A camera with a field of view toward an external environment of an aircraft is disposed within an aircraft door such that a ground surface is within the field of view of the camera during taxiing of the aircraft. A display device is disposed within an interior of the aircraft. A processor is operatively coupled to the camera and to the display device. The processor analyzes image data captured by the camera for docking guidance by identifying, within the captured image data, a region on the ground surface corresponding to an alignment fiducial indicating a parking location for the aircraft, determining, based on the region of the captured image data corresponding to the alignment fiducial indicating the parking location, a relative location of the aircraft with respect to the alignment fiducial, and outputting an indication of the relative location of the aircraft to the alignment fiducial.

A system for an aircraft includes an optical sensor, at least one aircraft sensor, and a controller. The optical sensor is configured to emit a laser outside the aircraft, and the at least one aircraft sensor is configured to sense at least one aircraft condition. The controller is configured to determine a first operational state of the aircraft based upon the at least one aircraft condition and determine a second operational state of the aircraft based on the at least one aircraft condition, and operate the optical sensor to emit the laser at a first intensity during the first operational state and a second intensity during the second operational state, wherein the second intensity is greater than the first intensity.

An airport ground collision alerting system and a method of operating an airport ground collision alerting system. The airport ground collision alerting system comprises an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, ADS-B, receiver; a first database coupled to the ADS-B receiver and configured for look-up of aircraft type data based on aircraft ID data received via the ADS-B receiver and for storing aircraft position and heading data received via the ADS-B receiver; a second database configured to store digital map data for one or more airports; a processor unit coupled to the first and second databases and an application programming interface, API, configured to couple the airport ground collision alerting system to a display device.

An anti-collision system for an aircraft and an aircraft including the anti-collision system are disclosed including a sensor data processing unit configured to process data received from multiple sensors installed on a tow tug to detect objects around the aircraft, and output information about detected objects; a safeguarding box building unit configured to generate, based on an aircraft geometry database, a three-dimensional safeguarding box for the aircraft; and a risk assessment unit configured to update the safeguarding box based on data corresponding to different operation modes of the tow tug, calculate relative distances between the detected objects and the aircraft based on the information about the detected objects that is output from the sensor data processing unit, and determine whether there is a collision risk between the aircraft and an object, among the detected objects based on the updated safeguarding box. The system is configured to output an alarm or a warning when there is the collision risk.

An aerial vehicle is provided. The aerial vehicle can include a plurality of sensors mounted thereon, an avionics system configured to operate at least a portion of the aerial vehicle, and a machine vision controller in operative communication with the avionics system and the plurality of sensors. The machine vision controller is configured to perform a method. The method includes obtaining sensor data from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors, determining performance data from the avionic system or an additional sensor of the plurality of sensors, processing the sensor data based on the performance data to compensate for movement of the unmanned aerial vehicle, identifying at least one geographic indicator based on processing the sensor data, and determining a geographic location of the aerial vehicle based on the at least one geographic indicator.

A gateway retrieval alert device is configured for use in an aircraft ground support system. The gateway retrieval alert device is connected to an intercom gateway, either through a direct wireless connection or through a direct connection to a headset of a tug operator, the headset in turn being wirelessly connected to the intercom gateway. The integrity of the wireless link to the intercom gateway is monitored, and when the integrity of the link falls below a set threshold, an alert is issued. The alert is issued externally to the communication network between the ground crew and pilot.

A computer-implemented method is provided for training a supervised machine learning engine able to predict characteristics of aircraft trajectories from parameters of an aircraft, and environment parameters of the aircraft trajectory. A system able to train the supervised machine learning engine, a system for using the engine, and a computer-implemented method for using the engine are provided. The methods and systems provided are particularly useful for air traffic flow management applications.

A method of securing radio communication between a ramp agent and an aircraft provided with a base station adapted to transmit a beacon signal includes establishing a first database identifying organizations such as aircraft operators and authorized service providers; for each organization, establishing a second database identifying the ramp agents that it employs and associating biometric data with each ramp agent; providing the ramp agent with a terminal; and when attempting to establish communication between the ramp agent and the aircraft, performing two checks relating firstly to the identity of the ramp agent and secondly to the ramp agent's employer organization in order to verify whether the agent is indeed authorized to establish such communication.

The present invention relates to an autonomous, multi-use, subterranean aircraft pull-through system that connects with an aircraft arriving at the ramp pick-up point and transits through the terminal building, in a unidirectional movement, where the aircraft is serviced, then disconnects from the aircraft at the ramp release point. The autonomous, subterranean aircraft pull-through system receives multiple aircraft in a row, with rows adjacent to each other, where aircraft are nose to tail, and side by side, occupying the smallest footprint in the industry. The autonomous, subterranean aircraft pull-through system is remotely controlled and operates autonomously in a subterranean manner to assist in servicing the aircraft. The system helps to speed up the aircraft handling component of airside operations, improve safety, reduce emissions, and the cost factors borne by both airports and airlines. The autonomous, subterranean aircraft pull-through system design is versatile in handling all code A-F (ICAO) aircraft.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to synchronization of a ground support vehicle with a taxiing aircraft, so as to provide ground support services during taxi operation. After landing, a taxiing aircraft obtains a parking destination from a ground traffic controller. A first navigational route from a first location of the taxiing aircraft to the parking destination is determined. The taxiing aircraft transmits a signal indicative of the first navigational route to the ground support vehicle. A second navigational route of the ground support vehicle is determined so as to intercept the taxiing aircraft. The ground support vehicle navigates according to the determined second navigational route, and couples to the taxiing aircraft at a coupling location common to both the first and the second navigational routes. The ground support vehicle provides ground support service during continued navigation according to a coupled portion of the first navigational route.