Currently, airport operations still face challenges such as delayed resource scheduling, insufficient allocation efficiency, and suboptimal passenger service experiences.
The application of digital twin technology offers new solutions to these issues. In line with the CAAC's Smart Civil Aviation Development Roadmap, it is essential to build a digital twin environment that enables precise monitoring and prediction of all airport elements and facilitates intelligent collaboration among aircraft, vehicles, runways, and facilities.
Leveraging its SuperMap GIS platform, SuperMap integrates entity information models (AIM) for airport terminals, airfields, ground transportation hubs (GTC), vehicles, aircraft, and facilities. By combining key technologies such as IoT, big data, AI, AR/VR, and integrated positioning, SuperMap has developed an airport digital twin system (hereafter "the System") featuring "1 Scenario Building Platform + 1 O&M Management Platform + N Business Applications." This System delivers comprehensive capabilities including panoramic situational awareness, simulation-driven forecasting, resource management, and decision support.
Comprising three core modules—O&M Management, Scenario Building, and Business Applications—the System serves operational departments such as the Operation Control Center, Terminal Management Division, and Airfield Management Division. By simulating, validating, predicting, and optimizing the operational status of physical assets, it significantly enhances production efficiency while supporting scenarios like simulation drills, intelligent security, passenger services, and equipment maintenance. This provides intelligent support for streamlined airport operations and optimized passenger experiences.
01 System Functions: Digital-Intelligence Integration for Efficient Airport Operations
Scenario Building
Utilizes scenario management, model libraries, base components, and decorative elements to construct digital twin environments for airports.
Airfield Situational Awareness
Integrates real-time operational data from aircraft, vehicles, boarding bridges, refueling hydrants, HVAC systems, and charging piles, enabling visual monitoring of airfield operations through the digital twin interface.
Terminal Situational Awareness
Aggregates live data from check-in counters, security scanners, baggage carousels, HVAC systems, and elevators, providing an intuitive display of terminal operations within the digital twin environment.
Aircraft Predictive Simulation
Combines flight schedules, gate assignments, and taxiway routes to forecast aircraft movements and resource occupancy (gates/boarding bridges) for upcoming hours, empowering controllers to optimize resource allocation.
Intelligent Gate Position Allocation
Employs smart algorithms to assign gates based on type, number, flight, route, and airline information. Allocation results are visualized within the digital twin environment.
Flight Turnaround Process Simulation
Simulates key turnaround nodes—landing, taxiing, parking, wheel chock placement, jet bridge docking, disembarkation, boarding, catering, refueling, baggage handling, and chock removal—within the digital twin scenario.
Terminal Operation Simulation
Leverages video surveillance data to simulate passenger flows throughout the terminal, modeling behaviors across check-in, security, and boarding processes.
Terminal Operation Forecasting
Predicts future passenger volumes and eva1uates resource demands (e.g., check-in counters, security lanes) based on scheduled flights, ticket sales, and check-in data.
Digital Dashboard
Consolidates multi-system data to visualize flight turnaround progress, facility status, and overall efficiency metrics via interactive charts.
02 System Features: Technology-Driven Innovation for Smart Airport Ecosystems
Rich Components, Rapid Scenario Deployment
Offers diverse aviation-specific templates and business components, enabling quick customization of large-screen applications for efficient and intuitive operational visualization.
Physical-Virtual Twin Synchronization
Establishes a real-time synchronized digital replica of the physical airport. By integrating multi-source data (aircraft, vehicles, baggage systems, video feeds), it ensures seamless data flow for accurate virtual representation, delivering reliable decision-making support.
Simulation-Driven Predictive Analytics
Executes dynamic, full-factor simulations under predefined plans and variable conditions. Users adjust timelines to observe operational evolution, identify potential issues proactively, and make data-driven decisions.
Resource Forecasting & Intelligent Allocation
Integrates smart algorithms (e.g., gate assignment, check-in/security resource prediction) with end-to-end flight data to realize resource optimization and automate scheduling.
Geospatial Intelligence for Decision Support
Combines 2D/3D visualization with built-in spatial analysis capabilities—network analysis, trajectory tracking, heat mapping, visibility analysis, line-of-sight assessment—to bolster airport planning and operations.
SuperMap's digital twin solutions have been deployed at airports including Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, and Hefei Xinqiao International Airport, supporting planning, operational oversight, resource allocation, and dispatch.
As smart airport ecosystems evolve, SuperMap will continue leveraging its strengths in geospatial intelligence software and digital twin technology to enhance operational efficiency, safety, service quality, and passenger experiences—propelling the aviation industry toward sustainable, high-quality development.
