C2Land, developed by a German research team, is an automatic landing system that enables automatic landing without a pilot for small airplanes. This system does not require a landing guidance device using radio waves as used in existing automatic landing systems, thus opening up the possibility of pioneering the era of automatic flight.
Self-driving cars have appeared on the ground, but in fact, the automatic landing system mounted on large passenger planes does not operate completely automatically by the system alone. The instrument landing system ILS, an existing automatic landing system, emits radio waves from ground facilities at major airports to guide the aircraft safely to the runway. Directional guided radio waves emitted from ground facilities enable accurate identification of the runway position even if the field of view is poor. However, the landing itself is almost not automatic. Therefore, most pilots use the automatic landing system as an aid, even if they use an automatic landing system other than ILS.
The research team at the Munich Institute of Technology is developing a system that allows airplanes to automatically land without relying on ground facilities like ILS. C2 Land conducted a demonstration test of this system, and it is said that the pilot successfully landed the plane without touching the control stick.
When you press the switch during flight, you hear the voice of autopilot and the autopilot system starts. After autopiloting for a while, when you come near the landing point, you are informed that you will perform automatic landing. ILS can accurately recognize the runway location by receiving radio waves from ground facilities, but C2 Land’s system independently determines the runway location through images captured by infrared cameras and RGB cameras.
The small airplane used in the C2 Land demonstration test is a aircraft called Diamond DA42 from Diamond Aircraft. The aircraft is equipped with a customized automatic control system and computer vision processor. This is called C2 Land, an automatic landing system.
Test pilots who participated in the experiment said the cameras were already well aware of runways located far from the airport, and that the system could land the aircraft completely automatically.
Existing automatic landing systems had to prepare large-scale facilities on the ground, but airplane systems such as C2 Land allow accurate automatic landing with only the system. Potential for a milestone in the autopilot system on the airplane board.
Of course, this system is still in the experimental stage, and various tests or aviation authority approvals are required for practical use. However, as the safety advantages are clear, it is highly likely to be welcomed as a backup or alternative to the existing automatic landing system. Related information can be found here .