From April 26th to 27th, 2024, the inaugural Civil Aviation Digitalization and Intelligent Development Conference and the 9th National Civil Aviation "Internet Plus" Smart Airport Construction and Development Conference (referred to as CAID) were grandly held at the Tianjin Sheshe Mountain International Convention Center Hotel. The conference, themed "Digital Intelligence Innovation, Sharing the Future," brought together academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, renowned civil aviation experts, and representatives from leading enterprises in the industry to deeply exchange new concepts in the construction of smart civil aviation and jointly explore its future development. Beijing  Brilliant Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Brilliant Co., Ltd.) showcased its digital twin operating system BLinkOS series products and digital twin solutions in the airport sector at this conference.

On the afternoon of April 26th, Qi Huanran, Vice President of Brilliant  Co., Ltd. and General Manager of Chengdu Brilliant  Digital Technology Co., Ltd., shared a report titled "Digital Twin Operating System Empowering the Intelligent Construction of Civil Aviation Airports" at the conference, discussing the latest achievements of Boneng's digital twin technology with industry experts and partners present.

Since its establishment in 2005, Brilliant Co., Ltd. has been deeply involved in the field of digital construction. With the philosophy of "infrastructure digitization and digital infrastructure fundamentalization," the company has developed the proprietary digital twin operating system BLinkOS and was the first to apply digital twin technology to the civil aviation sector. After nearly two decades of technological accumulation and experience in digital construction in the civil aviation field, Brilliant Co., Ltd. has successively created benchmark cases for digital twin applications in several airports, including Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.

Digital twin technology is widely recognized as one of the key technologies in the new infrastructure wave in China and is being vigorously promoted and applied across various industries. In the civil aviation sector, digital twin technology is particularly seen as an important means to achieve the integration of airport investment, construction, and operation. The airport digital twin solution built on the BLinkOS digital twin operating system enables the digitization of various airport infrastructures during the construction of digital twin airports. It provides a unified twin data management and service platform for airports, offering a full chain of services for airport investment planning, digital construction, and intelligent operation, empowering the management throughout the entire lifecycle.

Planning Phase: Providing Visual and Quantifiable Decision Support

During the planning phase of airport construction, through the BLinkOS digital twin operating system, a combination of 2D and 3D integrated visualization, process simulation, and parameter simulation is used to achieve visual simulation and real-time assessment of key scenarios, links, and processes in the investment planning and design of airports. This transition of planning and design schemes from text and documents to a more intuitive and vivid form provides quantifiable and visual decision support for planning and design evaluation. For instance, during the design phase of Beijing Daxing International Airport, the BLinkOS system was utilized for BIM-based digital design, which transitioned design outcomes from paper to reality. This provided quantifiable and visual decision support that eliminated conflicts and changes that would typically occur during construction, significantly reducing costs, accelerating implementation, and enhancing the quality of the project.

Construction Phase: Intelligent Site Management and Digital Construction Handover

During the construction phase of an airport, based on BIM components and event processes, the BLinkOS digital twin operating system enables the construction party to manage the construction unit's project comprehensively with "four controls, two managements, and one coordination," achieving refined control and digital management of safety, progress, quality, and cost review for the delivery object. Additionally, the BLinkOS system provides functions for the electronic transfer of project documentation, visual transfer of equipment assets, and digital transfer of the physical airport. For example, during the construction phase of Beijing Daxing International Airport, the BLinkOS system was used to present the design results in a digital twin format, integrating information on the progress, quality, and cost review of the delivery object. Spatial data outcomes were shared among the construction party, the contractor, and the supervising party, and compared and analyzed with the actual construction progress, making the construction situation knowable, sensible, visible, and controllable. Furthermore, through the system's electronic, visual, and digital transfer functions, it effectively links construction with operation, achieving integrated management.

Operational Phase: Empowering Smart Airport Operations in Four Dimensions

During the operational phase of an airport, the BLinkOS digital twin operating system can empower smart airport operations in four aspects:

Providing a Visual Digital Asset Management Platform: Based on the digital twin system, by integrating macro and micro perspectives and combining 2D and 3D visualization, it achieves more intuitive, convenient, and efficient digital management of facilities and equipment. For example, the digital asset management platform at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, unlike traditional asset ledger management, utilizes the digital twin service platform to implement a visual asset management system. This system tracks the location of assets across the entire scenario map and between building floors, as well as monitors maintenance, repairs, and status throughout the entire lifecycle.

Providing a Visualized Production and Operations Supervision Platform: Through the digital twin system, a comprehensive visual supervision platform for all aspects of production operations is provided for airport management at various levels. This includes the airspace and air routes around the airport, activities in the flight area, check-in/security in the terminal buildings, transportation in public areas, and the status of underground pipelines, allowing managers to grasp the operational status and resource usage of the airport in real-time. For instance, at Beijing Capital International Airport, the airspace and surface, underground, and indoor environments are digitally twined and presented for visual supervision through the platform.

Providing a Simulation Platform: The platform can achieve various functions such as emergency simulation exercises, virtual training, autonomous driving training, and process simulation, providing decision support for management personnel. For example, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport has established an emergency management system that serves as a crucial support system for the airport's emergency management center. It offers functions such as emergency plan management, emergency drills, emergency rescue command coordination, training management, and knowledge base management. This system can meet the airport's needs in responding to emergency rescue incidents.

Providing a Production Operations Optimization Platform: Constructing an airport production operation simulation and optimization tool that integrates spatiotemporal and flight information, based on scenario analysis management methodology, to actively identify, optimize, and virtually verify airport operation issues, and compare optimization reports within the business process. For example, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport has implemented such a platform.

As the construction of the national modern industrial system progresses, new qualitative productive forces centered on innovation are accelerating their rapid development. As a new infrastructure provider for the metaverse and a practitioner in the digital twin industry, Boneng Co., Ltd. will take innovation as the foothold for development, continuously innovating new applications of digital twin technology in the field of civil aviation airports, and promoting the digital and intelligent transformation of civil aviation airports.