Airport Innovation in Action: AI, Exoskeletons and Autonomous Technologies

Maastricht Aachen Airport (Netherlands) has introduced German Bionic EXIA exoskeletons for routine cargo-handling operations. The wearable system can be used on the apron and in cargo warehouses. Its sensors analyse lifting movements and provide active back support when required, with adaptive lifting assistance of up to 38 kg. The airport said the equipment is intended to reduce strain on handlers’ lower backs while allowing normal movement.

Maastricht Aachen said it is the first airport in the Netherlands to use the technology in day-to-day cargo handling. The airport has not disclosed the number of units deployed or the value and duration of its agreement with German Bionic.

The airport reported cargo throughput of 41,636 tonnes in 2025, compared with 28,448 tonnes in 2024. It attributed the reported 40% year-on-year increase partly to handling-facility investment for cargo segments including perishables and live animals.  

Brussels Airport (Belgium) has commissioned four new aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles and a driver training simulator as part of a safety investment of almost EUR 6 million (USD 7.0 million). The four Rosenbauer crash tenders replace five vehicles that had reached the end of their operational life. Each 39-tonne vehicle carries 12,500 litres of water, 1,500 litres of foam and 225 kg of dry powder, while roof-mounted monitors can discharge up to 5,200 litres of water per minute. One vehicle is equipped with a piercing nozzle for injecting extinguishing agents directly into aircraft cabins or cargo holds. The vehicles comply with International Civil Aviation Organization and European Union Aviation Safety Agency standards.

The investment also includes a simulator equipped with the same cab as the new crash tenders to support driver training under realistic emergency conditions. Brussels Airport's fire service employs 150 staff and now operates a fleet of approximately 25 emergency vehicles, including six crash tenders deployed from two fire stations to meet the airport's required emergency response times.  

International Airlines Group (IAG) has invested in wearable robotics company Verve Motion and will trial exosuits designed to reduce physical strain on baggage handlers and cargo workers. The investment, made through IAGi Ventures, supports Verve Motion's development of lightweight shoulder-support exosuits that assist workers performing repetitive lifting tasks. The technology will be tested in live airport operations to evaluate its ability to reduce fatigue, lower the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and improve baggage and cargo handling efficiency.

Verve Motion, founded in 2020 and based on research from Harvard University, has already deployed its wearable support systems in logistics and industrial sectors. The latest funding round, which also included personal protective equipment manufacturer HexArmor and other investors, increases the company's total funding to more than USD 55 million.  

Pittsburgh International Airport (Pennsylvania, United States) is conducting a six-month trial of an artificial-intelligence system designed to detect foreign object debris on the airfield. Foreign object debris, or FOD, includes loose material that can damage aircraft or create runway hazards. Illuminex AI’s FODᴬᴵ system uses computer vision to detect, geo-locate and log debris in real time. Critical detections are displayed to inspectors on a tablet, while all records are stored on the company’s InspectEx Cloud platform for review and maintenance planning.

The system is fitted to an airfield-inspection vehicle and will be used at least twice weekly during routine inspections. Its equipment includes a bumper-mounted camera and sensor, an in-vehicle Nvidia computing and communications unit, and a tablet. The trial is expected to conclude in late September or early October 2026.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport, is testing the technology through its xBridge innovation programme. Ontario-based Illuminex AI also has deployments or trials at Toronto Pearson International Airport (Ontario, Canada), Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (Georgia, United States), Morristown Municipal Airport (New Jersey, United States), Columbus Municipal Airport (Indiana, United States), and two unnamed major hubs.

Agereh Technologies has launched AGSET, a cellular GPS tracking unit for airport ground-support equipment. The solar-assisted, battery-powered device is designed to provide location, geofence, movement and impact-event data for equipment on aprons, ramps, cargo areas, hangars and remote stands. It can be fitted to equipment with two screws and transmits data over public or private cellular networks.

AGSET supports public cellular networks, private cellular networks using Citizens Broadband Radio Service and 900 MHz communications. Its IP67-rated enclosure is specified for outdoor use at temperatures from approximately -40°C to +65°C. Public-cellular configurations can operate in more than 150 countries, subject to network coverage and deployment arrangements.

The unit does not require external power, airport-wide readers, cabling or airport Wi-Fi. Agereh said its application programming interface can integrate data with airport operational databases, digital twins, safety and security systems, maintenance platforms and other airport software.  

