ATLAS
THE VITAL COMPONENT FOR EFFICIENT VERTIPORT OPERATIONS
Autonomous Pushback & Taxiing Vehicle
Meet vertiport flight throughput requirements with safe & quick aircraft transfers between parking stands and FATOs
ATLAS is an electric & autonomous ground support vehicle designed to pushback and taxi eVTOLs and Part 23 aircraft
AUTOMATED AIRSIDE
ATLAS’ onboard autonomy stack (powered by HALO) complements cloud-based airside navigation with localized path-planning & collision avoidance
SAFE PUSHBACK & TAXIING
Full 360º visibility achieved with a redundant sensor stack, designed to prevent wing + tail strikes and detect & avoid obstacles while towing aircraft
EXTENDED AIRCRAFT RANGE
Sustainably taxi aircraft between parking stands and FATOs for an engine-off operation to extend aircraft range, while reducing energy consumption and vertiport noise
MINIMIZED OPERATING COSTS
Avoid expensive ground handling-related accidents and FOD through perfect repeatability and reduce ramp agent workload
CONOPS
HALO Dispatches ATLAS
Our software pulls from the vertiport/OEM’s real-time flight plans to inform taxi-in or taxi-out operations for aircraft. Vehicle operational statuses across the vertiport are relayed to HALO, where available vehicles with nominal charge levels are considered for the operation. HALO dispatches a tow vehicle and plots a trajectory between a parking stand and FATO.
Aircraft Rendezvous & Precision Alignment Coupling
Once ATLAS navigates to the dispatched pick-up point, a computer vision-based Precision Alignment system is used to orient the vehicle in parallel with the nose gear of the eVTOL using top-mounted cameras. Precision Alignment engages when the nose-landing gear (NLG) is ≤1m away and within a 90º FOV of the vehicle’s forward cameras. Computer vision identifies NLG features such as the wheel, fairing, strut, and fuselage underbelly. The vehicle approaches the NLG within a 20º buffer angle, where measurement feedback from Precision Alignment is fed to the motor controllers to adjust the vehicle’s position & orientation.
ATLAS Tows Aircraft Across Airfield
After coupling with the aircraft, ATLAS begins taxiing on an optimal trajectory plotted by HALO to the desired FATO or parking stand. Similarly, dynamic path updates for the vehicle are issued when necessary through the cloud according to potential weather warnings, air traffic/flight plan changes, or near-field obstacles/obstructions detected by the tow vehicle’s sensor suite.
Aircraft Dropoff & Operational Status Update
ATLAS holds on the designated airfield marking prior to entering a FATO or parking stand, and receives final clearance to drop-off the aircraft. In the parking stand, the vehicle may remain attached to the eVTOL for the duration of the turnaround. On the FATO, ATLAS decouples from the aircraft using Precision Alignment, relays a status availability update, and navigates to its base station or next mission location.
