Airbus UpNext
Airbus UpNext is the Toulouse-based Airbus subsidiary that builds demonstrators of future technologies, from autonomous flight to new avionics.
Set up in 2019, its aviation AI work includes an autonomous taxi demonstration on an A350-1000 and the integration of Aeva's 4D LiDAR sensors, intended to help aircraft tell moving objects from static ones. These are research programmes rather than products in service, and no customers are recorded.
No verified deployments yet
Airbus UpNext is profiled in the companies register, but no deployment has been verified against published evidence. Records are added as evidence is reviewed and graded.
Products & Solutions
2 productsAutonomous Taxi System
Autonomous ground taxi technology demonstrated on the A350-1000 test aircraft, using AI-based computer vision and sensor fusion to enable the aircraft to taxi autonomously from gate to runway without pilot steering input. Part of Airbus UpNext's Dragonfly programme for reducing pilot workload during ground operations.
Taxiing requires sustained pilot attention during a high-workload phase of flight, contributes to runway incursion risk, and is a potential area for automation-assisted error reduction.
- Autonomous nose-wheel steering control
- Obstacle and vehicle detection
- Integration with airport surface mapping
- Real-time path replanning
2 more features
- Pilot monitoring interface
- Emergency manual override
Technical specifications (5)
- Multi-sensor fusion (cameras, LiDAR, radar)
- Aeva 4D LiDAR integration
- Real-time obstacle detection and path planning
- Fly-by-wire steering system integration
- AI scene understanding
Aeva 4D LiDAR Sensing Suite
Integration of Aeva's frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) 4D LiDAR sensors into Airbus aircraft platforms for aviation-grade obstacle detection and environment mapping.
Aviation-grade environmental sensing for autonomous operations requires sensors that distinguish static from moving obstacles in real time and operate reliably in adverse weather and bright sunlight.
- Simultaneous 3D position and velocity measurement
- Immunity to sunlight interference
- Moving obstacle discrimination from static scene
- Long range detection capability
1 more feature
- Compact form factor for aircraft integration
Technical specifications (5)
- FMCW LiDAR technology (simultaneous range + velocity)
- Eye-safe laser operation
- All-weather operation capability
- Vibration and temperature hardened for aviation
- High-resolution point cloud output
A350-1000 Autonomous Taxi Programme · Aeva 4D LiDAR Integration
Register notes
Notes held in the Aerostack register. Aerostack has not independently verified them.
Airbus UpNext A350-1000 autonomous taxi programme completed Phase 2 tests in 2025 demonstrating full pushback-to-runway autonomy.
Read the rest
Aeva 4D LiDAR integration adds real-time velocity sensing for obstacle detection.
Entity wholly owned by Airbus SE.
Profile data from the Aerostack companies register; deployment records from the verified register. Evidence grades: T1 first-party confirmation, T2 credible reporting. See Our approach for how records are graded.