The intelligent apron traffic signal lights and the airport emergency command and dispatch system, jointly developed by Duolun Technology and the China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology (CAST), have recently been put into use in Ezhou City of Hubei Province and Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province, respectively. This signifies that Duolun Technology’s intelligent integrated airport solution has been recognized by the market and its ability to apply technology in an airport has been verified once again.

Technology supports the development of airports with four characteristics

On September 25, 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the launching ceremony of Beijing Daxing International Airport and gave important instructions for civil aviation, calling for efforts to build “safe, green, smart and humanistic” airports. In the autumn of 2020, civil aviation authorities released the Guidelines on Development of Airports with Four Characteristics, with an aim to help Chinese airports implement the Action Plan (2020-2035) to Develop Airports with Four Characteristics for China’s Civil Aviation Industry. Building a smart airport provides a crucial technical support and basic guarantee for the development of such airports.

Following Xi’s instructions, Duolun Technology creates a complete smart airport security control system based on years of technology accumulation in the field of smart city and smart transportation. This system is comprised of an airport emergency management system, an apron traffic signal light control system, an airport security management system, and an airport digital twin system. It has become an intelligent integrated airport solution with Duolun characteristics.

Accelerating the construction of smart airports

In January 2024, the intelligent apron traffic signal lights, jointly developed by Duolun Technology and CAST, were officially put into use in Ezhou Huahu International Airport (formerly known as Ezhou Huahu Airport) in Hubei, the first professional freight airport in Asia. The traffic signal lights have effectively reduced the operational risk at the apron and greatly enhanced the safety margin and efficiency of ground operations at the airport.

Intelligent apron traffic signal lights

The intelligent apron traffic signal lights utilize various sensing technologies, such as radar, AI video recognition, cloud data fusion, and edge computing, to perform real-time calculations and integrated analysis of comprehensive air traffic information, route information, flight dynamics, and entry/exit status within the air traffic control system. This enables intelligent control and fine management of traffic at critical areas of the airport. It effectively regulates and ensures the smooth flow of vehicles, avoiding operational conflicts caused by long waiting times or blind passages.

Airport emergency command and dispatch system

Riding on artificial intelligence, digital multimedia and multi-network convergence communication technology, the airport emergency command and dispatch system, which can cater to the actual demand of the airport and meet the requirements of Civil Aviation Administration of China for construction of smart airports, focuses on offering a digital emergency plan, and integrates different emergency resources and departmental rescue forces at the airport to build a "smart brain" for airport emergency rescue information processing and command and dispatch by creating a knowledge graph according to the plan and using machine/deep learning models and natural language text processing.

Creating a new model for smart airports

With the implementation of the strategy to build China’s strength in civil aviation in the new era, remarkable results have been achieved in the intelligent development of airports across the country. Demonstration projects for airports with four characteristics, represented by Ezhou Huahu International Airport, have emerged. In the future, Duolun Technology will continuously team up with civil aviation research institutes like CAST to promote the application of its intelligent integrated airport solution, create a new model for smart airports, and support aviation hubs in reinforcing the security foundation and building competitive first-class airports.