AeM-Speedport

Project approach

Sustainable mobility is the future of the aviation industry. The autonomous manoeuvring of aircraft at airports without engines running will play a key role in this. Similar to the automotive industry and public transport, the autonomous manoeuvring of aircraft on the ground will be an important factor in enabling airports and airlines to make their contribution to climate protection legislation and thus save significant amounts of CO2 emissions. In addition, the introduction of autonomous manoeuvring of aircraft can contribute to considerable time savings in flight operations and increases safety on the apron, as collisions can be avoided.

Project objective

The aim of the project is to realise a remote-controlled pushback without an operator on the ground in the gate area. The aircraft will be moved from its parking position to a predetermined position on the taxiway - initially by remote control and later autonomously. The process is monitored using highly sensitive sensors and radar technologies. In addition, intelligent communication and control systems are developed to support controllers with the new processes.

Implementation

The project participants will develop new standard procedures that are necessary for the implementation of automated and autonomous manoeuvring of aircraft, taking into account requirements, acceptance and necessary transformation processes. These procedures will then be described in detail and standardised internationally. They are necessary for the implementation and operational use of automated pushback processes and form the basis for all necessary technical procedures for the remote-controlled pushback of aircraft. To this end, a cloud environment is planned to be used for all digital solutions at Paderborn Airport. Finally, the feasibility of the developed and tested solutions will be examined as part of a proof of concept (PoC) in order to develop business cases.

Contributions of DLR

Core objective of the project is the realisation of an autonomous pushback of an aircraft using an innovative human-machine interface to support the air traffic controller in this process. The Institute of Flight Guidance is supporting the project in defining requirements, during the technical implementation and in the creation, validation and demonstration of the necessary operating concepts and systems. Amongst other things, the speech understanding technology for radio communication developed at the Institute is being adapted to the operating environment at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport, which is being analysed in the project, and tested there. The new developments will be validated both in the Institute's apron and tower simulator and at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport. This the project will also focus on the change of roles and tasks of human operators through the use of automation.

Project consortium