Satellite project to improve airport logistics

An enhanced positioning system aimed at increasing the safety and efficiency of logistical operations at airports has won the backing of Horizon 2020.

The Fraunhofer Institute project ‘e-Airport together’ is receiving funding from the European GNSS Agency.

The European Galileo satellite system is the basis of the novel positioning system in the venture and will see vehicles fitted with onboard receivers for global navigation satellite systems; they use signals from the Galileo satellites and others to establish their exact location. Positioning data is then sent by WLAN or cellular radio to the control centre, which in turn sends messages back to the drivers. A will give out a warning when a vehicle is getting too close to another, driving too close to restricted areas or leaving a specified route.

Speaking about the venture Olaf Poenicke, research manager at Fraunhofer, said: “We are developing a positioning system that will increase safety on the apron. It will additionally make it possible to utilise airport capacities more efficiently because the system allows logistical operations to run in a significantly more structured way than before.”

Although positioning systems that determine vehicle locations exist, they are based on GPS that can lead to problems, especially in the vicinity of buildings, according to Fraunhofer. Researchers hope such issues will be overcome in the project as additional signals from the Galileo satellites and other correction signals from the European EGNOS D-GPS system increase accuracy and reliability substantially.

The system also aims to eliminate errors that could be present in currently used printed work assignments, as well as problems caused by poor weather conditions.