At the airport in question
this translates into a huge,
digital 86-inch touchscreen
upon which the whole of
the airport’s activities can
be laid. Individuals, stresses
O’Sullivan, can still work
in their own way but now,
thanks to bringing all those
strands together, real-time
awareness is heightened
immeasurably. Reviewing
past performance is a simple
task: should one want to
check on a certain day to
find out what happened at
a specific hour, this is now
feasible. Reviewing past
performance, of course, helps
with formulating the future,
thereby making things even
more efficient.
The challenge now is one of looking
ahead to the pinch points
Kevin O’Sullivan, Lead Engineer, SITA Lab
And that data transmission – how is that all effected? It
transpires that acquisition isn’t the biggest problem, for today’s
typical airport is festooned with cameras and surveillance
technology, as well as sensors, LIDAR and the like. The
information is already there: it’s a question of channelling it
into one accessible point. So far, the work has been successful,
which underlines the earlier prediction about the product’s
commercialisation dates.
Interesting to note, O’Sullivan believes that SITA is only
scratching the surface at present. The more data that can be
accumulated, he says, the more granular the picture – and
the more the airport can drill down to explore the depths of
efficiency and optimal workplace operation.
And, assuming IATA’s predictions about future air travel
volumes bear fruit, such advances won’t have come a moment
too soon…
Future perfect?
These future scenarios are the
next big hurdle to overcome,
reckons O’Sullivan.
“The challenge now is one
of looking ahead to the pinch
points to avoid unwanted
situations. With ground
handling, both passenger and
cargo, we can get a macro view
of the airport. We know that
there is complexity at the gates
with the turnarounds. This is
why we are now working with
a European carrier at an airport
to focus on activity at a couple
of gates. We should be able
to acquire this data. Staff and
equipment are all sorted and
this exercise will mean that we
can help with situations like
recovery after delays.”
www.airlogisticsinternational.com December 2019 35
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