Modeling with Robotran the autonomous electrical taxi and pushback operations of an Airbus A320

Details

Supervisors

Fisette, Paul ; Dehez, Bruno

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil électromécanicien

Abstract

Nowadays, commercial flights are very close to a full automation while several means of transport already made the move. Civilian transport airplanes offer the possibility to fly in a fully automated mode from a few seconds after take-off to the exit of the runway - down to 60 knots- after landing. However, three flight sequences are not covered yet by an automated solution : the take-off, the taxi and the pushback. This work is a global approach of an autonomous taxi and pushback system implemented on an Airbus A320. The study explores the fundamentals of ground operations, vehicle dynamics and modeling technique with Robotran. Based on specifications respecting nowadays airport operations, three aircraft configuration options are explored on a mechanical, automation and electrical point of view. A comparison of the different aircraft configurations ends up on several optimization perspectives and on potential new research topics. Autonomous taxi and pushback systems would significantly improve ground safety, traffic flow management and very low visibility operations