Remote tower prototype at Erfurt Airport
Technical developments make it possible to monitor airports remotely. The controller's view from the tower is reconstructed using a high-resolution video panorama. Broadband transmission of the video data over longer distances would enable controllers to monitor one or more airports from a "remote tower centre". The idea of remote monitoring of airports was first developed at the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance in 2001. Since then, the concept has been continuously developed further in various national and international research projects and tested with air traffic controllers.
In 2012, a camera prototype was installed on the tower at Erfurt Airport. Together with DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, tests were carried out with it parallel to ongoing flight operations. The researchers used it to investigate under realistic conditions whether and in what form an airport like the one in Erfurt could be monitored remotely by air traffic controllers. The operational feasibility of the concept was proven by means of the prototype and the tests.
The prototype of the camera system now stands as a monument in front of the main building of the Institute of Flight Guidance in Braunschweig. The institute operates a modernised version of the prototype at Braunschweig Research Airport for its current research.
Since April 2022, DFS has actually been controlling traffic at Erfurt Airport remotely, from Leipzig to be precise. It operates its Remote Tower Control Centre there, which is already successfully monitoring air traffic at Saarbrücken Airport.
Technical structure and data
8 HD cameras for a 360° video panorama
- 6 cameras with HD resolution (1080 x 1920 pixels) in portrait format, field of view (FoV): ~ 220° x 66°
- 2 cameras with HD resolution (1080 x 1920 pixels) in landscape format), field of view (FoV): ~ 140° x 36°
- Visual resolution: 30 cm/500 m ~ 1/30°
- Colour depth: 12bit/pixel
- Video refresh rate: 30 frames/s
1 pan-tilt-zoom camera for detailed views
- 1 rotating and swivelling camera with VGA resolution
- Zoom: 23x
- Field of view: 1.7° - 40°