Enav, the company that manages civil air traffic in Italy, has inaugurated at Brindisi airport the first remotely managed control tower in Italy. This is a new technology that allows air traffic controllers to manage all take-off, landing and ground handling operations from a station (Remote Tower Module) that can be positioned even many kilometers away from the airport.
Inside the RTM, the controllers not only have a better view than they would have from the conventional control tower, but they can have at their disposal a series of tools that support them in air traffic management, increasing safety and operational efficiency of the airport. The exact reconstruction of the 360 degree panorama visible from a traditional control tower is guaranteed by 18 fixed cameras which show the images on 13 high definition monitors positioned inside the Digital Tower.
Thanks to systems based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, it is possible to integrate the camera images with other data that allow the detection and tracking of moving objects and vehicles directly in the visual presentation of the panorama, with levels of precision and accuracy superior to those of the human eye.
Thanks to this new technology, in some airports it will be possible, for example, extend the 24-hour air traffic control service, with consequent positive effects on tourism and cargo traffic. Also, the simultaneous management of multiple control towers in a single operating center will become reality within a few years.
