From the cover
AllianceTexas helping hone autonomous technology
BY MARK FADDEN
Put it in perspective
What you need to know
MIZ service area
Autonomous vehicles use technology to partially or entirely replace the human driver or pilot while avoiding hazards and responding to ever-changing conditions around them. Kinne said companies and researchers have chosen the MIZ over places such as California’s Silicon Valley or tech-heavy Seattle mostly because of the people factor. “Ultimately, these companies are made up of people,” Kinne said. “A lot of these people want to live and work in a place where it’s safe with a good business and family environment.” The Fort Worth metro area o ers a large educated workforce with lots of businesses that can become customers for these companies, Kinne said. He added the generally warmer climate makes it easy for companies to test and use the technology more than they could potentially in other climates.
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Clevon’s rst U.S. autonomous delivery with Clevon 1 happened in December 2022.
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When Hillwood created the Mobility Innovation Zone in 2017, Kinne said the goal was to be the sweet spot for companies that are past the incubator stage in their quest to develop autonomous technology. “The technology isn’t just an idea or a science experiment [any longer],” Kinne said. “They’re really trying to prove a business case for it.” Hillwood partnered with Clevon—a global autonomous delivery innovator founded in Estonia—and O’Neill’s In ight Catering to help facilitate Clevon’s rst U.S. autonomous delivery with Clevon 1, the company’s agship multiplatform all- electric robot courier, in December 2022. According to a company news release, Clevon 1 worked with real-time obstacles and delivered gourmet meals from O’Neill’s In ight Catering to Alliance Aviation Services team members in the new xed- base operation facility at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
“The technology can operate in [inclement] weather, but in this phase, you’re certainly trying to maximize your easy days,” Kinne said.
What they’re saying
Flying higher
Kinne said that the infrastructure base at AllianceTexas makes it a truly unique place. These factors include: Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport; BNSF Railway’s Alliance Inter- modal Facility; I-35W; a large customer base in the surrounding area; and a growing workforce scenario.
“We don’t think there’s anywhere else in the world you could really test and commercialize all these di erent technologies,
Alliance Aviation Services does ight testing for autonomous drones at the MIZ.
in one de ned area, like you have here.” IAN KINNE, DIRECTOR OF LOGISTICS INNOVATION AT HILLWOOD
Mobility Innovation Zone milestones
The MIZ isn’t just impacting autonomous technology on the ground. Companies are bringing drone technology into the skies above North Fort Worth to deliver small packages.
2017: The Mobility Innovation Zone is created.
2020: The rst business opens at the MIZ.
“We’re very optimistic about the technology both in the air and on the ground. We’re con dent that there is value and e ciency to be gained, and we look forward to doing it.”
Scan this code to learn more about autonomous drones.
2021: Bell Textron Inc.’s Autonomous Pod Transport completes a four-mile ight from the MIZ to Pecan Square, a community in Northlake. 2022: Autonomous company Clevon completes its rst North American autonomous delivery on Dec. 9.
CHRIS ASH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF AVIATION BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
2023: The city of Fort Worth designates MIZ an innovation district.
SOURCE: HILLWOOD COMMUNITY IMPACT
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KELLER ROANOKE NORTHEAST FORT WORTH EDITION
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