Automated hazard detection for safe airport apron operations using a (weather-)robust LiDAR object recognition system

除了机场跑道是对航空旅行造成相当大风险的组成部分外，特别是机场运动区的特点是航空系统安全事件的大量和经验性积累。由于邻近机场停机坪的操作人员、技术和程序的标准化程度很低，到目前为止，机场缓解风险的程序和技术措施一直只集中在机动区域。在德累斯顿理工大学进行的初步研究表明，运营商的信息画面存在缺陷，这将极大地增加机场运动区的风险。如果出现这种缺乏信息的情况，操作员识别危险并随后避免损害的能力将明显受到限制。在这一点上，通过激光雷达传感实现的信息质量水平的提高被认为是有效降低风险的关键因素。根据欧洲控制组织的规定，这一假设的各自证据将随着已建立的风险评估程序的应用而提供，这是一个申请人多年来一直在积累重要经验的领域。然后，在方法学上确定了风险缓解的潜力后，将通过激光雷达传感器技术对各自的潜力进行实验验证，该技术生成停机坪上所有物体的3D点云，该停机坪将安装在德累斯顿国际机场。激光雷达被认为特别有资格可视化危险原因，并得出与安全关键事件有关的危险指示器。更重要的是，LiDAR的这些基本特性生成了3D点云，因此收集的实验结果可以有条不紊地传输到其他传感器(如红外、雷达)。因此，将基于事故和事件数据对停机坪控制器的任务进行系统的危险评估，随后确定视觉指示器为相应原因。此外，将开发激光雷达监测概念，包括将接受实验验证的三维点云可视化的人机界面概念。在此基础上，将在情景的帮助下对已识别的危险进行建模，并将在操作HMI时进一步分析其对风险缓解的估计贡献。在德累斯顿机场设想的试验性实地测试范围内，相关情景将由操作停机坪管制员(由机场当局批准)重建和评估。将评估目视手段在多大程度上有助于提高危险原因的发现概率和有效降低风险。德累斯顿机场各自的合作协议附在此次招标之后。

In addition to the airport runway being a component that incurs considerable risk to air travel, in particular airfield movement areas are characterized by a substantial and empirical proven accumulation of safety occurrences in the aviation system. Due to a significant low degree of standardization for operators, technology, and procedures on the neighboring airport apron, procedural and technological measures for risk mitigation at the airport have been exclusively focusing on the maneuvering area so far. Preliminary studies conducted at TU Dresden have shown deficiencies in the operators information picture that would significantly contribute to an increased risk on the airport`s movement areas. If such a lack of information occurs, the operator`s capability to recognize the hazard and subsequently avoid damage would be clearly limited. At this point, the augmentation of the information level of quality, enabled by LiDAR sensing, is considered as key element for effective risk mitigation. The respective proof of this hypothesis will be provided along the application of established risk assessment procedures according to EUROCONTROL, a field, in which the applicant has been gathering significant experience for years. Then, after the potential for risk mitigation will have been identified on a methodological basis, the respective potential will be experimentally verified by means of LiDAR sensor technology generating 3D point clouds of all objects on the apron which will be installed at Dresden International Airport. LiDAR is judged of being exceptionally qualified to visualize hazard causes and derived hazard indicators connected to safety critical occurrences. Even more, these fundamental characteristics of LiDAR generated 3D point clouds and thus so gathered experimental results can methodically be transferred to other sensors (e.g. infrared, RADAR).As such, a methodical hazard assessment of the apron controller`s task based on accident and incident data will be conducted, subsequently followed by the identification of visual indicators as corresponding cause. Further, a LiDAR monitoring concept will be developed, including an HMI concept for a 3D point cloud visualization that will be subject to experimental validation. Along this, identified hazards will be modeled with the help of scenarios and will be further analyzed on their estimated contribution to risk mitigation while operating the HMI. In the scope of an envisaged experimental field-test at Dresden Airport, relevant scenarios will be reconstructed and assessed by operational apron controllers (granted by the airport authority). It will be evaluated how far a contribution to a higher detection probability of hazards causes and effective risk mitigation can be achieved by visual means. The respective cooperation agreement from Dresden Airport is attached to this tender.