UK Airport Assessing 120KM of Runways, Taxiways and Operational Areas with 6D Road Scanning Technology
Airport infrastructure is constantly exposed to heavy loads and intensive operational use. Keeping runways, taxiways and other paved areas in good condition requires reliable information about what is happening on the surface—and where.
The innovation group of a medium-size UK airport evaluated the potential of XenomatiX’ 6D Road Scanning, a combination of high precision LiDAR, camera, GNSS and AI technology, as part of a wider pavement scanning and operational project. This validation project took a broader approach: digitizing a range of paved operational areas for a total of 120 km, including
- Runways
- Taxiways
- Service roads
- Parking areas
The objective was to create a detailed digital twin of the airport’s entire paved area, not just as a one-off survey, but as a accurate and reliable source of information, giving different teams access to a consistent view of the airport’s pavement infrastructure. The project also explored Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection to potentially identify objects or anomalies on the pavement surface that could present an operational risk.
Rather than deploying separate technologies for each use case, 6D Road Scanning brings along a common digital representation of paved surfaces – all captured, analyzed, and shared within one system. Its data generates key pavement condition indicators such as PCI, rutting and IRI, together with detailed mapping of detected defects in accordance with ASTM D5340 for airport pavements. Every defect can be linked to its precise location on the airport. Airport operators can see not only what is wrong, but where it is, what type of defect is present, and where maintenance attention may be required.
By digitizing runways, taxiways, service roads and parking areas, the airport can begin building a more detailed and consistent digital picture of its infrastructure.
Interested in exploring what 6D Road Scanning could do for your airport? Contact XenomatiX to discuss your application or innovation project.
XenomatiX will present a webinar on the impact of “6D Road Scanning on airport”. Join us
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This article was originally published by XenomatiX.
