Tracking aircraft in and near a ramp area is described herein. One method includes receiving camera image data of an aircraft while the aircraft is approaching or in the ramp area, receiving LIDAR/Radar sensor data of an aircraft while the aircraft is approaching or in the ramp area, merging the camera image data and the LIDAR/Radar sensor data into a merged data set, and wherein the merged data set includes at least one of: data for determining the position and orientation of the aircraft relative to the position and orientation of the ramp area, data for determining speed of the aircraft, data for determining direction of the aircraft, data for determining proximity of the aircraft to a particular object within the ramp area, and data for forming a three dimensional virtual model of at least a portion of the aircraft from the merged data.

A runway-embedded flash lighting device, includes a body configured to be embedded in a runway; a ceiling member including a flash emission window and disposed in an upper opening of the body and configured to be exposed to a runway surface when the body is embedded in the runway; a light guide member disposed in the flash emission window; an LED flash light source disposed inside the body and configured to emit a flash toward the light guide member; and a heat conducting member, wherein the light guide is configured to allow the flash emitted from the LED flash light source to be emitted from the flash emission window, the heat conducting member is disposed inside the body and includes a first part in contact with the LED flash light source, and a second part in contact with the ceiling member.

An identification system and method are provided for aircraft equipped with electric taxi systems for autonomous ground movement that enables airport ground personnel and others outside the aircraft to safely and easily identify the aircraft moving on ground surfaces at an airport as equipped with a pilot-controlled electric taxi system and to distinguish these aircraft from aircraft not moved by electric taxi systems. The identification system may be mounted with nose or main landing gear drive wheels supporting the electric taxi system. The identification system includes an identifying lighting system with lighting elements of a selected number, shape, color, or arrangement positioned on at least a visible face of one or more landing gear wheels. Automatic or manual controls may actuate the identification system to identify electric taxi system-equipped aircraft when the aircraft are moved with the electric taxi system or are stopped.

An unmanned autonomous vehicle assessment and reporting system may conduct patch scan analyses of a roof. Damage points on the roof may be evaluated for severity and assigned a severity value. A remediation status may be objectively developed for one or more faces of the roof based on the number of damage points within a patch region of a defined size and the severity value of each of the damage points within the patch region. A visualization system may overlay markings, such as color-coded markings, to display a representation of a roof, patch regions, damage points, and/or severity values.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to ranging an object nearby an aircraft by triangulation of spatially-patterned light projected upon and reflected from the object. The spatially patterned light can have a wavelength corresponding to infrared light and/or to an atmospheric absorption band. In some embodiments, images of the object are captured both with and without illumination by the spatially-patterned light. A difference between these two images can be used to isolate the spatially-patterned light. The two images can also be used to identify pixel boundaries of the object and to calculate ranges of portions of the object corresponding to pixels imaging these portions. For pixels imaging reflections of the spatially-patterned light, triangulation can be used to calculate range. For pixels not imaging reflections of the spatially-patterned light, ranges can be calculated using one or more of the calculated ranges calculated using triangulation corresponding to nearby pixels.

An integrated monitoring system and method are provided with the capability for monitoring ground surface movements of electric taxi drive system-driven aircraft, ground vehicles and personnel, and objects within airport ramp areas. Monitoring units may include a scanning LiDAR device with and without cameras or other sensing devices to transmit meshed real time encrypted data from multiple locations to an artificial intelligence-based processing system that generates a visual display of the monitored area for communication to aircraft cockpits and locations responsible for controlling ramp operations. Monitoring units may be mounted in single or multiple exterior locations on aircraft and/or in locations on ground vehicles and equipment, ground personnel, and the airside portion of an airport terminal.

A system and method of generating plan information for vehicles in a vehicle traffic or vehicle parking zone, including projecting into space, from a set of grid generators at the vehicle traffic or vehicle parking zone, a set of lines defining a relative navigation grid and encoded with grid data configured to identify predetermined points on the relative navigation grid, and detecting, with a detector module on a vehicle, a location of the vehicle within the grid.

Tracking aircraft in and near a ramp area is described herein. One method includes receiving camera image data of an aircraft while the aircraft is approaching or in the ramp area, receiving LIDAR/Radar sensor data of an aircraft while the aircraft is approaching or in the ramp area, merging the camera image data and the LIDAR/Radar sensor data into a merged data set, and wherein the merged data set includes at least one of: data for determining the position and orientation of the aircraft relative to the position and orientation of the ramp area, data for determining speed of the aircraft, data for determining direction of the aircraft, data for determining proximity of the aircraft to a particular object within the ramp area, and data for forming a three dimensional virtual model of at least a portion of the aircraft from the merged data.

An access tunnel system comprising at least one access tunnel for the sheltered guidance of persons to a vehicle, an aircraft, a building or the like. In accordance with the invention, a node element is provided at which the access tunnel opens and which at least one further access tunnel adjoins.

A system and method for aircraft docking guidance and aircraft type identification. The method is executed in the system for aircraft docking guidance and aircraft type identification comprising a machine vision sub-system, a laser scanning sub-system and a fusion module. The method includes: in step 1000, obtaining, by the machine vision sub-system, an image via image capturing means, and calculating a first aircraft front wheel position therefrom; in step 2000, obtaining, by the laser scanning sub-system, the position of the nose of an aircraft via laser scanning means, and calculating a second aircraft front wheel position; in step 3000, fusing the first aircraft front wheel position and the second aircraft front wheel position according to a fusion rule to obtain deviation of an aircraft front wheel.