Airports of Thailand (AOT) has awarded Rohde & Schwarz a contract to supply QPS201 passenger security scanners across five airports, including Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok, Thailand). The scanners use millimetre-wave imaging and artificial-intelligence algorithms to identify prohibited items on passengers. Screening is conducted in an open, hands-down position, with potential alarms displayed on a standardised digital avatar rather than an image of the passenger.

The QPS201 is certified to standards of the European Civil Aviation Conference, which sets common European aviation-security requirements, and qualified by the United States Transportation Security Administration for use at US passenger checkpoints. Rohde & Schwarz said more than 2,000 QPS systems are deployed at airports worldwide.

AOT is Thailand’s state-controlled airport operator. Suvarnabhumi Airport uses a single terminal for domestic and international passengers.

Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Banten Province, Indonesia) has selected DeTect to supply its MERLIN 7360 True3D bird-detection radar system.

The installation will comprise radar units at the ends of each of the airport’s two runways, providing 360° three-dimensional coverage of the airfield and surrounding airspace. The system will identify high-risk bird activity and issue automatic alerts to displays in bird-control vehicles, airfield operations facilities and the control tower.

DeTect will manufacture the equipment in the United States, while its Asia-Pacific office in South Korea will manage the project. InJourney Airports is the airport operator.

MERLIN technology was originally developed for the US Air Force and NASA to detect hazardous bird and drone activity around airfields. DeTect says more than 600 of its bird-detection radar systems are in use globally across aviation-safety and bird-protection applications.

ASSA ABLOY, the access-solutions provider, has agreed to acquire Gunnebo Entrance Control, a manufacturer of speed gates, mass-transit gates and security revolving doors.

Gunnebo Entrance Control will join ASSA ABLOY’s Pedestrian business segment within its Entrance Systems Division. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Gunnebo Entrance Control was formed in 1995, with origins dating to 1764. The company employs approximately 670 people and is headquartered in Maresfield, United Kingdom. It has manufacturing sites in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Its products include entrance-control systems used in transport and other high-security environments, including airport boarding-gate applications.

Aurrigo International has been selected for GBP 1.43 million (USD 1.9 million) in UK government funding to test autonomous vehicles for airport safety work, subject to government approval. The SENTRY project is scheduled to begin in September. Auto-Shuttle vehicles will be assessed for perimeter patrols, runway and taxiway inspections, foreign-object debris detection, wildlife monitoring and security tasks. Trials will first take place in controlled environments, including a specialist facility near Teesside International Airport (Teesside, United Kingdom), before planned live-airport testing at Teesside and in Cincinnati (Ohio, United States).

The project brings together Aurrigo, Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the aviation regulator. It will assess detection times, staff-time savings and emissions reductions, with results to be published for airports and regulators.

Aurrigo is a United Kingdom-based developer of autonomous airport vehicles. Its Auto-DollyTug and Auto-Cargo vehicles operate at eight airports, according to the company. SENTRY is part of the GBP 150 million (USD 200 million) CAM Pathfinder programme.

SITA reported increased use of digital border, operations and baggage technologies in its 2025 Impact Report. The company said 271 million travellers annually received pre-arrival risk assessments supported by its systems, with most completed in under four seconds. In Aruba, digital travel credentials and biometric checks reduced arrival border-processing times to as little as eight seconds, according to SITA.

Its OptiFlight system processed 2.9 million flights for 59 airline customers during 2025. SITA estimated this saved 127,732 tonnes of fuel and avoided 403,633 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. A 2025 trial with French air navigation service provider DSNA at Reims Control Centre reported weather-delay reductions of up to 65%.

SITA also cited baggage-routing deployments at Thai Airways and location-sharing technology used with Apple AirTags. It said AirTag location sharing reduced genuinely lost bags by 90% for participating airlines.

The company reported 2025 revenue of USD 1.71 billion, up 7%, and a 1.3% reduction in its own emissions. SITA said its office electricity supply was 90% renewable. Read the full report here.  

Publisher’s note: The articles in this special report, compiled for inter airport Global, are a few select samples from the biweekly Momberger Airport Information newsletter, published since 1973. The newsletter is an advertising-free, global airport news service that consists of 9 modules and allows subscribers to customize their own newsletter package. The modules that make up the biweekly newsletter are: Airport Development (DEV), Calendar of Events (CAL), and the subscriber-selectable modules Airport Operations (OPS), Management, Ownership & Finance (MGT), Ground Support Equipment (GSE), Air Traffic Services (ATC), Consultant & Contractor / Sustainable Aviation (CON), Airport Information Technology (AIT), and Maintenance Base & FBO (MRO). For more information, a sample of a complete newsletter issue, and to order an annual subscription, please visit www.mombergerairport.info.

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