BARCELONA - A proof-of-concept trial for autonomous vehicles to move cargo between the warehouse and apron has commenced at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona – El Prat Airport as part of an innovation project between partners, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Aena, the main airport operator, with 46 airports and 2 heliports in Spain. The project is aligned with the first automated ground vehicle (AGV) guidelines being developed by IATA’s Ground Operations Automation and Digitization working group (GAD), which WFS has also been participating in, AviationPros reports. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
28 March 2023 - The proof-of-concept trial in Barcelona will monitor the AGV’s ability to provide smooth driving at a constant speed as well as safety, flexible routing, monitoring, and traceability of the service, also provided by the WFS telemetry and geolocation solution supplied by XOPS. Looking to the future, the use of AGVs will help airport service providers improve operations planning and favor efficient equipment pooling, leading to measurable sustainability benefits.
The first phase of the Barcelona trial involves cargo transport operations between the WFS cargo terminal and Terminal 1 using a ramp tractor equipped with AGV technology along a planned, point-to-point route of 2,300m. Aircraft maneuvering areas will not be entered, or aircraft interacted with at this stage of the project. Using AGV technology, the cargo towing tractor is able to recognize its environment, position itself accurately, detect obstacles at 4 and 10 meters, and act to allow traffic and avoid collisions.
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
