Phoenix Airports Begin Ground-Vehicle Collision-Avoidance Testing as Honeywell SURF-A Moves Beyond the Cockpit
Phoenix is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona. Ground vehicles at three Phoenix airports are being fitted this fall with a runway collision-avoidance technology originally built for pilots. Honeywell Aerospace has signed a collaborative research agreement with the City of Phoenix Aviation Department to study bringing its Surface Alert (SURF-A) technology to vehicle operators at Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix Goodyear and Phoenix Deer Valley airports.
SURF-A currently gives pilots real-time aural and visual alerts when an aircraft is on a trajectory toward another aircraft on a runway. The Phoenix study will evaluate expanding that protection beyond the cockpit to fire trucks, ambulances and other vehicles working on ramps, taxiways and runways, combining the avionics with a digital airport map to improve situational awareness. Honeywell says the collaboration marks the first time any airport in the world will use this type of collision-avoidance technology aboard ground vehicles.
The system uses GPS data, ADS-B equipment and software analytics to pinpoint hazards up to 30 seconds before impact. Testing in airport vehicles at the three Phoenix airports begins in October and runs through the end of 2026, after which Honeywell and the city will decide next steps. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the first-of-its-kind partnership with the hometown company is intended to protect airport employees, passengers and flight crews while advancing runway safety.
(Source: Runway Girl Network (Honeywell)
Source: Runway Girl Network
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Robert693 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
