Autonomous Airbus Taxi, Takeoff, and Landing (ATTOL) Initiative

In a significant leap forward for the aviation industry, Airbus, the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, has successfully completed over 500 fully automated taxi, takeoff, and landing maneuvers with an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft as part of its Autonomous Taxi, Takeoff, and Landing (ATTOL) project [2].

Airbus UpNext, the company’s innovation engine, is leading this ambitious project with the goal of rapidly maturing autonomous flight technologies. The project’s success marks a world-first in 2020, with fully automatic vision-based ATTOL using AI-powered image recognition that allows the aircraft to perceive and react to its environment [1].

The ATTOL project was developed to help pilots understand autonomous technologies, as the anticipated growth in air traffic will necessitate more than half a million new pilots and approximately 37,000 new passenger and freight aircraft [3]. Given the expected increase in air travel, other solutions will be required to support pilots in aircraft operations.

Building on the success of ATTOL, Airbus has progressed to the DragonFly demonstrator, which expands autonomous capabilities to emergency situations such as crew incapacitation. DragonFly’s AI evaluates weather, terrain, selects diversion airports, plans new trajectories, and communicates with Air Traffic Control and Operations Control Centers, moving toward certifiable systems for reduced-crew or fully autonomous flight [1].

Arne Stoschek, Wayfinder Project Executive at Acubed, highlights the key challenge for self-piloting capabilities: how the system reacts to unforeseen events [4]. Despite this challenge, Airbus's progress in autonomous flight technology positions them as a frontrunner in AI-driven autonomous aircraft systems development.

Airbus, a European-based multinational aviation company, has three main divisions: commercial aircraft, defense & space, and helicopters. Most of Airbus's production facilities are located in the European Union (France, Germany, Spain), but they also have facilities in China, the UK, and the USA [5].

Since the completion of the ATTOL project, Airbus has been manufacturing and selling the Airbus A320, the world's first commercial digital fly-by-wire aircraft, and the A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft [6]. The company's commitment to innovation and technological advancement continues to shape the future of aviation.

References:

Airbus UpNext
Airbus completes 500+ fully automated taxi, takeoff, and landing maneuvers with an A350-1000
IATA predicts that air traffic will double by 2037
Interview with Arne Stoschek, Wayfinder Project Executive at Acubed
Airbus: Our locations
Airbus A320 and A380
The success of Airbus's Autonomous Taxi, Takeoff, and Landing (ATTOL) project demonstrates the company's advancement in data-and-cloud-computing technology, using artificial-intelligence-powered image recognition for vision-based autonomous flight.
As Airbus progresses from the ATTOL project to the DragonFly demonstrator, the focus shifts to expanding autonomous capabilities to emergency situations, further integrating AI technology and finance by developing certifiable systems for reduced-crew or fully autonomous flight.
In the ever-growing aerospace industry, with expected air traffic to double by 2037 (IATA), Airbus's commitment to innovation, evident in projects like ATTOL and DragonFly, positions the company as a leader in finance, technology, and flight safety.