New surveillance system improves safety on airport runways
ConvergenceAsia staff
20/09/2007

An IT system developed by Stratech Systems is able to monitor airport runways for foreign objects and debris (FOD) to enhance safety, a recent pilot trial has found.

The pilot, conducted at Singapore Changi Airport, showed that the iFerret runway surveillance and FOD detection system was able to reliably detect foreign objects left on the runway surface down to 2cm in size from 300 metres away, under clear weather conditions.

The system also delivered impressive results under rainy conditions, being able to detect FOD as small as 4cm in size under 16mm/hr of rainfall.

The iFerret system also proved highly reliable under day and night conditions – underscoring its feasibility for round-the-clock runway FOD surveillance. In addition, iFerret was able to accurately identify FOD despite the presence of environmental factors such as aircraft movements, ambient lighting, rain, shadows or clouds.

With the system in place, airport personnel can monitor the presence of FOD in real-time under all kinds of weather and environmental conditions. Air traffic and ground operations control staff can visually assess the FOD identified on a remote screen display without having to physically visit the runway. They can then take immediate action to clear the FOD to ensure the safety and maintain the efficiency of airport operations.

The 15-month trial, which ended in July 2007, was jointly put together and funded by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Stratech and The Enterprise Challenge (TEC). TEC, an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) of Singapore, provides funding for testing innovative ideas that can potentially improve the delivery of public services. It assists proposers who have innovative ideas to identify and provide suitable trial test-beds within the Public Service.

Separately, based on the trial findings, the Center of Excellence in Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois – a performing partner for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) R&D Center in the US – has made a recommendation for iFerret to undergo a full evaluation at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. CEAT is currently coordinating testing with the Chicago Department of Aviation and Stratech.

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