Page 50 - ATC Special Bulletin Series - Remote and Digital Towers 2023-01

50 ramp control towers into one facility, applying machine learning to the data opens up opportunities to introduce efficiencies at the airline’s other hub operations. Searidge is also working with the airline to automate stand management functions by combining real-time ground handling data with airline and air traffic updates on the status of inbound and outbound flights. Sharing airfield systems strategies is the aim of the Complex Airfield Systems Strategy group set up in 2022. Made up of airport operators including AAHK, London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Toronto and Vancouver; air navigation service providers like NATS; airlines such as American Airlines, British Airways; and vendors including ADB Safegate, ArgosAI, Moog, Searidge and Thales, the group is exploring the benefits of integrating diverse systems through joint research. The group aims to de- risk innovative integration projects and illustrates a shift from traditional product development to more collaborative ways going forward. FUTURE APPLICATIONS The challenge for aviation is bringing different actors to the table in a highly segmented industry. Convergence calls for change in culture, process and technology in a digital environment, an area Searidge first entered with its remote/ digital tower concept 15 years ago. Digital towers have since moved into mainstream operations and digital technology is behind almost every operation on the airfield and in the tower. The next step is recognising the additional benefits that come from digital transformation, in particular the value of sharing data between industry sectors. Applications already feature resource management, stand allocation, apron safety nets, airfield lighting guidance systems and automated alerts at major facilities around the world. Hong Kong International is the first airport to recognise the value of convergence by creating an ecosystem around the Searidge Platform that takes this concept further. Connecting operators, users and service providers by means of a single, common data ecosystem, this open, participative infrastructure continues to expand as more microservices are added. Importantly, users continue to access further value from the information available and direct their efforts towards building more efficient operations. | SPECIAL BULLETIN SERIES | 2023 | |