The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is looking to install 122 Inxee Systems’ SmartDock artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled mechanism at nine airports across the country at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore by February, 2025, multiple officials and executives aware of the ongoing development told Moneycontrol. The upcoming installation aims to further enhance passengers' safety and operational efficiency at these airports.
What is SmartDock?
The SmartDock is a Visual Docking Guidance System (VDGS) that works on Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors, which have been developed indigenously. It will be installed at airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Goa, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Tiruchirappalli, Nate Srinath Nudurupati, co-founder and Director, Inxee Systems, told Moneycontrol.
"The largest installations of the SmartDock systems will be carried out at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) in Kolkata, followed by Chennai International Airport, Pune, Goa, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Tiruchirappalli," Nudurupati said.
Last year, the AAI had certified the VDGS systems. Inxee Systems is also in consultations with GMR Airports to deploy the smart technology at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Aircraft docking refers to the process of parking, servicing, and maintaining an aircraft at a docking station.
Successful trial run
A trial of SmartDock was conducted for three months at the NSCBIA in Kolkata last year. The mechanism helped pilots during docking aircraft. It further enhances safety protocols and precision while manoeuvring an aircraft for parking, AAI officials told Moneycontrol.
"Not only will the VDGS systems improve efficiency at airport, but it will also help improve safety during parking during inclement weather conditions such as fog, snow and heavy rainfall. The system will also help reduce the need for manpower on the ground for parking an aircraft," said an AAI official.
Similarly, another official weighed in on the government's larger plan. The government is planning to ramp up facilities and improve efficiency at smaller airports in the country. Installation of the new VDGS systems at AAI-run airports is seen as a step towards that direction, he said.
"New VDGS systems will be installed across another 15 airports in the next two-three years amid an uptick in domestic air traffic. Safe and efficient aircraft movement are paramount for seamless operations," the second official said.
Winter woes for airlines
Earlier this month, IndiGo, the country's largest airline, had told Moneycontrol that the onset of fog in north India during winter months is a challenging proposition for taxing and parking aircraft at airports. The low-cost carrier authorities maintained that it is extremely time- consuming and a tedious process due to low visibility even at airports, where CAT-III landing facilities are available. CAT-III is an instrument landing system (ILS) that allows aircraft to land in low visibility situations such as only 50 metres due to heavy rains, dense fog or, in snow.
"Taxing and parking the aircraft take around 45 minutes to an hour during winter. At times, it could take more time due to extreme fog situations. Taxi ways and parking bays are narrow at most airports," a senior pilot from IndiGo had said.
Lack of facilities at smaller airports
IndiGo executives had also pointed out the airports in north India such as Varanasi and Patna had seen the highest number of flight grounding last year. The matter came to a head after diverted flights to these airports got stuck for hours because they lacked necessary equipment to operate aircraft in extreme fog conditions
SmartDock likely to ease operations
According to Nudurupati, the SmartDock will help pilots park in extreme fog and snow conditions, as the test runs at airports in Amritsar and Srinagar conclusively showed.
"India is in need of around 2,500 VDGS systems," Nudurupati said. However, the requirement is likely to rise to around 10,000 in the next 10 years amid an exponential rise in domestic air traffic operations.
Explosion in Indian skies
Inxee Systems is ready for the explosion in the Indian skies. The company is looking at raising around $10 million in the next year to scale up the size of its operations at a valuation of $100 million.
"We are keen to work with both airport operators and airlines in India to not only scale up operations but also raise funds to increase our manufacturing capacity," Nudurupati told Moneycontrol.
Ready for installation
SmartDock has been successfully deployed at NSCBI Airport in Kolkata and has docked all types of aircraft: A320, A321, A319, A20N, A21N, B737-800, B737-800 Max, and B738, among others. Large aircraft such as A330, A350, B747, B777 and B787-800, too, have been successfully tested. The system utilises a combination of sensors, cameras, and advanced AI-based computer algorithms to provide real-time guidance, feedback, and visualisation to pilots, improving their situational awareness and precision during the docking procedure.
The AI-enabled application can detect obstacles in the path of a moving aircraft such as aerobridge, including ground vehicles that may stray into its path, arriving to dock. It has an in-built mechanism to instruct a pilot to make an emergency stop in a bid to avoid any collision.
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