AIRFIELD. Transition has been a constant in aviation. From landing on farms and fields to full-fledged airports, aviators have seen it all. So has ADB SAFEGATE. For 75 years, we have had the unique experience of evolving for our customers through each industrial leap. Today, we are harnessing Industry 4.0 technologies to deliver smart, interconnected airfields for our customers. We invite you on our journey to a fully enabled Airfield 4.0.

Transition has been a constant in aviation. From landing on farms and fields to full-fledged airports, aviators have seen it all. So has ADB SAFEGATE. For 75 years, we have had the unique experience of evolving for our customers through each industrial leap. The airfield journey began with industry 1.0 when a wick-in-kerosene arrangement called a gooseneck flare was used when there were no permanent runway lighting systems. Goosenecks, which could somewhat withstand wind, were used to illuminate the flight pathways at night so pilots could identify landing stretches.

With the proliferation of electricity, the creation of beacons followed, ushering in industry 2.0. We started in 1920 with theatre lighting, and the transition to rotating beacon lights, a classic aid for landing in the dark, quickly followed. Soon after, approach lights with color codes approved by international civil aviation standards were introduced, providing signaling with lighting patterns and color cues. They helped pilots to land in various weather and visual conditions.

The next big innovation came with industry 3.0, when partial automation with IT-driven controls and computers substantially eliminated human assistance. ADB SAFEGATE introduced its Advanced Surface Movement and Guidance System to enable better airfield lighting control and monitoring for greater safety and efficiency. It was a significant move toward our aim to achieve superior airport performance, and today, it continues to provide pilots with visual guidance through concepts like Follow the Greens for taxiing aircraft.

Industry 4.0 is built on the advances of industry 3.0, using integrated cyber-physical systems to run a process safely and efficiently. An airfield has many diverse assets spread over a vast area. And, like a human neural network that uses axons to carry sensor input or commands between neurons, our new LED inset light fixture can gather situational data from its surroundings.

ADB SAFEGATE sees Airfield 4.0 as the core of future air travel. Intelligent hardware devices, equipped with the right-sized wireless medium for communication, together with AI-enabled analytics, are set to take operations and situational awareness to a whole new level. At ADB SAFEGATE, we envision smart interconnected airfield assets that result in predictive maintenance operations, providing an end-to-end collaborative solution. We will not stop until we achieve our vision, and we invite you on our journey to fully enable Airfield 4.0 for our customers.

ADB SAFEGATE will present its Airfield 4.0 vision and launch exciting new digital technologies at the Airport Show in Dubai, May 17-19.  More to come!