Many large airports aim to have complete autonomous airside operations in the future. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AAS) for example, launched the Autonomous Airside Operations program to achieve this goal. Our main contribution is to present a Multi-agent Pickup-and-Delivery (MAPD) model that uses a centralized task allocation mechanism to improve the performance of integrated task allocation and path planning for autonomous ground handling operations compared to previous research. This study models a global multi-vehicle Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows (PDPTW) for the scheduling of autonomous ground handling tasks. A warm start multi-objective mixed integer linear programming model is proposed to solve the scheduling problem where the initial feasible solution is obtained by an insertion heuristic. This multi-agent task allocation model, when combined with multi-agent path planning, forms a MAPD model for modeling autonomous ground handling operations. Multi-agent path planning is solved using prioritized Safe Interval Path Planning (SIPP). A replanning model is developed to assess the resilience of our model to disruptions of operations. Also, a mixed integer nonlinear programming model, which includes an additional non-linear objective, is proposed to generate more realistic task assignments by minimizing the waiting time of vehicles on the aircraft stands. In this study, a four-hour planning window with three aircraft stands at AAS is used for the experiments. The results show that the proposed approach improves the computational time of the task allocation model with 48% for the normal traffic scenario, compared to the previously published results. The conflict-free routes of all ground support equipment (GSE) vehicles are all successful and close to the shortest path results, with an average increase of 0.04% and 10% for the path length and the duration of the path, respectively. Our model is therefore able to generate complete, high quality solutions in less than three minutes.
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The increasing demand for sustainable aircraft solutions has encouraged the development of non-CO􁊼 emitting aircraft designs. Currently, a number of theoretically successful designs have been created by parties such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and The Technical University of Delft. Unfortunately, these radical aircraft redesigns are too risky to conceive, requiring massive amounts of investment and research. Since growth of the global aviation industry will only persist if aircraft greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, airlines have been looking for more fuel efficient aircraft, and the demand for green solutions has skyrocketed1. Thus, in this study the A320appu is proposed in an effort to significantly decrease the environmental footprint of aviation while limiting the risks and cost that accompany novel designs. This is done trough a conversion of the A320neo to use a hybrid, multi-fuel power and propulsion system. By replacing the traditional kerosene Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with a hydrogen engine and an aft mounted, boundary layer ingesting propulsor, the design will enter the narrow-body market as an intermediate step between current generation kerosene-powered aircraft and more distant radical redesigns, like the Flying V2 or the Aurora D8 3. The APU is thus adapted into an Auxiliary Power and Propulsion Unit (APPU). This single aisle, short-medium haul airliner was specifically chosen for this conversion because aircraft of this class are expected to comprise 80% of all aircraft sales by 2038. The reconfigured A320neo, coined the A320appu, shall provide an economically feasible and green alternative. It shall be the first advance towards normalising hydrogen within the aviation industry.

The challenges of designing the A320appu are to maintain low development costs, integrating the cutting edge subsystem and reassessing aircraft parameters such as the stability and controllability or range. Moreover the Operating Empty Weight (OEW) increases because of the added subsystems, and as the A320appu is designed for the same Maximum Take-off Weight (MTOW), the available payload decreases. The A320appu is designed such that the increase of the OEW is minimised, while maximising the integrability by limiting the amount of changes to the A320neo. Furthermore, significant reduction of the 𝐶𝑂􁊼 emissions and local pollution have to be ensured, while providing similar performance to the A320neo. To achieve the aforementioned points, four main changes to the A320neo are proposed below and thereafter discussed in more detail. ... Read more