Lidar-based AI analytics have been deployed at Tampa International Airport (TPA) in Florida through a partnership between The Indoor Lab and Cepton.
This partnership is focused on updating airport operations by offering an integrated, privacy-compliant perception solution. Using a lidar-based single sensing technology on a unified software platform, the solution is intended to provide around-the-clock operational analytics and leverage AI for managing both indoor and outdoor spaces.
The Indoor Lab is deploying lidar-based solutions across TPA, enabling the airport to improve safety and efficiency at the entrance, pickup and drop-off areas, the terminals and the airfield. By combining a global mesh network of Cepton lidar sensors, The Indoor Lab will leverage lidar telemetry data across the entire airport, combined with operational AI.
“We are proud to collaborate with Cepton in expanding lidar’s use cases within the airport environment through this seven-year partnership with TPA,” said Patrick Blattner, CEO of The Indoor Lab. “From the moment a passenger gets dropped off at the airport, to going through security, boarding the plane and finally taking off, we are breaking new ground with products and services designed to enable a safer, more productive, and much-improved passenger experience, paving the way for the airport of the future.”
Lidar uses eye-safe, invisible light to scan an environment without relying on external lighting sources. Unlike camera-based 2D computer vision technology, lidar-enabled AI analytics uses behavior-based, non-biometric data derived from high-fidelity, anonymous real-time 3D images. According to Cepton, this makes lidar an ideal sensor technology for use in privacy-sensitive venues.
Blattner added, “Lidar’s high-accuracy, real-time perception capabilities can improve almost every aspect of airport operations. In addition to indoor crowd analytics, which aid in staffing optimization, cleanliness maintenance, concession line management, TSA wait time management and terminal safety, lidar also offers real-time outdoor measurements. Unlike cameras, lidar is impervious to lighting conditions or overhead mounting restrictions. Cepton lidars provide a wide field of view where every point in the 3D point cloud is measurable. This makes lidar the only technology on the horizon capable of fully leveraging AI’s operational efficiencies.”
Brunno Moretti, senior vice president of product and commercial operations, Cepton, said, “The Indoor Lab is at the forefront of lidar technology adoption in airport settings. Since 2019, Cepton and The Indoor Lab have been working closely to make air travel safer and more enjoyable for worldwide passengers. We are thrilled to expand the implementation of our lidar technology to cover both indoor and outdoor applications at Tampa International Airport. We believe lidar as a privacy-compliant sensor technology will transform the future of smart spaces.”
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