Kitty McChesney

Airport ground operations remain one of aviation's most persistent challenges. Multiple stakeholders must juggle complex coordination, weather disruptions, and aging infrastructure—all while trying to meet today’s demands for efficiency and safety.  

At Purdue University Airport, Pattern Labs and Ericsson are showing how autonomous vehicles and private 5G solutions can tackle these challenges head on.  This partnership brings together Pattern Labs' Pathfinder autonomous vehicles with Ericsson's private 5G infrastructure in a real-world deployment that moves beyond proof of concept to live operations. This collaboration marks a major step in modernizing ground handling operations that have remained largely unchanged for decades. 

The problem with today's airport ground handling

Today's airport ground operations face well-documented issues including:   

• Manual routing wastes fuel and limits real-time optimization during irregular operations like weather disruptions and the constant change in an airport environment, including flight updates, delays, gate changes, etc. 

• Connectivity dead zones in heavily-used sections of major hubs, such as underground tunnel systems, further hinder coordination between teams and systems. 

At scale, these issues ripple across hundreds of daily movements, driving up turnaround times and costs.  

Pattern Labs, an automation software company with deep robotics experience, recognized an opportunity to apply autonomous robotics expertise to these aviation-specific challenges. Unlike warehouses, airports are highly dynamic environments, and constantly shifting conditions—construction, weather, and continuous interaction among vehicles, aircraft, and personnel—make airport automation far more challenging. 

Pulse + Pathfinder vehicles: A smarter approach 

Pattern Labs' solution centers on Pulse, an orchestration platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to route both autonomous vehicles and human operators. The system functions as a comprehensive operational layer and provides:  

• Simulation capabilities for capacity planning 

• Real-time optimization for dynamic conditions, and  

• Metrics collection for performance analysis. 

Building on this foundation, Pathfinder autonomous vehicles are single-unit vehicles that combine tug and cart functions in a single unit, rather than automating tugs that pull traditional cart trains. This configuration enables continuous flow operations; individual carts can move directly to their destinations without waiting for full trains to form. Each Pathfinder also offers complete 360-degree sensor coverage through integrated LiDAR, radar, and cameras. 

Each Pathfinder operates in three interdependent modes: 

• Autonomous mode allows vehicles to complete missions generated by Pulse without intervention.  

• Teleoperation mode enables remote operators to assume control for added safety measures, necessary route deviations or unexpected situations.  

• Local control provides manual override capability through physical controls for precise movement adjustments, maintenance, or emergency scenarios. 

Teleoperation is especially critical for precision docking, exception handling, and maintaining flow during edge cases. A single operator can monitor up to 100 vehicles simultaneously, intervening only when necessary. This model requires highly reliable, low-latency connectivity, which makes network design pivotal. 

Why private 5G is essential  

Ericsson's private 5G network addresses the connectivity requirements that make advanced automation viable in airport environments. Unlike public cellular networks By providing dedicated spectrum, consistent latency, and guaranteed bandwidth, private 5G enables the real-time teleoperation and high-volume data transmission that airport operations demand. 

In Pattern Labs' teleoperation centers, operators require clear, real-time visibility of vehicle surroundings through multiple data streams: point clouds, 3D mapping, and multi-angle video. Any degradation in connectivity compromises both safety and efficiency, forcing vehicles to slow or stop. Private 5G ensures consistent performance even when teleoperators are located thousands of miles from the vehicles they monitor. 

Pathfinder vehicles also serve as a data collection point, continuously feeding information back to Pulse for route optimization and performance monitoring. The same infrastructure supports Pattern Labs' Copilot application, which gives human drivers unified optimization across ground movements. This end-to-end connectivity enables accurate simulation models for capacity planning and customer onboarding. 

Purdue deployment—from testing to operations 

Purdue University Airport provides the ideal environment for deploying these technologies in actual operations. It’s Lab to Life initiative supports innovation in live conditions rather than controlled tests. After initial trials, Pathfinder vehicles will be the world's first to automatically handle live baggage operations plane-side for commercial flights. 

The Purdue deployment also serves as a proving ground for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification and operational validation. With one to two daily flights, and a new terminal, the airport offers real operations with manageable complexity—ideal for refining systems before scaling tolarger facilities with higher traffic volumes and more complex operations. 

Future configurations will expand from baggage handling to early bag storage, with flight organization capabilities and specialized configurations for ULD containers. Pattern Labs envisions expanding the technology to additional ground support equipment, including pushback vehicles and jet bridges, creating comprehensive orchestration across all ramp operations. 

Operational transformation through human-technology collaboration 

This approach emphasizes augmentation rather than replacement of human workers. Remote operation lets personnel work in safe, climate-controlled environments rather than in extreme weather conditions. Geographic flexibility expands the hiring pool beyond the airport's immediate vicinity. 

Workers transition from repetitive, physically demanding tasks to supervisory and exception-handling roles. Human judgment remains essential for priority decisions, quality assurance, and complex problem-solving. Technology handles routine movements and optimization, while humans manage exceptions and ensure service quality. 

This approach addresses practical concerns about workforce impact while improving working conditions and creating opportunities for skills development. Remote operation roles are well suited for modern workers, trained in technology interfaces and robotic solutions, and younger digital natives already familiar with them. , 

Strategic implications for airport operations 

This collaboration highlights the power of strategic partnerships: Pattern Labs brings robotics expertise and aviation-specific software development, while Ericsson provides the connectivity infrastructure essential for reliable automation. Together, they deliver capabilities that neither could achieve alone. 

Of equal importance, the private 5G infrastructure established for autonomous vehicles creates a platform for additional innovations. As airports adopt Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and smart infrastructure, the network foundation becomes increasingly valuable. Initial deployments in baggage handling can expand to ramp orchestration across cargo, catering, waste, and aircraft servicing. 

For airports evaluating automation strategies, the Purdue deployment offers several key insights:  

• Successful implementation requires robust connectivity as the foundation.  

• Starting with specific use cases allows gradual expansion while maintaining operational stability.  

• Partnerships that combine domain expertise with technology accelerate timelines and reduce risk. 

Looking ahead  

Airports face growing pressure from severe weather, rising passenger volumes, and expectations for on-time performance. Thus, they require solutions that enhance resilience without requiring complete infrastructure replacement or operational disruption. 

The technologies being deployed at Purdue University Airport offer a pragmatic path forward. Autonomous vehicles integrate with existing workflows while gradually improving efficiency and safety metrics. Private 5G networks support not only current automation requirements but also future innovations in predictive maintenance, real-time optimization, and comprehensive operational visibility. 

The transformation of airport ground operations will proceed incrementally, with each successful rollout informing subsequent implementations. Early adopters like Purdue University Airport establish operational baselines and best practices that benefit the broader aviation industry. As the technology matures and regulatory frameworks evolve, the integration of autonomous systems and intelligent orchestration will become standard for competitive airport operations. 

Making connectivity an operational advantage with private 5G 

Across airports today, connectivity is no longer just a utility—it’s an operational advantage. As operations become more distributed and data-intensive, the network becomes part of day to day control.  

With Ericsson’s Enterprise 5G solution, airports gain:

• Wide area mobility with seamless handoffs  

• Predictable latency for mission-critical tasks 

• Strong uplink capability for multiangle video and sensor streams, traffic prioritization and QoS 

• Consistent coverage from gates to tunnels and other shielded spaces  

When networks work well, ground teams coordinate in real time across baggage, gates, cargo, maintenance, and airfield operations. This same foundation also provides a path to add connected assets, unified communications, digital load control, and fast aircraft data offload—all on a single, resilient network.