The TaxiBot, developed by the Lahav Division of Israel Aerospace Industries, is a semi-robotic, towbarless aircraft tractor.
Its primary function is to transport an aircraft from the terminal gate to the take-off area (taxi-out phase) and back to the gate post-landing (taxi-in phase). TaxiBot has been suspected to be able to reduce the need for airplane engines during these phases.[1] Operational control of the TaxiBot is maintained by the aircraft's pilot from the cockpit, using standard pilot controls.[2]
There are two models of the TaxiBot available. The Narrow-Body (NB) model is compatible with single-aisle aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 series. The Wide-Body (WB) model is meant for twin-aisle aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.[3]
History
The TaxiBot completed certification tests in July 2014,[4] was approved for airport towing in November 2014,[5] and had the first commercial flight dispatch-towed (Lufthansa LH140 from Frankfurt to Nuremberg) on November 25, 2014.[6] In February 2015, the TaxiBot entered regular flight operations by Lufthansa at Frankfurt Airport.[7] Certification tests of the Wide-Body model occurred from 2016 to 2018.[8]
In October 2019, Air India became the first airline to "regularly" use the TaxiBot by deploying the unit to dispatch a Delhi–Mumbai flight from Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, one of the Top 10 airports in the world by annual passenger traffic.[9]
References
External links
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