Japan's largest airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has begun the second stage of testing for an autonomous, driverless bus at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

In collaboration with several companies, ANA began testing the autonomous bus on Tuesday, Jan. 15, in a series of trials scheduled to run through Jan 25.

During the trials, the bus will operate autonomously, but a human driver will be present to take over if necessary (Level 3 automation). The vehicle will be limited to the restricted area of Haneda Airport where aircraft and cargo vehicles are located.

ANA says that if the trials are successful, it will seek to implement the driverless bus technology into the airport by next year.

“At ANA, we are constantly striving to move the industry forward,” says Shigeru Hattori, senior vice president of ANA.

“This autonomous bus will help ease the flow of traffic in the airport and help enhance the traveling experience for passengers. In addition to boosting convenience, the autonomous bus will also allow for safer travel within the airport and we will continue the tests until the technology reaches our high safety grade.”

Magnetic trackers embedded into the ground will help guide the bus along its route. The bus will be able to follow these marks thanks to onboard sensors, which will allow the bus to travel smoothly even if GPS signals are unavailable.

During testing, the bus will also host an advanced control system called “Dispatcher,” which will give the operator the ability to monitor progress in real time and take control when needed. ANA says that the system provides constant real-time feedback that the operator can use to evaluate the interior and exterior of the vehicle at all times.