Big airports are constantly buzzing logistics hubs. Tens of thousands of people are arriving and departing on a daily basis and an amazing amount of cargo is going through the airport warehouses 24/7. It is easy to understand that successful logistics operations require loads of actors working in a synchronised way inside buildings and outside on the aprons.
AUTONOMY EVERYWHERE
As the air traffic volumes are constantly increasing, both in both cargo and passenger operations, it is easy to predict that logistics solutions need to evolve to meet the higher requirements while aiming for higher productivity, better quality and safer operations. It is clear that only by increasing the level of automation everywhere, these objectives could be met. Especially important automation is on the cargo side, as unlike us humans, cargo pallets and containers unfortunately do not move by themselves. Some visible service robot implementations on the passenger terminals demonstrate nicely the maturity of the autonomous mobile robotics industry at the moment, but those specialised robots, which are either guiding, cleaning floors, patrolling the grounds or whatever, are just a drop in an ocean when compared to the vast potential so evident in the massive cargo logistics – which is more or less untapped at the moment.
Video 1: GIM Robotics’s KAIKKI SW in action onboard robotised Tecna Car tugger.
GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT (GSE)
Term GSE includes support equipment found at an airport and used to service the aircraft between flights. The role of this equipment generally involves ground power operations, aircraft mobility, and cargo/passenger loading operations. The number of different GSEs is staggering and they range from non-powered mechanical structures to large complex trucks, tugs, tractors and whatnot else. This multi-billion market is growing fast as the growth in global air traffic (passengers and cargo alike) is showing no signs of slowing down.
Figure 1: Ground Support Equipment in use. Copyright (c) 2020 aappp/Shutterstock.
ROBOTISATION PROGRESSES SLOWLY
The robotization of various GSE mobile machinery types is progressing with varying speeds depending on the suitability of the particular use case, the existing regulations and the business logic. Assistive and partial solutions are naturally leading the way, and fully autonomous solutions will be introduced gradually.
ROBOTS IN THE CARGO AREAS
There are already several well-functioning Proof-of-Concept (PoC) projects ongoing globally. They are mostly performed by top-notch universities and research institutes, but there are also some ground-breaking start-ups and SMEs, which are leading the way. Those novel solutions range from robots handling individual packages or palettes in new and more flexible ways when compared to current AGVs and AMRs used in modern warehouses. The main differences are often found in the level of free navigation and the capability to perform complex manipulation tasks they possess. However, the most prominent direction to produce additional, or new, value for the cargo logistics operators, comes from turning selected GSE types into field and service robots. The selection is naturally based on the potential benefits, the laws, rules and regulations and of course the complexity of the particular Use Case. The airport apron is a complex environment, occupied with many types of machines and most importantly with extremely expensive machines, like aircraft, and extremely dangerous equipment, like fuel tanks. On the other hand, aprons are also very restricted and controlled areas, where the operations in general, and traffic especially, are based on clear rules, which are well-suited for all activities including any level of autonomy.
TUGS, TRACTORS AND DOLLIES WITH UNIT LOAD DEVICES (ULDs)
The tugs and tractors at an airport have several purposes and represent the essential part of ground support services. They are used to move all equipment that cannot move itself, including dollies loaded with unit load devices (ULDs). ULDs are containers used to load luggage, freight, and mail on aircrafts.
The inherent property linked to tugs and dollies is the chaining of dollies after the tug – very much like in trains. Manual work is needed for the chaining and unchaining, so to speak, but besides that, a tug or a tractor can move a considerable amount of cargo via pre-defined paths/trajectories in an area, where traffic rules are carved in stone. It is hard to find a better scenario for future robotisation activities.
Figure 2: Tugger, carts and Unit Load Devices. Copyright (c) 2023 365 Focus Photography/Shutterstock.
TWO PATHS TO SELECT FROM
It is already evident that the above scenario where tugger moves dollies is the proverbial low-hanging fruit in this industry, should there be any. There are some proof-of-concept machines already available not only from top universities and leading research institutes, but also from some companies seeing the huge potential of this particular use case.
There seems to be two main ways how to pick that fruit:
- You can have a robotised tugger, which is pulling several dollies, loaded with Unit Load Devices (ULDs), or
- You can develop a specialised robot from scratch to handle one or two ULDs onboard, like the beautiful Auto-DollyTug® made by Aurrigo does.
Both approaches have their clear pros and cons, and more importantly both will have a hefty price tag attached to them. It is probably safe to state that in a perfect world, a specialised machine would be the way to proceed as it can be optimised for the task at hand, but as we all know, we are not living in such a world.
The main thing slowing down the wider adaptation of those specialised machines in this case is the extensive fleet of expensive manual machine fleets owned by the logistics operators globally. These fleets are obviously very heterogeneous and range from brand new electrified Drive-by-Wire (DbW) level machines down to grandpa’s ancient tractor depending on the location of a particular airport. In most cases, especially in countries where modern machines are de facto solutions, the fleets are naturally renewed or at least updated continuously according to financial plans and used for many years to make some money for the operators.
Figure 3: Manual tugger is one of the most important GSEs. Copyright (c) 2017 Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.
NEAR FUTURE SOLUTIONS
As we are not in the business of building ourselves any kick-ass field and service robots for a particular industry or for special use cases, we are obviously promoting strongly the first option. We see that the existing manually operated GSE fleets will dominate the markets for years to come, and that there will be an extensive market for retrofitting the existing tuggers used for airport cargo logistics. If the machine is already electrified and Drive by Wire capable, the case is very straightforward, and we have already demonstrated how our products turn them into autonomous mobile robots.
Video 2: GIM Robotics’s KAIKKI SW in action onboard robotised Simai tugger.
THE JOINT POWERHOUSE DELIVERS
GIM Robotics, together with our partner in intralogistics, Navitec Systems, offers full-scale solutions for logistics operators as the industry is slowly evolving towards a higher level of autonomy. The name of the product is KAIKKI, and it is a turnkey solution including everything from machine control all the way to a Fleet Management Systems. Although developed as a generic solution for intralogistics, it seems like it would be tailor-made for airport logistics operations. It is, as they say, spot on for this use case.
Figure 4: KAIKKI – turnkey autonomy SW for outdoor logistics.
SEE YOU AT GSE EXPO EUROPE
During the last few years, some of these powered machines are being robotized, i.e., their autonomy level is slowly rising, as the companies are constantly looking for means to increase productivity and tackle the lack of experienced operators. GIM Robotics has been in the forefront of this development with our partners, and that is the main reason why we are participating in the forthcoming GSE Expo Europe in Lisbon on September 17-19th, 2024 on a shared stand (C62) with our partner Navitec Systems.
GSE Expo Europe is the premier industry forum for equipment suppliers. A comprehensive line up of the world’s top GSE suppliers under one roof and stellar insight into the latest industry trends helped attract over 3,500 qualified visitors in the show’s debut year. Make sure to register and secure your free entrance to the event.
Contact our Sales Manager David Lopez and book a meeting with him at GSE Expo Europe.
See you there.
