Page 52 - ATC Special Bulletin Series - Remote and Digital Towers 2023-01

52 digital tower models, designed to be scalable to the size and needs of any airport. What’s on the market today is largely ‘one size fits all’, when the reality is, a solution for a small, regional airport just cannot scale to the demands of an international hub. “The idea of a hybrid digital tower in particular – where cameras and screens are used to augment an airport’s existing, physical tower operation – is now also generating a lot of interest. Not everyone wants or needs to knock down their control tower, but they are interested in accessing the kinds of performance enhancing tools a digital tower platform provides. A hybrid solution can work both for a huge hub airport that’s looking to support growth without building a new tower, or simply to enhance the management of areas of the airport that are distant or obscured, and these can equally apply to smaller, regional, airports. I think we’ll see this concept continue to grow in terms of uptake as well as the addition of more technical capabilities to optimise operations. “One thing that Covid really has exposed is how binary some parts of the aviation ecosystem are – including air traffic management - with services that are largely either on or off and with high fixed costs. Is there a way of using digital tower technologies to shape services in a way that can more readily accommodate peaks and troughs in demand? Something that might better be able to cope with the volatility that we’ve seen all over the world over the past 12 months? “We believe part of the solution lays in more cloud-based services that airports and ANSPs can more readily turn up and down in line with their specific needs. This coupled with the continued advances that we’ve made in using Artificial Intelligence – including a non-operational trial looking at automated runway clearances - means we’re looking at a far more flexible, dynamic service offering. We’re exploring what that could mean with Searidge and I’m excited to see that work develop in 2023. “There’s no doubt that Covid has delayed some things, but I believe we’re now in a position to accelerate through the use of this kind of tower technology. Traffic is returning, and will eventually exceed previous highs, so I can only see a growing appetite for digital tower technology – in all its forms.” EANS – Estonia On May 12 2022 Estonian Air Navigation Services (EANS) in partnership with Adacel Technologies Inc. introduced its first ever Remote Air Traffic Service System REVAL that is entirely developed in Estonia. On November 29 2022 the Estonian Transport Administration awarded EANS with aeronautical equipment certificate for REVAL remote tower located at Kuressaare airport in Estonia. The system certification process for the next airport, Tartu is in the last stage of approval. | SPECIAL BULLETIN SERIES | 2023 | |