Airport Mapping Prototype Wins Funding

Formica ProtoFab has been awarded $75,000 by the Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation, made possible by a grant from Pittsburgh’s Henry L Hillman Foundation

The data collected by the Formica ProtoFab solution will generate a map, including a satellite image of the area under operation, GPS waypoints of the actual vehicle travel path, a heatmap or other graphical representation of payload dispersal, and summary/aggregate data of operation. An engineer will collect all the data and process it offline to create reports. Increased optimisations for speed and cost and more detailed accuracy will be developed in later stages.

“Our hope is to use this new mapping tool to collect data from airport ground operations such as snow removal and line striping,” said Jim Moorehead, vice president of airport operations for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

“Ultimately, the goal is to generate compliance-support documents and track and reduce the usage of consumables such as potassium acetate, a de-icing agent, and paint. We will now have real-time feedback to measure how much and how evenly we are spreading liquid potassium acetate and paint. Too much wastes resources, and too little may present a safety and compliance issue.”

The de-icer mapping tool will measure the quantity and location of liquid potassium acetate dispensed by the de-icer trucks. The system will collect, store and transmit data that can be used to generate reports that will provide a detailed record of runway maintenance during winter events. It will also offer feedback on usage rates to ensure that runways are not over/under-treated, resulting in better performance and lower costs.

An onboard computer with a GPS module will map the vehicle’s location. That will interface to a flow meter sensor integrated with the dispensing system to display time, location and gallons used. The flow rate sensor will be an inline meter located between the pump and nozzles.

“This is a simple, and reversible, installation that will be easily scaled and  can be added across various trucks regardless of the current controllers’ brand/model/age,” said Mike Formica, owner of Pittsburgh-based Formica ProtoFab.

The technology also can work with trucks painting runway stripes.

Formica is a serial entrepreneur who worked with both the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University and was the former managing director of hardware at Innovation Works Inc’s AlphaLab Gear startup accelerator and lead of the Robotics Factory initiative. He hopes to begin testing the prototype in early 2025 and then leverage the data obtained in the concept stage to develop a viable product that can be field-ready. This includes an IP-rated industrial embedded computer, a more powerful and accurate GPS and antennas, and a wider variety of flow sensors.

The grant continues the partnership between the Henry L Hillman Foundation and Pittsburgh International Airport to fund projects that can serve as models for others in the aviation industry both nationally and internationally – including past grants to the airport’s childcare centre and sensory room, Presley’s Place.