Nanshan adopts digital tower designed for low-altitude flights

The country’s first digital control tower designed for low-altitude flights was officially put into use in Nanshan District recently.

The control tower plays a pivotal role in air traffic control, ensuring flight safety. The digital upgrade of traditional helicopter towers is essential to accommodate the growing number of low-altitude flights and the increasingly complex flight environments in the future.

At the Nantou Tower located in Nanshan, a staff member was guiding a helicopter to land and slide from the apron to the passenger area. The entire operation process of the aircraft was presented in real-time in the form of animation on the digital platform inside the tower.

According to the staff member, in addition to monitoring the airport, the digital control tower can also simulate flights of different sizes and types within certain airspace, providing better control services.

“Now, it can be visually seen through the platform that nearly 50 aircraft are in flight missions. By clicking on any aircraft, the tower controller can observe the real-time flight status and current positions of the aircraft,” said Lin Naifeng, the vice president of the software development center, Shenzhen Branch of China Telecom.

“The green part represents drones, including logistics drones, delivery drones, and consumer drones, while the triangular yellow part is a helicopter that is currently in operation,” Lin said.

From the ground to the air, digital control towers integrate elements such as apron monitoring, aircraft dispatching, and runway management. This effectively improves the work efficiency of tower controllers, who traditionally inspect visually, take notes and make phone calls for coordination, and enhances the utilization rate of low-altitude airspace.