Dublin Airport has announced a collaboration with tech start-up company Cute Machines on a new product, the Lux-O-Meter, which speeds up aircraft safety checks.
The device, developed through a hackathon at Dublin City University, is able to quickly and accurately measure light levels, reducing aircraft parking stand checks from 40 minutes to two and a half minutes.
“The Lux-O-Meter is a huge leap forward,” said Dublin Airport Asset Care Airfield Supervisor, Sean MacKessy. “It’s made an essential safety check faster and more efficient and allows Dublin Airport to have stands back into service much quicker than previously.”
Measuring the light levels of aircraft parking stands is an essential part of airport safety checks, with regulations stating that these levels must conform to a certain standard, measured in lux.
The levels from these 20-metre light masts must be recorded at each parking stand to ensure compliance with regulation, a result which is audited regularly by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The new technology means that parking stands do not have to be taken out of service for such checks to take place, thereby increasing the efficiency of the airfield as a whole.
“Measuring and recording lighting levels was a challenging and labour-intensive task previously which could take up to 40 minutes per aircraft parking stand, and it was particularly difficult to do during harsh weather conditions when light fixtures are at risk of being damaged,” said MacKessy.
The creation of the Lux-O-Meter is also expected to open up new commercial opportunities for Dublin Airport, who will be able to sell the invention to other airports.
