Westwell Showcases Its Smart Airport Solution Based on AI and New Energy at the IATA WCS

HONG KONG, March 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Cargo Symposium (WCS) hosted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) came to a successful conclusion in Hong Kong, China from March 12 to 14. This is the largest and most influential annual event in the global air freight sector. As a global leader in "intelligent and new energy" comprehensive solutions in the logistics industry, Westwell showcased its new "smart airport logistics and ground management" holistic solution at the event. Recently, Westwell established its international headquarters and overseas R&D center in Hong Kong. The official debut of Westwell Hong Kong Company at this event will accelerate its international business expansion by utilizing Hong Kong's international resources, and promote the smart and sustainable transformation of the logistics industry based on intelligent and new energy technologies.

Themed by "driving sustainable and inclusive growth", this year's WCS gathered key representatives from global air cargo terminals, freight forwarders, and solution providers to explore new transformation methods. Westwell has pioneered a holistic smart airport logistics and ground management solution for the airport scenario in the logistics industry. This solution employs autonomous driving technology for cargo transportation and AI technology for cargo circulation, achieving an intelligent and green upgrade across the entire chain from freight forwarder, cargo terminal, to apron.

"Airports are the strategic scenarios for Westwell to expand its global logistics business, and we are making efforts to innovate towards efficiency, safety, and carbon reduction in the global air freight industry. Our survey on the transportation safety needs of clients related to airports and air freight showed that smart airport logistics solutions cannot be fully implemented solely based on on-board vehicle intelligence. Therefore, Westwell devoted itself to R&D and has developed a holistic smart transportation solution that incorporates "GSE (Ground Support Equipment) scheduling management system + intelligent ground transportation equipment" for airport logistic clients around the world. On the other hand, we will work with our global supply chain partners to achieve more sustainable and intelligent airport logistics," said Kay Yang, the Global Strategy Vice President of Westwell.

As a new energy autonomous driving tractor, Q-Tractor P40 is an innovative ground transportation equipment developed by Westwell, and plays an important role in the holistic solution for the airport scenario. Based on AI technology, Q-Tractor P40 has been upgraded to have a towing capacity of up to 40T; based on advanced autonomous driving, it can adapt to complex scenarios and provide a safe and user-friendly driving experience. In addition, Q-Tractor P40 flexibly switches between "manned and autonomous driving " modes according to various airport operating rules.It employs clean energy throughout its operations, contributing to eco-friendly carbon reduction and overall efficiency improvement.

In face of significant safety responsibilities and complex environmental systems at airports, Westwell's GSE scheduling management system allows airports to coordinate and manage on-site cargo vehicles and equipment in a safer, smarter, and more comprehensive way. Through intelligent ground detection, the system controls vehicle operations in real time to ensure apron safety; through GSE coordination, scheduling and planning, the system enhances the efficiency of GSE coordinated operations and reduces aircraft turnaround time; through cargo information exchange, the system offers better ground cargo handling plans to improve the safety of valuable items during ground transportation.

Moreover, Westwell also launched a digital platform for the transportation and operation of production elements—Loopo, which focuses on providing freight logistics products and data services for various scenarios. Specifically tailored for air cargo agents, Loopo offers targeted supply chain services. By integrating intelligent applications and AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) technology, Loopo ensures precise supply chain management, delivering lower-cost order management and tracking, more efficient optimization and sharing of supply chain resources, transparent and trustworthy transportation process monitoring, and a greener transportation structure for its customers.

With powerful full-stack AI development capabilities, Westwell has commercialized its holistic new energy autonomous driving solution to cover logistics scenarios including seaports, railways, inland ports, airports, and manufacturing plants.To meet the needs of airport business expansion around the world, Westwell insists on "automating cargo vehicles before tourist vehicle upgrade and operating autonomous tractors outside the flight area and then around the aircraft within the flight area".Centered around airport cargo terminals, we extend internally to the airside and externally serve freight forwarder transportation, helping airport clients build a modern smart logistics network that starts from air freight and links air, sea, rail, and road transportation.