A Dynamic Air Traffic Management Approach to Operationally Responsive Space

An Agent-Based Approach to Aircraft Conflict Resolution with Constraints

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is funding and encouraging new concepts for improving air traffic flow management (TFM) decision-making. The resulting automation capabilities will need to be operationally integrated into the existing air traffic management (ATM) system. Understanding how a new capability will interact with existing system components is challenging because of the range of possible real-world situations, which must be handled by the ATM system. Although there are fast-time traffic simulation tools available for modeling the impact of TFM actions, they are often developed as stand-alone tools, which are not extensible or flexible to work in concert with other advanced TFM capabilities for conducting integration studies or quantifying benefits. To address this gap, we have built a fast-time, distributed simulation platform integrating state-of-the-art traffic simulator and allows the plug-in of advanced TFM prototypes - or other experimental capabilities that already exist - so their interactions can be studied. In this paper, we discuss the requirements and the necessary components for building this platform, which requires an architecture that is flexible enough to support many different configurations of modeling tools and applications. We then use a TFM integration case study to demonstrate the utility of the platform. We show, with only minor effort, a proposed TFM prototype can be plugged into the platform and its benefits can be evaluated.

is a programme to modernise the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) System. It is currently in its feasibility definition study phase which is being co-funded by the European Commission and EUROCONTROL. It is addressing collectively the technological, economic and regulatory aspects associated with ATM. Following the successful completion of definition study phase, it will use the Single European Sky (SES) legislation to synchronise the plans and actions of the different stakeholders in ATM and federate the resources needed for the development and implementation of the required improvements throughout Europe; this applying to both the applicable airborne and ground systems domains. The study is being conducted over a 2-year period (which started in March 2006) by the SESAR Consortium, a grouping which, for the first time in ATM history, has brought together the major stakeholders in European aviation to develop a common vision of the future ATM System. The SESAR Consortium draws upon the expertise of the major organisations within the aviation industry. This includes airspace users, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), airport operators and the supply industry (European and non-European), plus a number of associated partners, including safety regulators, military organisations, staff associations (including pilots, controllers and engineers) and research centres which work together with significant expertise being provided by EUROCONTROL. The study will produce an agreed Master Plan of the research, development and implementation plans and actions needed to be taken by the different stakeholders to realise the future European ATM System. This Plan is developed through the production of 6 main deliverables over the 2 years and covers all aspects of the future System, including its supporting institutional framework. The scope of each the 6 deliverables (D1 to D6) is as follows : D1: Air Transport Framework – the Current Situation D2: Air Transport Framework – the Performance Target D3: Definition of the future ATM Target Concept D4: Selection of the “Best” Deployment Scenario D5: Production of the ATM Master Plan D6: Work Programme for 2008–2013. This paper will summarise the progress made to date by describing the results achieved within the deliverables D1 to D3. In outline terms, these cover : a summary snapshot of the current situation to identify the main areas of improvement; an assessment of the future air transport market place into which future ATM services will be delivered; the management and performance frameworks which will govern the future operation of the System and its further evolution; an initial set of performance requirements which the future System must meet; the nature of the Future ATM Target Concept, this comprising the concept of operations to be adopted; structure of the overall architecture needed for the System; set of technologies to be developed and used to implement it.

This chapter reviews the International Civil Aviation Organization air traffic management (ATM) work programme along with ATM developments taking place around the world. It examines the various elements of the ATM system and suggests some of die research, trials and demonstrations. Airspace management is traditionally recognized mainly as involving a dynamic or tactical sharing of airspace by civil and military users. Air Traffic Services itself is comprised of several subelements, one of these being air traffic control. The increasing number of long-range interregional flights may require integration of regional Air Traffic Flow Management systems and procedures. Free Right is the guiding vision, mission and operational concept of the Federal Aviation Administration, based on Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management systems (CNS/ATM). Africa is composed of many delicate national economies separated by vast wilderness areas. The main scope of Airspace management will be toward a strategic planning function of airspace infrastructure, and flexibility of airspace use.

