Airport (illustration)
Airport (illustration)(file)

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Lufthansa have successfully tested the TaxiBot, a robot designed to improve airports by cutting fuel use, air pollution, and noise. The TaxiBot allows planes to taxi on the runway with the engines off, while the pilot maintains control of the plane.



The TaxiBot was tested on a Lufthansa plane, a B747-400, and successfully towed the airplane with the pilot in control of steering and breaking. It had previously been tested on an Airbus A340-600 airplane.

IAI CEO Itzchak Nissan said, “The TaxiBot development is naturally integrated in IAI's policy regarding new business areas such as ground robotics and renewable energy.”