Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), with its partners TLD and SAS, is expanding its TaxiBot operation and deployment to additional airports: Schiphol in Amsterdam and Kempegowda International Airport (formerly known as Bangalore Airport) in India. With the COVID-19 crisis bringing the operations in airports to a near-halt, airports are using their time and space for testing various developments and ways to streamline their operations. The Amsterdam airport recently started a pilot of aircraft taxiing with the TaxiBot (taxiboting) to streamline the process.
Kempegowda International Airport in India, is also testing the system in order to start operating in readiness for when the airport reopens after the COVID-19-related travelrestrictions are lifted. The TaxiBot, which was developed by IAI’s aviation group and TLD, is a semi-robotic vehicle which connects to the aircraft and is controlled by the pilot. It is used to taxi the aircraft (taxiboting) from the airport’s gate bridge to the runway and back without turning on the airplane’s jet engines. The taxiboting process saves 85% of the fuel burned during taxiiing and similar savings in greenhouse gas emissions. Additional benefits of taxiboting include 60% noise reduction and a 50%-reduction of damage caused by foreign objects sucked into engines during taxiiing. The TaxiBot streamlines an aircraft’s entry and exit from the terminal area, saving around four minutes per departure during routine daily operation.
