Article
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Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
An Autonomous Tow Truck Algorithm for Engineless Aircraft Taxiing
Version 1
: Received: 1 March 2024 / Approved: 1 March 2024 / Online: 4 March 2024 (10:42:05 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Zaninotto, S.; Gauci, J.; Zammit, B. An Autonomous Tow Truck Algorithm for Engineless Aircraft Taxiing. Aerospace 2024, 11, 307. Zaninotto, S.; Gauci, J.; Zammit, B. An Autonomous Tow Truck Algorithm for Engineless Aircraft Taxiing. Aerospace 2024, 11, 307.
Abstract
The aviation industry has proposed multiple solutions to reduce fuel consumption, air pollution and noise at airports, one of which involves deploying electric trucks for aircraft towing between the stand and the runway. However, the introduction of tow trucks results in increased surface traffic, posing challenges from the perspective of Air Traffic Controller's (ATCO). Various solutions involving automated planning and execution have been proposed, but many are constrained by their inability to manage multiple active runways simultaneously, and their failure to account for tow truck battery state-of-charge during assignments.
This paper presents a novel system for taxi operations that employs autonomous tow trucks to enhance ground operations and address deficiencies in existing approaches. The system focuses on identifying conflict-free solutions that minimize taxi-related delays and route length while maximising the efficient use of the tow trucks. The algorithm operates at a strategic level and uses a centralised approach. It has the capacity to cater for multiple active runways and considers factors such as tow truck battery state-of-charge and availability of charging stations. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is capable of scheduling and routing tow trucks for aircraft taxiing without generating traffic conflicts.
Keywords
engineless taxiing; tow trucks; shortest path algorithm; Dijkstra
Subject
Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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