PARIS – Airbus in Leiden, Netherlands, is demonstrating a computer-vision landing system to help aircraft identify runways and navigate landing approaches. The technology, known as the Vision Landing Application, uses onboard cameras rather than relying solely on traditional ground-based navigation infrastructure.
The system uses AI to analyze runway features in real time and generate an additional source of positioning information for flight crews and aircraft systems. Airbus is showcasing the research at the VivaTech technology conference in Paris.
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Computer vision expands navigation capabilities
Commercial aircraft today rely on a combination of satellite navigation, onboard sensors, and airport-based systems to support precision approaches and landing operations.
Airbus is exploring whether computer vision can provide an additional layer of situational awareness by allowing aircraft to interpret visual information from their surroundings. Cameras mounted on the aircraft capture images of the runway environment, while onboard software analyzes those images to identify key features and determine the aircraft's position relative to the runway.
The long-term goal is to support automated landing capabilities at airports that do not have advanced navigation infrastructure installed.
Research builds on earlier automation programs
The Vision Landing Application is the latest step in a series of Airbus research programs focused on navigation and flight-deck technologies.
The company's ATTOL project, launched in 2018, showed that an aircraft could taxi, take off, and land using image-recognition technology rather than conventional airport guidance systems.
Airbus later expanded that work through its DragonFly research program. This initiative examined how automation could assist flight crews during routine operations and help manage more complex flight scenarios. Additional development work through the Auto'Mate project explored technologies including cameras, LiDAR sensors, and precision positioning systems.
Together, those programs provided the foundation for Airbus' current vision-based landing research.
Embedded AI supports onboard decision-making
The project also highlights Airbus' broader interest in embedded artificial intelligence for future flight systems.
Unlike cloud-based AI applications, aviation systems must operate within strict limits for computing power, reliability, and certification. Engineers must understand how the software behaves under all operating conditions and ensure the system performs consistently throughout the flight envelope.
Airbus is looking at how embedded AI could improve tasks such as navigation, environmental awareness, and decision support while maintaining the predictability required for commercial aviation applications.
