2023 AGENDA

ADB SAFEGATE delivers safer routing and guidance using innovative, intelligent taxiway lights. Instead of relying on green Taxiway Centerline Lights only, ADB Safegate introduced adaptive taxiway centreline lights, which allow that the light to be emitted can be switched between two colours. This pioneering innovation raises A-SMGCS routing and guidance services to the next level.
There are several operational situations for which pilots have been asking to improve safety for long time via the use of “stop lights” (similar to traditional road traffic lights), and that is now possible having the capability to switch lights from Green to Red:
-During low visibility, high traffic density or even at normal visibility, there’s no means to stop an aircraft other than radio communication from Tower to Pilot. Switching (automatically) a green Taxiway Centerline Light to red is a fast method to give a clear indication to the pilot to stop without the need of radio telecommunication.
-The use of adaptive taxiway lights that can be switched from Green to Red gives clarity during Follow the Greens operations and allows to overcome a significant shortcoming of the current Follow the Greens concept, which is the ambiguity how a pilot has to react if the aircraft reaches the end of a green light band, with another green light band continuing after some distance. Furthermore, the clear indication of the stop indication allows pilots to accurately control the aircraft speed and reduce stops and/or braking actions.
-Using adaptive taxiway lights allows to introduce further safe guidance concepts that exist in parallel to Follow the Greens operations and can be implemented much easier since there are no changes to existing ATC operations; however, the situational awareness of pilots (and pushback or other vehicle drivers) is vastly improved.