ANA, in cooperation with Toyota Industries Corporation, is conducting a test operation of a fully unmanned towing tractor at Haneda Airport from July 1 to 19. A press release was held on July 16 regarding this test operation.
An automated towing tractor actually tows cargo containers loaded with cargo on a 2-km one-way route between spots 63, 64, and 65 of the Domestic Terminal 2 and the East Cargo Shed. Up to six cargo-carrying trolleys can be towed.
The vehicle is based on the electric towing tractor “3TE25” and has the same specifications as the base vehicle when operated manually by a person, with a maximum towing capacity of 25.1 tons, maximum towing weight of 27 tons, and maximum speed of 25 km/h. However, in automatic operation, the maximum towing weight is 13 tons and the maximum speed is set at the speed limit at Haneda Airport with no load The maximum speed is set at 15 km/h, which is the speed limit at Haneda Airport under no load.
In addition, in order to realize automatic operation, the car is equipped with a large number of sensors. For obstacle detection, there are three 3D LiDAR units in the front, one 2D laser scanner in the front, and two on the sides, for a total of six units. For self-position estimation, the system is equipped with an MI sensor that detects magnetic markers embedded in the ground, GNSS, which uses satellites to obtain position information, and 3D LiDAR, which detects buildings, etc. RANGER, which photographs ground patterns and matches them with data to perform road surface pattern matching, is also included. RANGER, which takes pictures of ground patterns and matches them with data to perform road surface pattern matching.
The use of two or more of these sensors in combination at any given time improves the safety of fully unmanned operation, and the stopping position can be kept within a difference of ±15 cm.
In addition, a remote monitoring function has been added to respond to abnormal situations. This allows a person monitoring the vehicle in the control room to check with a camera and, if an obstacle such as a pylon is in front of the vehicle, instruct a nearby field worker to move it through a speaker.
Operations are managed by the Fleet Management System (FMS), a system that centralizes information such as destination instructions and work items for on-site staff. Personnel who connect and disconnect dollies and pull up to high-lift loaders can check the location of the vehicles with a tablet.
The purpose of this test operation is to verify whether fully unmanned automatic operation is possible with many aircraft and multiple types of airport support vehicles in operation, and to identify issues in terms of operations on the tarmac and in front of cargo sheds, as well as in terms of economic efficiency. This is the first domestic test operation of Level 4 automated operation (fully unmanned operation) for domestic cargo transport, and according to the person in charge, there have been no accidents during the more than 120 operations from July 1 to 16, 2012.
The press conference was attended by Makiko Mori, Ground Handling Planning Department, Airport Support Office, Operation Support Center, from ANA, and Fumihiro Fukatsu, AR Development Department, Toyota L&F Company, from Toyota Industries Corporation. Mori said, “The labor-oriented work style continues, and a chronic labor shortage is an issue. We are aiming for a figure where airport operations can be performed with fewer people and labor by promoting automation and DX,” he said.
Mr. Fukatsu stated, “We were able to verify the self-positioning estimation function, which is important for automated driving, at Haneda Airport, and we would like to support Simple & Smart business operations and logistics in terms of technology toward practical use in 2025.
The company has been conducting Level 3 demonstration tests at Saga, Centrair (Chubu), and Haneda Airports since February 2019, with the aim of realizing unmanned cargo transport at Haneda Airport by the end of 2025, and plans to deploy automated towing tractors at other airports with longer transport distances. The company also plans to deploy automated towing tractors at other airports with longer transport distances.
© Source travel watch
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