february2021 - 19

" The underlying technology and software has been incubated for about 15 or
16 years, " explains Edward Shelton, VP
of business development at ThorDrive,
adding company founder Dr. Seung-Woo
Seo started the artificial intelligence and
robotics lab at Seoul National University.
" At CVG, we have a robust innovation
program, especially as our partners on
campus evolve, not just with passengers
but also with cargo - having both DHL and
Amazon hubs here, " points out Naashom
Marx, senior manager of strategic innovation at CVG.
She explains officials at CVG were
interested in researching autonomous
technologies, in general, to determine
how automation can be of use in an airport
setting, looking at anything from autonomous sweepers and floor scrubbers inside
the terminal to larger equipment for both
airside and landside use.
" We're viewing autonomous opportunities as a stop-gap to employment shortfalls
among other positive developments. PreCOVID, our tenants were experiencing
record hiring rates. As a growing airport,
we view it as part of our stewardship to
support employment growth needs and
address challenges when they arise.
We're learning quickly how important
future-proofing will be in a post-pandemic
world, " Marx says.
" It's an overall win-win for both the
business and employee. "
Marx explains CVG representatives
studied various forms of autonomous
vehicles.
While crediting all the great technology
currently available, she says ThorDrive's
solution stood out because of its functionality, the speed at which it operates and the
way it navigates.
Watching ThorDrive's technology on
display in Palo Alto gave CVG officials a
vision of how it could be applied airside.
" In an airport, in that aircraft apron
area, it's a totally different dance. You're
not going to have kids on skateboards. But
you're going to have a wing-walker and fuel
truck, " Marx says. " The computers need
to know what is commonly encountered
in its environment and how to respond to
safety-critical items and people. "

Photo courtesy of ThorDrive

TECHNOLOGY

With a partnership formed between
ThorDrive and CVG, equipment was
needed to conduct testing.
When Wollard International was
acquired by investors in 2019, the new
owners sought ways to expand its portfolio while building on the company's established reputation.
Technology was one such area the company could improve, according to Tim
Taylor, director of business development
at Wollard International.
" We just kind of had our feelers out,
watching and seeing what could be done, "
Taylor says, adding ThorDrive approached
Wollard in early 2020 with their goals to
bring on-road autonomy capabilities to the
ramp.
" We all just kind of hit it off, " Taylor
recalls.
Using the technology initially developed in South Korea in 2016 and further
developed in Silicon Valley from 2018 on,
ThorDrive has continued developing its
platform at CVG.
" ThorDrive's been here for just over a
year. The autonomous GSE project was
started in about February of '20 and we
released the proof of concept in mid-December, " Shelton says.
The next step, explains Shelton, is furthering development and gathering additional data.
" It's a constant feedback loop of more
data, finessing the program, if you will, and
also stress testing, " Shelton says.

" We're at the point where it can run in
the airport environment autonomously,
pulling baggage carts, " he continues. " We'll
continue to do the last bit of our development this year and we intend to have our
first saleable units available by the end of
'21. "
" We've been very impressed with first
testing it outside the gate and now inside
the gate, " says Marx. " They're constantly
doing further testing in our long-term lot,
which due to COVID is currently repurposed as a mock-up of our aircraft gate
facilities. This allows ThorDrive to make
programming changes, confirm redundant
safety systems and other testing implications prior to operating in the live gate
environment. "

Equipping the Tractor
The ability to retrofit ThorDrive's technology to existing vehicles aided the project.
ThorDrive installed its system on a Ford
Transit van to help map the airport and
applied the technology to a Wollard International M40 diesel baggage tractor to create the prototype for airside operations.
" For the vehicle to be able to 'see,' we
use a combination of LiDAR [light detection and ranging] and camera-vision. The
sensor suite is able to detect and measure
the changing environment, including vehicles, aircraft, objects and people. Then it's
our software that interprets that data and
responds appropriately given the situation, "
Shelton explains.

FEBRUARY 2021

AviationPros.com

http://www.AviationPros.com

february2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of february2021