Systems and methods for autonomous aircraft capturing, lifting, and pushback
An aircraft tow vehicle comprises a turntable lifting unit configured to automatically rotate and lift for attachment to a nose landing gear of an aircraft. A gate coupled to the turntable lifting unit automatically unlocks, opens to receive the nose landing gear, closes to secure the nose landing gear, and locks. A sensor system detects the nose landing gear. A controller receives data from the sensor system, processes the data to determine a position of the nose landing gear, and controls the turntable lifting unit while automatically adjusting a position of the tow vehicle relative to the nose landing gear. A moving floor adjusts to accommodate different nose wheel sizes. A nose wheel adapter automatically positions itself to hold down the nose landing gear when weight is detected on the moving floor.
1. A tow vehicle configured to automatically perform aircraft towing operations, the tow vehicle comprising:
a turntable lifting unit configured to automatically rotate and lift for attachment to a nose landing gear of an aircraft;
a gate coupled to the turntable lifting unit, the gate configured to automatically unlock, open to receive the nose landing gear, close to secure the nose landing gear, and lock;
a sensor system comprising one or more sensors configured to detect the nose landing gear;
a controller configured to:
receive data from the sensor system,
process the data to determine a position of the nose landing gear,
process the data to detect a pushback line;
process the data to determine a position of the nose landing gear relative to the pushback line; and
control the turntable lifting unit while automatically adjusting a position of the tow vehicle relative to the nose landing gear;
a moving floor coupled to the turntable lifting unit, the moving floor configured to automatically adjust to accommodate different nose wheel sizes during a pushback operation to maintain alignment of the aircraft with the pushback line; and
a nose wheel adapter configured to automatically position itself to hold down the nose landing gear when weight is detected on the moving floor.
2. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sensor system comprises at least one of a camera sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, or a laser sensor.
3. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to automatically control the turntable lifting unit to maintain the nose landing gear in a straight position relative to a roll axis of the aircraft during towing.
4. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the turntable lifting unit is configured as an electro-mechanical system without hydraulics.
5. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to detect line markings, objects, and/or symbols and control the tow vehicle in response.
6. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sensor system is further configured to:
detect an intersection of the pushback line with another line indicating a turn;
receive input indicating a turn direction; and
automatically rotate the aircraft in place based on the detected intersection and the indicated turn direction.
7. The tow vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the controller is further configured to automatically release the aircraft from the tow vehicle upon completion of the pushback operation.
8. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the tow vehicle comprises two individual drive units, each containing a redundant drive system.
9. The tow vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to interface with a digital twin of an operating environment of the tow vehicle, and wherein the controller is configured to use information from the digital twin to assist in navigation and decision-making during towing operations.
10. A method for automatically towing an aircraft, the method comprising:
detecting, by a sensor system of an aircraft tow vehicle, a nose landing gear of an aircraft;
processing, by a controller of the aircraft tow vehicle, data from the sensor system to determine a position of the nose landing gear;
controlling, by the controller, a turntable lifting unit of the aircraft tow vehicle while automatically adjusting a position of the aircraft tow vehicle relative to the nose landing gear;
unlocking and opening a gate coupled to the turntable lifting unit;
surrounding the nose landing gear with the turntable lifting unit;
closing and locking the gate to secure the nose landing gear;
adjusting a moving floor coupled to the turntable lifting unit to accommodate a size of the nose landing gear;
lifting the nose landing gear;
clamping the nose landing gear; and
rotating the tow vehicle in place without turning the nose landing gear;
detecting a pushback line;
aligning the aircraft with the pushback line;
automatically adjusting the position of the aircraft tow vehicle during a pushback operation to maintain alignment of the aircraft with the pushback line;
detecting an intersection of the pushback line with another line indicating a turn;
receiving input indicating a turn direction; and
automatically rotating the aircraft in place based on the detected intersection and the indicated turn direction.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the sensor system comprises at least one of a camera sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, or a laser sensor.
12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising maintaining the nose landing gear in a straight position relative to a roll axis of the aircraft during towing.
13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
detecting, line markings, objects, and/or symbols; and
automatically controlling the aircraft tow vehicle in response to the detected line markings, objects, and/or symbols.
14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising automatically positioning a nose wheel adapter to hold down the nose landing gear when weight is detected on the moving floor.
15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising automatically releasing the aircraft from the aircraft tow vehicle upon completion of the pushback operation.
16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
interfacing, by the controller, with a digital twin of an operating environment of the aircraft tow vehicle; and
using information from the digital twin to assist in navigation and decision-making during towing operations.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the method is performed entirely autonomously by the aircraft tow vehicle without human intervention, including autonomously navigating to the aircraft, performing a towing operation, and returning to a designated location after completion of the towing operation.
18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
detecting, by the sensor system, human gestures;
processing, by the controller, the detected human gestures to determine corresponding instructions; and
automatically controlling the aircraft tow vehicle in response to the determined instructions.