4 minute read
Airport traffic control
Airport mobility data control
The ‘El Prat’ airport of Barcelona, one of the most visited cities in the world, is now managing its inbound and outbound vehicle flow based on intelligent traffic data technology systems
Words | Juan Campos Duró and Anna Michael, Sensefields, Spain
Analysis, monitoring and regulation of the traffic flow at both terminals of Barcelona Airport – El Prat, situated 13km (8 miles) from one of the most visited cities in the world, were the main challenges of the company that runs the airport. There was a fundamental need for traffic management improvement to enhance operations, as well as the visitor experience. Efficient qualitative and quantitative analysis of the inbound and outbound vehicle traffic at the airport demanded a sophisticated data collection and distribution solution, but that was not possible while the airport’s drop-off, parking and pick-up services were managed by on-site personnel communicating via radio transmitters or cell phones.
Based on these requirements, Sensefields wireless traffic data management technology was selected as the ideal tool for controlling the traffic at both the short stay parking area of the departures zone and the taxi passenger pick-up area at arrivals, as well as for reporting on quantitative and qualitative traffic data on the traffic as a whole. Ensuring data accuracy, easy and quick application, and very low maintenance costs, Sensefields technology provided three traffic solutions on the airport premises.
Taxi traffic flow monitoring
To regulate the taxi traffic between the holding zone, where the taxis queue before passing through the airport terminal exit, and the passenger pick-up area, Sensefields designed a customized solution that can efficiently handle the supply and demand of taxis, standardize the length of the queues, enhance security and facilitate the smooth flow of traffic.
Sensefields wireless magnetic sensors are installed in both the holding zone and the pick-up area and transmit traffic data to the data processing stations. This data is passed to the collector server, which is incorporated into the airport’s centrally controlled management software, and enables real-time communication between the two airport areas. This integrated data collection and bidirectional communication system is used to facilitate, report and monitor all taxi traffic processes in the area. These processes include: • Providing the real-time number of taxis waiting in each of the loading zones, the
number of vehicles that have passed through each zone and the real-time number of the vehicles in the waiting areas; • Monitoring the exit time and the destination of the taxis parked in the waiting areas; • Automatically opening and closing the exit barriers of the waiting areas depending on vehicle demand in the loading zones; • Informing taxi drivers stationed in the waiting areas about the actual status of the loading zones, letting them know via LED signs if they are in need of vehicles and how many; • Calculating the minimum number of vehicles that should be available in each of the loading zones according to the time, demand and additional parameters, so that more taxis are requested from the waiting areas if required; • Interconnecting the Sensefields collector server with the Scena flight information system, so that if there are no scheduled flight arrivals, the flow of taxis to the loading area is paused; • Obtaining real-time data, statistics and reports, in conjunction with historical data, for all the waiting and loading zones.
Controlling the ‘kiss and fly’ zones
For the ‘kiss and fly’ short-stay parking area queue control system, control stations have been installed at the parking zones’ entrance and after the access barriers. The collected data, which is transmitted to the collector server, is processed using algorithms to identify the number of vehicles queued at each barrier, generate alarms according to the minimum or maximum number of vehicles and expected waiting
Sensefields’s wireless magnetic sensor technology
times, and report daily and historical data and statistics according to time slot and terminal.
The power of data
Recognizing the crucial role of data management for the airport, the client moved on with an advanced classification and quantification system to gain a complete and highly accurate image of all inbound and outbound airport traffic: real-time quantity, type and speed of the vehicles that access or leave the terminals, as well as daily and historical data, graphs, statistics and reports that give clear insights about the traffic flow based on lane, time, terminal and type of vehicle.
With an application turnaround time of two months, El Prat can now efficiently handle the millions of passenger arrivals every year, and make well-founded management, operational, commercial and administrative decisions based both on experience and actual con ditions. The Sensefields product is expected to reduce congestion outside the terminals, ensure road safety and maintain continuous taxi availability for a unique service experience from the very first moment passengers arrive in Barcelona. n
The challenge for airport operators is to be able to manage mobility efficiently, in real time, while adapting to different traffic regulation patterns based on highly accurate data
Antonio Lalaguna Lisa, chief technology officer (CTO), Sensefields
Left: Fastrack – Sensefields’
