december2022january2023 - 22

Cover Story
The AeroVect Driver's array of lidar sensors
and cameras work in tandem with GPS
technology to operate the tractor.
always committed to that. "
According to Wang, AeroVect's
commitment to an autonomous pilot
includes ensuring the company delivers
on everything promised from the
pre-pilot assessment to the pilot itself
as well as establishing clear plans for
scaling to hundreds of units - not just as
a theoretical concept.
He says it is important to demonstrate
AeroVect is thinking through
every step and working with the appropriate
stakeholders to make sure the
technology works as it's intended to.
The amount of cargo transported
autonomously during an evaluation
period varies from day to day.
" It's whatever the operation
demands, " Donati says.
The scope of the recent evaluation
expanded beyond how many times
a day the tractor could complete its
task. For example, the technology's
effectiveness during different times
of day and across various shifts was
also examined.
" You want to validate that the system
works no matter if it's day or night, no
matter if it's rain or shine, " Wang says,
noting AeroVect had a weekly target
to hit, but could transport more cargo
when needed.
According to Donati and Wang, interest
in autonomous GSE has grown in
recent years. The concept of autonomy
was being explored before AeroVect
was established in 2020. But as airlines
and other industry stakeholders
recovered from the pandemic, efforts
to test and deploy the technology has
gained momentum.
While exhibiting at the International
GSE Expo in Las Vegas in 2021, Wang
says members of the GSE industry met
with AeroVect and began validating the
company's technology.
" They literally saw it with their own
eyes, running around the demo lot, "
Wang recalls.
" As a company, we've progressed significantly
since then, " he adds, noting
the demo unit at the International
GSE Expo was an older tractor and the
AeroVect Driver has since been installed
on newer tractor models.
" We're not just doing this as a cool
robotics project. We're not doing this
by importing over adjacent technologies
into a new space. We're doing
it by building it specifically for this
space, " Wang says.
According to Donati and Wang,
AeroVect's recent pilot was the next
step in validating their ability to bring
autonomous GSE to airports by demonstrating
the technology in an extremely
busy environment with several navigational
challenges.
Donati says the level of confidence
AeroVect's partners have shown has
made a key difference.
" In terms of bringing autonomy to
market at true scale, you have to work
with the largest airlines at the largest
airports, " he says.
22 || Ground Support Worldwide || December 2022/January 2023
Optimizing Equipment
The AeroVect Driver system uses components
available on the market. These
sensors, cameras and devices can be
installed on any vehicle, providing flexibility
to customers.
" Fundamentally, for us, we're platform
agnostic, " Wang says. " So, it
doesn't really matter the underlying
vehicle. It's the same to us. It has a
wheel, it has an accelerator and brake,
it drives the same way fundamentally
across the board. "
When AeroVect announced its partnership
with dnata in September of
2022, the technology's flexibility was
important to the ground handler.
" We partnered with AeroVect for
certain reasons. One of them being that
AeroVect is an OEM-agnostic company, "
Bartu Korgul, head of GSE planning
at dnata, said. " We operate a diverse
fleet globally. We consistently review
our processes and invest in the latest
technologies to deliver the highest
level of service and safety. We want to
work with suppliers that best meet our
demands. We want to stay agnostic. "
What's Next
Throughout the recent pilot and evaluation
period AeroVect's team generated
large quantities of data by logging
many, many hours on the unit.
As autonomous GSE pilots are
conducted and new opportunities
arise, AeroVect is quickly growing
as a company.
AEROVECT
december2022january2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of december2022january2023
