NEURON

NEURON (NEw aiRport Operational service Network) aims to design, develop and validate a next-generation airport platform that enhances operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability through advanced automation and AI. The project delivers four integrated solutions up to TRL6, each addressing a critical operational gap in airport and network performance. Solution 1 introduces sustainable taxiing operations via the Tug Fleet Manager and Dynamic Taxi Tool, enabling single-engine and engine-off towing strategies to reduce fuel burn, CO2 emissions, and ATCO workload while improving taxi-time predictability. Solution 2 develops the Surface Movement Awareness System (SMAS), a cost-effective, modular and cloud-ready surveillance platform for small and medium airports, integrating GNSS monitoring, fallback modes for degraded A-SMGCS, and AI-based links to the Network Manager. Solution 3 delivers AI-enabled visual intelligence for digital towers, combining real-time tracking, trajectory smoothing, video-based weather detection and aerodrome safety monitoring, enhancing human-machine teaming in remote tower operations. Solution 4 advances the Airport Operations Plan (AOP) with holistic Demand-Capacity Balancing across landside/airside processes and seamless AOP–NOP integration, including AI-based predictors for flights, passengers, and baggage, plus QUANT data-quality monitoring. NEURON is industry-led and operator-driven, with strong vendor participation (INDRA, AP-Tech, ENAV/TechnoSky, Airbus, SMEs) and early-adopter airports and ANSPs providing realistic validation environments. Coordinated by INDRA, and supported by EUROCONTROL as network integrator, NEURON ensures that its results are exploitable, standardisation-ready, and aligned with SESAR’s Digital European Sky vision.