Safe and Effective Vehicle Management
Despite the recent developments in civil aviation it is widely agreed that air traffic will continue to increase during the next years. This is especially true for the major hub airports most of which are already operating close to their capacity limits. This growing volume of air-traffic does not only lead to congestion of airspace and runways but also produces a higher density of ground traffic on the apron and taxiways
raising the question of ground movement safety.
To address this problem Frankfurt Airport (Fraport) implements a comprehensive Surface Movement Guidance and Control system including aircraft and vehicle traffic. To achieve the surveillance of vehicles Fraport has initiated a joint development of the Etna (Electronic Taxiway Navigation Array) system together with Honeywell Airport Systems and the University of Technology in Darmstadt.
The concept of Etna is to guarantee the location, guidance and onboard conflict detection and alert (e.g. runway incursion) of those vehicles operating on taxiways and runways such as fire-fighting and rescue vehicles, Follow-Me cars and snow removal equipment in all weather conditions. Therefore all safety relevant vehicles are provided with an onboard navigation unit based on Differential GPS and autonomous sensors such as inertial systems. This combination of the highly precise D-GPS receiver and the very reliable inertial sensors guarantees that the position of a vehicle can be determined at all times with sufficient accuracy, even in situations where GPS is not available. The modular system design provides a variety of different sensors and sensor combinations, allowing for an adaptation to the different operational requirements in term of cost and performance.
Normally the vehicles will be equipped with an onboard display showing the position of the vehicle on a moving map. This map is retrieved from a precise airport database which includes all runways, taxiways, parking positions, buildings and service roads. Supplementary information such as the location of targets, routing proposals, obstacles (e.g. construction sites) as well as the positions of all other Etna vehicles and taxing aircraft are transmitted and displayed to the driver.
The position information gained from the onboard sensors is also transmitted by a data communication link to a central Information Broker where additional data is added from a vehicle database and is then provided to the respective fleet management units. Here the position of the vehicles in the fleet are displayed on a Control Station where the operator can send tasks, routings and other information to selected vehicles.
The Information Broker includes an interface to the overall airport traffic surveillance system. At this interface Etna provides the labelled vehicle data for the integration in the airport surveillance system and receives the labelled aircraft data. As a result, apron controllers will then have a comprehensive picture of both, aircraft and vehicle traffic on the apron. On the other hand it will be possible to inform the drivers of fire-trucks about moving aircraft in their vicinity directly in real time on the vehicle onboard display. This enhanced situational awareness will allow particular drivers of emergency vehicles to approach targets safer and faster, especially in adverse weather conditions and poor visibility.
Currently 5 Fraport vehicles - 3 fire-trucks and 2 airport operation vehicles - are equipped with the Etan system and running with success in the first test fleet. The extension of the fleet with additional 5 vehicles and a mobile fleet management working position for the fire brigade are under preparation. As a result of extensive system tests in close co-operation with Frankfurt airport's fire brigade the decision for the further development of Etna to an operational system was already taken end of 2001 with the first standard systems available in early 2004.
The concept of Etna is to guarantee the location, guidance and onboard conflict detection and alert (e.g. runway incursion) of those vehicles operating on taxiways and runways such as fire-fighting and rescue vehicles, Follow-Me cars and snow removal equipment in all weather conditions. Therefore all safety relevant vehicles are provided with an onboard navigation unit based on Differential GPS and autonomous sensors such as inertial systems. This combination of the highly precise D-GPS receiver and the very reliable inertial sensors guarantees that the position of a vehicle can be determined at all times with sufficient accuracy, even in situations where GPS is not available. The modular system design provides a variety of different sensors and sensor combinations, allowing for an adaptation to the different operational requirements in term of cost and performance.
Normally the vehicles will be equipped with an onboard display showing the position of the vehicle on a moving map. This map is retrieved from a precise airport database which includes all runways, taxiways, parking positions, buildings and service roads. Supplementary information such as the location of targets, routing proposals, obstacles (e.g. construction sites) as well as the positions of all other Etna vehicles and taxing aircraft are transmitted and displayed to the driver.
The position information gained from the onboard sensors is also transmitted by a data communication link to a central Information Broker where additional data is added from a vehicle database and is then provided to the respective fleet management units. Here the position of the vehicles in the fleet are displayed on a Control Station where the operator can send tasks, routings and other information to selected vehicles.
The Information Broker includes an interface to the overall airport traffic surveillance system. At this interface Etna provides the labelled vehicle data for the integration in the airport surveillance system and receives the labelled aircraft data. As a result, apron controllers will then have a comprehensive picture of both, aircraft and vehicle traffic on the apron. On the other hand it will be possible to inform the drivers of fire-trucks about moving aircraft in their vicinity directly in real time on the vehicle onboard display. This enhanced situational awareness will allow particular drivers of emergency vehicles to approach targets safer and faster, especially in adverse weather conditions and poor visibility.
Currently 5 Fraport vehicles - 3 fire-trucks and 2 airport operation vehicles - are equipped with the Etan system and running with success in the first test fleet. The extension of the fleet with additional 5 vehicles and a mobile fleet management working position for the fire brigade are under preparation. As a result of extensive system tests in close co-operation with Frankfurt airport's fire brigade the decision for the further development of Etna to an operational system was already taken end of 2001 with the first standard systems available in early 2004.
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