 1.5 million passengers across the airport, and, in turn, have completely eliminated the need for roughly 70,000 bus journeys per year.

The electric shuttles have made a huge impact, reducing the airport’s carbon footprint by eliminating about 110 tons of CO2 emissions per year. That’s pretty impressive.

Now the Ultra Pods are taking on a new endeavor. The autonomous vehicles will be taking the streets of the London borough of Greenwich by storm. The project, which is a joint venture between Heathrow Enterprises, Oxbotica, and Westfield Sportscars, will work a little differently than the pods used at the airport. The new pods will not require tracks to guide them. Instead, they’ll drive along normal roads along with everyday traffic.

Westfield Sportscars will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the pods, and they’ll also be conducting testing prior to launch. Heathrow Enterprises and Oxbotica are going to work together on the software, mapping, and perception and trajectory planning systems.

The pods will run on a cloud-based management system that will allow the shuttles to operate in unison, as part of a fully synchronized system in which users can book a pod through an app on their smartphone. They just may be giving Uber a run for its money…

The hope is that trials will start this summer, with the end goal being to fully investigate public acceptance of automated shuttle services. The larger project will also eventually include trials of automated valet parking and delivery services. Watch out, Seamless.