is hiding a secret.

While air traffic controllers at the top of the tower

direct planes to take off and land

using site radar and voice-

- [Traffic Controller] 658, 27 right, cleared for takeoff,

wind 300 at 9.

- [Narrator] Hidden 200 feet down

in the base of Heathrow's tower

lies the next generation of air traffic control,

the digital AI tower.

Here, companies are testing whether high-definition cameras

and AI algorithms could bring air traffic control

into the 21st century.

That's because while air traffic has increased fivefold

over the past four decades,

the method for managing air traffic

hasn't really changed much at all.

So while towers have become an iconic part of any airport,

this technology could be their demise.

Here's how digital towers are reshaping airports.

(graphics clicking)

What you are seeing here isn't a window,

it's a live feed from an array of high-definition cameras

mounted here, just below Heathrow's tower,

which are stitched together

to create a panoramic view of the runways.

- So the views behind me are the views

that the controllers see out of the window,

and in fact, to the millisecond,

are seeing out of the window as we speak now.

- [Narrator] The system is being run by NATS,

a company that provides air traffic management services

to the UK.

Andy said that as well as showing the view from the tower,

an algorithm is overlaying radar information

on each aircraft,

making it far easier for a controller

to identify which plane is which.

And the cameras don't just have to go

in a tower configuration.

They can be distributed anywhere around the airfield,

providing views at ground level during low clouds,

or even allowing the air traffic controller

to effectively see through buildings.

- Controllers can jump electronically,

two or three kilometers along the surface of the airport,

instantly see objects that are hidden by a terminal building

as if they were right beneath the air traffic control tower.

- [Narrator] Once you have cameras everywhere,

the video can also be sent to machine learning algorithms,

like this one being developed

by Canadian Airport Technology firm, Searidge.

Here, an AI model is using visual processing

to identify the support vehicles around the aircraft,

like stairs and baggage trolleys,

and can instantly determine

whether they're in place quickly enough

for the plane to make its next departure,

something that's currently estimated by ground staff.

While turnaround speed

may not be a huge deal for passengers,

for airlines, it's big business.

After all, planes that aren't flying don't make money.

A Boeing study found that if you take 25 minutes

to turn around a 500 mile flight, instead of 35 minutes,

you could squeeze in almost 200 extra flights in a year.

The software is also capable

of identifying when an airplane has safely left the runway,

even in low visibility,

allowing aircraft to continue to take off and land

with high frequency in low cloud,

and potentially reducing near misses.

- An AI will happily monitor a wide range

of things simultaneously,

whereas a human has to focus

on particular areas one at a time.

So going from a human scan around an airport

to AI being kind of omnipresent in terms of its monitoring,

I think is a real bonus,

because you then provide the controller with more headspace

to do the decision making.

- [Narrator] Now, while this technology

may seem somewhat futuristic,

aspects of it are already in use today.

If you've ever landed at London City Airport in the UK,

you may have assumed

that this traditional control tower-looking building

was where the air traffic controllers sit.

But there're actually in a digital tower over 70 miles away

in this building near South Hampton,

viewing cameras from atop this tower

adjacent to the airport's runway.

And in Norway, this digital tower hub,

run by airport group, Avinor,

is being used to provide remote air traffic services

to nine airports across the country

and is set to expand to 21 by the end of the decade,

with controllers able to handle traffic

at up to three airports from the same workstation.

Digital towers could also solve

one major headache for airports,

having to move their towers.

See, as air traffic continues to grow and airports expand,

existing towers often end up in the wrong place,

and moving them isn't exactly cheap.

When Heathrow began plans to build a new terminal over here,

the old air traffic control tower,

which was previously right in the middle of the airport,

was now over a mile away from the new terminal.

- The view direct from that air traffic control tower

was not sufficient to be able to see terminal five,

let alone the operations around it.

- [Narrator] A decision was made to build a brand new tower

in the new middle of the airport

at a cost of 50 million pounds,

which back in the year 2000, was around $80 million.

But a digital tower could have removed the need

for Heathrow to move its tower at all.

- A lot of air traffic control towers

are end of life for airports who are expanding,

and therefore, they need new air traffic control facilities.

A digital tower,

you could do for significantly less than that.

- [Narrator] And that's an issue some American airports

are facing right now.

In a recent report,

the FAA identified 31 towers across the US

that are functioning beyond their intended design life.

So, could digital towers be the answer?

Well, the US was at one point testing two remote towers

in Colorado and Virginia,

but they've both recently ceased operations,

and the FAA has instead launched a pilot program

to test virtual tower technology

that could be rolled out across America.

But for now,

while digital towers are going online around the globe,

they remain uncertified in America,

and it's set to be over three years

before any remote tower system gets the green light,

which may help explain why the FAA's plan

for those 31 sites is to set $500 million aside

to aid the construction of new brick and mortar towers.

So for now, at least,

it seems like the iconic air traffic control tower

will continue to be a staple for many American airports.

But if this technology becomes certified in the US,

could it spell the end of the airport tower,

or even the end of the air traffic controller?

Well, in Norway,

the company running the Digital Tower Center

said that while its remote towers

aren't a downsizing process,

they acknowledge that not everybody will be able

to relocate from far-flung airfields

to their Remote Tower Center.

And while AI may be to provide more

and more information to the controller,

Searidge say their technology

is not a replacement for human control.

- We'll have to see as AI capability increases,

but there is a real opportunity to support operations now.

There is a global shortage of air traffic controllers,

so actually being able to be more efficient

with our use of that finite resource is quite important.

(bright music)