The Digital Eye For Air Freight
How Artificial Intelligence is Used in Logistics
When air freight is being transported, centimeters matter. In order to make optimal use of the limited space, freight pallets must be stacked in such a way that they replicate the contour of the aircraft as closely as possible. So far, this was based on sense of proportion. Now artificial intelligence (AI) ensures that cargo aircrafts are loaded precisely. This saves time and money and is easy on the nerves.
There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the air freight terminal of Frankfurt Airport. In the huge warehouse, forklifts and small tractors with trailers scurry along color-coded paths. At a height of about five meters, unmanned metal boxes glide along on rails at short intervals, loaded with packages. One by one, freight arrives at a marked place in the hall, where three men in yellow safety vests have gathered around a 244 by 318 centimeter aircraft pallet. Next to it, Benjamin Looser stands with a tablet in his hand and demonstrates what is happening next.
Virtual shell filled in real time
“This display shows a virtual shell. If the employees now load the pallet with cargo up to three meters high by hand, they can see in real time whether the standard dimensions specified by IATA are being met and where there is still space. If the specified limits are exceeded, the display marks the area red and the employees can, for example, move or remove individual parcels,” says Looser, Managing Director at FIEGE Air Cargo Logistics. It is important that the maximum dimensions on an aircraft pallet are observed. “If it doesn’t fit, the pallet is unloaded from the cargo plane again and has to stay on the ground. This can quickly mean a high loss of sales for our customer. If, on the other hand, too much air is left, you waste precious space.”
Loading the pallet is a craft
In the past, individually loaded pallets – also known as “built contours” and thus the counterpart to the inflexible metal containers with a standardised slant – were measured with the help of a so-called contour rod. Employees placed the metre-long curved template in the shape of the aircraft contour over the loaded pallet and checked with a sense of proportion. “Loading the pallet so that it fits perfectly on the plane is basically a craft. Experienced colleagues can do it, but for beginners it is a challenge,” says Looser.
Build Up Eye works with LiDAR cameras
In order to make this craft less prone to errors and to get the most out of space utilisation, the digital assistance system “Build Up Eye” is now being used. Fiege developed it jointly with Deutsche Telekom. With the help of two LiDAR cameras and their laser technology, the software measures the aircraft pallet three-dimensionally at the packing station. While the employees load the pallet, they can use a virtual template on the display to track in real time whether the simulated contours are being adhered to. This is made possible by the “AI-Vision” software, an AI-supported image and video analysis platform from Deutsche Telekom.
AI allows for concentration on other tasks
“For us, this solution plays a role not only in terms of improved quality and capacity utilisation, but also in terms of incentives. We can now track which employees load pallets optimally and grant a performance bonus for this. At the same time, this technology enables our employees to concentrate even more than before on complying with the numerous requirements,” explains Looser. This is because aircraft regulation, country regulation or loadability make the activity complex anyway, so that “Build Up Eye” has a relieving effect.
International expansion
With around 1,000 employees, FIEGE is the largest ground handling service provider at Frankfurt Airport. The assistance system, which is unique in the world, is to be expanded in the coming months and could also be used in the future at other international cargo airports as well as for freight forwarders who want to make optimal use of their limited loading capacities.
