AviTech Reader

We are still all about reducing emissions and now at airport level where taxing is another area that huge jets like the Airbus and Boeing use up and burn a lot of fuel while taxing around to a hanger or maintenance bays. This is where we bring on stage one Ricardo who has worked with Israeli Aerospace Industries(IAI) for about 15 months to develop the TaxiBot- a 52-tonne, six wheel pilot operated robotics vehicle without aircraft width, taxiway or airway limits. It could require airport infrastructure changes but will end up reducing noise and air pollution. The structure includes an IAI patented turret, energy absorption systems and controls. The aircraft nose wheel is clamped on to the turret that can tilt,rotate and move axially. The bot has 2-500hp diesel V8 engines a, hydrostatic drive system and a hydraulic system that can handle four wheel steering and aircraft pickup and clamp actuators. It has electronic controllers for force, communication, navigation and speed control.

Its operation is in such a way that, once the bot is engaged with the aircraft nose and locked in place, the turret is able to rotate freely and even take steering and braking commands from the nose wheel directly such that the pilot will not notice that he or she is being towed by a bot. It is however, imperative to learn that aircraft brakes slow down the aircraft and not the tug. At the end of the process, the bot won’t require any driver apart from the pilot in the aircraft. After testing was done, the demo version was shipped to Toulouse airport for further field tests and improvements done before production.

Ricardo’s project that run since 2008 underwent successful testing as seen in the various photos here and the contract has been renewed to allow Ricardo to continue the development of the TaxiBot to the next level. The testing of the first TaxiBot was carried out in 2010, towing an Airbus A340 aircraft at Toulouse airport and subsequently, a Boeing 747 of the Lufthansa fleet at Frankfurt while being maneuvered by the pilots of the respective aircraft. The weather at Frankfurt was not very good but according to IAI reports of this testing, a Lufthansa test pilot was quoted to have really praised its performance on icy and slippery grounds. The second phase of development is expected to see the first commercial implementation of the TaxiBot this year.