Lufthansa Systems receives German Mobility Award

Intelligent mobility: Safer flights thanks to Lido/SurfaceData – digital obstacle database enables early detection of air traffic obstacles
Raunheim/Berlin, Germany | June 29, 2017– Lufthansa Systems today announced that it has received the German Mobility Award for its Lido/SurfaceData obstacle database, which was released in early 2017. This award is presented by the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Lufthansa Systems is one of ten award-winners chosen by the 16-member expert jury from a total of 170 applicants. The winning projects in this year’s competition, which focused on safety, reveal the opportunities that digitalization offers for the intelligent mobility of tomorrow. The early detection and avoidance of obstacles is essential to safe aircraft navigation. The award-winning Lido/SurfaceData global obstacle database is the basis for digital warning systems that increase air traffic safety.

“Lufthansa Systems has long maintained an internal database of aviation obstacles, but this was tailored solely to the requirements of its own products,” said Michael Sauter, Head of Product Development Lido/SurfaceData at Lufthansa Systems. “With Lido/SurfaceData, Lufthansa Systems is now offering a digitally certified and globally standardized database of man-made obstacles, such as skyscrapers, bridges, cranes and wind turbines, which can be used for a variety of external applications. For example, avionics systems can visualize the obstacles as 3D models.”

Digital terrain models and aviation obstacle databases are becoming increasingly important, especially in light of autonomous, uncrewed aircraft. The obstacle data based on the Lufthansa Systems database is processed in accordance with RTCA DO-200 and meets the RTCA industry standards DO-276 and DO-291. Intensive quality controls in each phase of the process guarantee a premium product. Furthermore, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified the Lido/SurfaceData data in accordance with LoA Type 1 and will also regularly audit it in the future.

Lido/SurfaceData comprises information on more than one million obstacles worldwide, including both fixed and mobile objects that could pose a threat to air traffic safety. This standardized collection of obstacle data is based on official sources such as Aeronautical Information Publications (AIP). Lido/SurfaceData is currently being used primarily to calculate minimum safe altitudes, in enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS), and in terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS) and synthetic vision systems. Airlines and airport operators can use the data for analyses or designing flight procedures. The data can be applied in helicopter software as well. Future technologies, such as the enhancement of terrain models with augmented reality and uncrewed flights, could also benefit from this data. Digital warning systems and technical support for synthetic vision improve the situational awareness of pilots and therefore increase air traffic safety.

The award ceremony was held on June 28 at the German Federal Ministry of Transport in Berlin. Jury chairwoman Dorothee Baer, Parliamentary State Secretary for the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, and Ute Weiland, Managing Director of the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative, honored the people responsible for the ten award-winning projects.

“We are proud to have received the German Mobility Award for Lido/SurfaceData,” said Olivier Krueger, CEO of Lufthansa Systems. “This year’s theme of safety is an issue particularly close to our hearts. If our digital solutions can improve flight safety and contribute to even more intelligent mobility, then we will have achieved our goal.”

As an aviation IT specialist, Lufthansa Systems is an expert in the field of aircraft navigation. Lido/Navigation solutions are being used successfully by more than 200 airlines and customers of all sizes, with various business models and different alliances. Each year, around 570 million passengers worldwide take flights that rely on paper-based or electronic navigation maps from Lufthansa Systems. In the context of route planning, Lufthansa Systems also has years of experience in processing obstacle data.