In an effort to advance autonomous vehicle and infrastructure research, Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners has partnered with Georgia Tech and Delta Air Lines.

The entities say that the collaboration between Curiosity Lab and Delta will provide Georgia Tech researchers with “critical seed funding.” Researchers will also have access to the Lab’s 1.5 mile autonomous vehicle test track and living laboratory.

Some of the features of Curiosity Lab include dedicated fiber, smart poles and a network operations center for researchers to track and trend data from connected internet-of-things (IoT) devices.

“Our 5G-enabled living laboratory will give Georgia Tech researchers the opportunity to push the frontier of emerging technology in a real-world setting that is almost impossible to replicate in a closed lab,” says Betsy Plattenburg, executive director of Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners.

“Curiosity Lab also will provide those researchers an opportunity to collaborate with other industry leaders and focus their research on immediate challenges and results.”

Delta envisions a number of potential applications for autonomous vehicles at airports and beyond, including using the technology to help customers make tight connections across an airport, delivering delayed baggage to customers or transporting aircraft parts to airports.

“Driving the leading edge of emerging technology – like we’ve done with biometrics by launching the first fully biometric terminal in the United States – means Delta can help shape how industry adopts it,” says Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer.

“Autonomous vehicle technology is one of those innovations we see as having the potential to improve employee safety, the customer experience and operational performance, and this partnership will help us explore all of those possibilities.”

West notes that this program is an important part of Delta’s strategy to invest in things that “empower customers and employees, reduce the stresses of travel and redefine flying over the next five years and decades to come.”