AIRPORT
TECHNOLOGY
IN COPY Replication situation
There is much work going on behind the
scenes, reports the Editor, when it comes
to catering for the expected increase in
air traffic.
Adigital twin, to those
unused to the phrase,
probably sounds like
something to do with genetic
modification. But it isn’t: it’s
actually the latest in a long
line of technological advances
that are aimed at helping the
aviation sector, and specifically
the airport, cope with the
mushrooming levels of air
traffic.
If the reader is familiar
with the technology that is
telematics, then this (relatively
new) advance can be
considered as taking up where
telematics has left off. Whilst
the package or process is not
yet commercially available,
SITA, the specialist behind the
concept, reckons that by the
end of 2020, all that will have
changed.
Says Kevin O’Sullivan, a
Lead Engineer at SITA Lab:
“There has been a lot of
interest in the digital twin and
we are confident that once
it’s ready, customers will be
signing up.”
So, what exactly is it?
Although the idea itself isn’t exactly new, the digital twin in
its current format most certainly is. O’Sullivan likens it to an
evolution, saying that the concept has been around for a few
years now, albeit in a much more diluted form. What SITA has
done is take it to the next level.
“In terms of a definition, it’s essentially the procedure
for creating a virtual replica of a physical asset. An example
could be an aircraft engine – or a process. There’s an industrial
background to all this: with telemetry and data acquisition, the
construction of a replica is perfectly straightforward. Once you
have created a digital twin, then you can profit from historical
access – and even predict the future.”
This is where the technology looks set to be a game changer.
The asset can be modelled on a computer and then, based on
what is seen, it can be tweaked or amended according to desire.
This tinkering would be aimed at exploring different (virtual)
scenarios to determine which might work best within given
parameters; alternatively, those parameters could themselves be
changed at will.
SITA’s development work has been in conjunction with a
US airport, where it has been able to create a digital twin of the
station. The tough part of the equation, O’Sullivan freely admits,
has been that of joining up the dots.
“The data is already there, but it’s all in individual silos.
What we’ve done is link them up so that the bigger picture can
be seen,” he explains. The work, which at the time of writing
represents a year and a half of effort, will see an end to the silo
mindset and instead welcome the accrual of data in one place, all
of which can be overseen by an individual or team.
34 December 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com