A new project with regional companies launches at the PAD Innovation Airport
A new project involving regional actors has been launched at the PAD Innovation Airport. The focus is on automated baggage handling, which is intended to be implemented at airports in the future. The project aims to digitalize processes that have so far been carried out exclusively manually during the loading and unloading of baggage. In addition to Paderborn/ Lippstadt Airport and the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design IEM (Fraunhofer IEM, Paderborn), INSENSIV GmbH (Bielefeld), Ulrich Rotte Anlagenbau und Fördertechnik GmbH (Salzkotten), and verlinked GmbH (Paderborn) are participating in the project.
One of the biggest challenges at airports is the handling of baggage. Typically, passengers drop off their suitcases at the Check-In counter before departure, from where they are transported fully automatically via conveyor belts to the loading area on the apron. During this process, the baggage is checked for prohibited substances, size, and weight and registered in the system. However, loading on the apron and the subsequent handling of the baggage is carried out manually at almost all regional and international airports.
This process not only includes the continuous manual identification and assignment of baggage to the corresponding transport containers or flights, but also the time-consuming and physically demanding tasks of manually loading and unloading baggage into the aircraft. Employees often have to move between 1,000kg and 2,000kg per hour and in the worst-case scenario up to 16,000kg per shift. “This workload places enormous physical strain on the team. Manual work processes are inefficient and can also lead to delays or bottlenecks”, emphasizes Airport CEO Roland Hülser.
To improve the situation, innovative solutions are required to enable the automated loading of heterogenous baggage items into transport carts. The universal detection systems, that are to be developed, will provide the relevant information to intelligent loading systems for automated loading and unloading. The project focuses on developing technologies for the automatic identification, localization and handling of various types of baggage, which are being invented by the project team.
The aim of the project is to automate tasks that are currently carried out manually. First, customized handling strategies for a wide range of baggage items will be developed to support the loading and unloading of transport carts and implemented using innovative intelligent loading systems. End-to-end digital connectivity enables the identification and localization of baggage, ensuring not only correct handling but also collecting data to make the loading process more transparent overall. We are focusing on five key areas: Relieving employees, increasing efficiency, optimizing costs, improving precision and reliability and expanding baggage-handling capacities”, explains Dr. Franz-Barthold Gockel, CEO at Ulrich Rotte Anlagenbau und Fördertechnik GmbH, on behalf of the project partners involved.
