february2021 - 21

TECHNOLOGY

operating in an airport for added security
and safety. Of course, important elements
like these are building blocks to be learned
by other ventures instead of starting from
scratch each time. "
" Safety is one of the selling points of this
technology, so it's obviously very important
that we test as much as possible, we gather
as much data as possible, " Shelton adds,
noting ThorDrive's on-road origins have
helped them develop the technology for the
safety-critical airport environment. " You're
always integrating anything you learned,
coming up with new scenarios. But certainly, handling the basics. "
Another challenge standing in the way
of adopting autonomy is the fear that robots
will replace the personnel working at the
airport. Marx says machines are not replacing people and it is important to educate
staff about the potential autonomy provides.
" You still have employees. But AVs [automated vehicles] are going to allow you to do
your job more effectively, and they're going
to reduce routine and menial tasks, " she
says. " Or it allows one person to focus their
efforts in other critical parts of the operation where staff is needed and hopefully
level up in their career or job by becoming
a technician of sorts. "
Being able to refocus labor to more high
value activities can prove valuable, agrees
Taylor, using an expedited baggage run as
an example.
" If I'm at Gate 14 and I've got a bag
that needs to be transferred to Gate 21,
as opposed to having it go back through
the bag room, it's possible to send a vehicle on an expedite from Gate 14 to Gate 21
autonomously, " Taylor explains. " There are
extraordinarily creative ways to use this
technology to our advantage. "

Cincinnati Demo
With data collected and the tractor outfitted with the sensor suite, ThorDrive
demonstrated its proof of concept at the
end of 2020.
" That was the first time the public really
knew who ThorDrive was and what we're
doing in Cincinnati, " Shelton says.
CVG's senior leadership rode in the Ford
Transit van to first get an idea of what that
feels like and how the technology functions.

We should be able to
realize a measurable
reduction in
accidents.
-- Tim Taylor

Marx says opportunity to learn about the
engineering and see it up-close was very
helpful.
" Then when we had the tractor out in the
aircraft apron and gate areas, it definitely
gives you a shock-factor. There's plenty of
people who stop and ask what's going on.
But I think people also recognize the efficiencies and the opportunity for that next
revolution of 'How will we do business and
how do we move things forward?' Recognizing the restraints on being able to hire
and find employees for all of the roles that
are available on campus, " she says.
" To ride in the vehicle or to ride behind
the vehicle while it's in autonomous mode
is both pretty spooky and pretty amazing
at the same time, " Taylor says. " You see this
ghost tractor operating across the ramp, and
it's like 'What's going on here?'
" But when it comes to its destination, or
a vehicle crosses the road or a plane comes,
it just stops and holds automatically as any
human operator should, which is not necessarily always the case. "
According to Taylor, safety data is being
collected to show the business case for the
number of accidents that can be eliminated
through autonomy because an autonomous
vehicle is only going to do what it is programmed to do.
" We're going to have a lot more constrained behavior on the part of the vehicle because of the way it's operated, " Taylor
says. " We should be able to realize a measurable reduction in accidents. "
The first question regarding autonomy
is always about safety, agrees Shelton.
However, he notes that as technology has
progressed and people become more familiar with the concept, the conversation has
turned toward value. He says it is not about
having a " cool toy. "

Autonomy needs to bring efficiencies to
a business.
" Airports and airlines always have an
interesting relationship, " Marx says. " I've
noticed more and more, airlines and any
of the vendors that work with GSE, they're
excited and they lean in. "
Representatives from ThorDrive, Wollard and CVG all expressed optimism for
what will come from the initial trials in
Cincinnati.
Taylor emphasizes the opportunity
for autonomy to be applied to additional
equipment.
" We really are thinking in terms of an
autonomous ecosystem, whereby, a good
portion of the GSE fleet on the ramp could
potentially become automated in this way, "
Taylor says. " That's really where we're trying to think in terms of, and how we can
accommodate it with our own design. What
would facilitate that development? "
Marx adds that CVG officials' faith in
the technology has initiated additional
research and development for more use
cases around the airport. The R&D for the
next phases of autonomy will begin later
this year, according to Shelton.
As an airport, explains Marx, CVG
needs to ensure the infrastructure can
support what is needed for future developments. Steps need to be taken to ensure 5G
or LTE is available everywhere, including
more remote parts of the airport. She goes
on to explain that high-volume data transmissions, such as vehicle to vehicle, over
advanced cellular networks will be critical
to mass deployment of autonomous vehicles
in the future.
" I think you'll notice more and more cities and airports using the term smart-campus or smart-city. If you want to have
innovation, if you want to have new things
coming on your campus. You got to make
sure that infrastructure is there for what
is needed, " Marx says.
ThorDrive, which is currently seeking
Series A funding, is looking to grow its
business in the aviation market and has
begun mapping out other projects for 2021
where CVG has defined a need.
" It's pretty exciting, " Marx says. " The
other innovations to come of this work are
very exciting. "

FEBRUARY 2021

AviationPros.com

http://www.AviationPros.com

february2021

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