A number of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) automation systems and developmental programs interoperate to support the day-to-day operations of the National Airspace System (NAS). The integration of New Entrants (NEs), such as Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) 1 and Space Vehicle (SV) operations, into the NAS will require modification to the current state of automation. Examining the relevant operational, technical, and procedural implications of integrated NE operations, in addition to exploring the potential impacts of accelerated RPA usage on NAS dynamics, are critically important efforts necessary to understanding operational impacts to NAS systems and users. Our paper presents the potential impacts of RPA integration on two of these systems: En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) and Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS). A significant component of the impact on NAS systems comes from flight plan and related data processing since all SVs and many RPAs will fly non-standard flight patterns (e.g., RPA loitering and grid search). The processes and details of the non-traditional flight routes, as well different RPA performance specifications, need to be considered as missions are overlaid on the national jet route structure. Of particular concern and interest are the changes in air traffic control (ATC) and air traffic management (ATM) systems and sub-systems needed to address air traffic controller workload and workload complexity concerns associated with NE activities. One potential accommodation approach, presented in this paper, is the use of Dynamic Airspace Configuration both for RPA routine operations and contingency events. Additionally, we present an RPA 1 In this paper, UAS and RPA are used interchangeably without intending any difference per se. It is noted that the U.S. DoD and ICAO use RPA while NASA and the FAA use UAS. demand forecast tool developed under a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project. This tool will assist the FAA in meeting its objectives for accommodation of RPA by providing accurate demand forecast information.

With the continuous expansion of air traffic flow, the increasingly serious aviation network security threats have a significant and far-reaching impact on the safe operation of the aviation industry. The networked air traffic management (ATM) system is an integrated space–air–ground network integrating communication, network, satellite, and data chain technology, which adopts a network-centric structure to provide network-enabled services and applications for the air transportation system. In view of the serious network threats faced by networked ATM, this paper studies the basic theories and key technologies of ATM information security assurance and designs a credible security architecture to provide comprehensive and systematic security assurance for networked ATM. Starting from the problems and development trend of ATM security assurance, this paper investigates the dynamic and complex data processing process of ATM system, analyzes the complex interaction between its cyber and physical system, and then constructs the networked ATM cyber–physical fusion system model and threat model. Furthermore, the causal relationship between ATM security threat alert information is mapped into a Bayesian network, and the game model of networked ATM is proposed using Bayesian Nash equilibrium strategy. At last, the information security assurance architecture of networked ATM system based on blockchain technology is formed by establishing a distributed co-trust mechanism and multi-chain storage structure. We expect this paper to bring some inspiration to the related research in academia and aviation so as to provide useful reference for the construction of ATM safety and security system and the development of technology.

Adapting a Human – Automation Trust Scale to an Air Traffic Management Environment

Decision support system in tactical air traffic flow management for air traffic flow controllers

in recent years, air traffic management bureaus have successively built air traffic control systems, airport surface monitoring system, electronic flight data system, digital clearance system, collaborative decision-making system, traffic management system, etc. These systems have accumulated a huge amount of air traffic control data that has potential value. Analyzing the data of air traffic control by using machine learning algorithms can provide a guarantee for safe production and enable the air traffic control system to provide services more safely and efficiently. Therefore, the establishment of aviation big data storage and analysis platform has become an important task of air traffic management. This paper design a big data platform which stores the data output by each system used by the air traffic management system. This paper introduces the connection of data sources and the structure of the big data platform. The platform provides decision making including flight delay analysis, operational efficiency, and experience routes.

Flight cancellations, departure delays, congestion in taxi times and airborne holding delays are increasingly frequent problems that negatively impact the performance, fuel burn, emissions rate and customer satisfaction at major airports in the world. However, this is just a brushstroke of the future to come. The dramatic growth in the air traffic levels has become a problem of paramount importance, leading into an increased interest for enhancing the current Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems. The main objective is to being able to cope with the sustained air traffic growth under safe, economic, efficient and environmental friendly working conditions. The ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast) technology plays a major role in the new ATM systems, since it provides more accurate real-time positioning information than secondary radars, in spite of using a cheaper infrastructure. However, the main flaw in the use of ADS-B technology is the generation of large volumes of data, that, when merged with other flight-related information, faces important scalability issues. In this work, we start off from a previously developed data lake for the support of the full ADS-B data life-cycle in a scalable and cost-effective way, and propose a data architecture to integrate data from different providers and reconstruct flight trajectories that can ultimately be used to improve the efficiency in flight operations. This data architecture is also evaluated using a 2-week testbed which reports some interesting figures about its effectiveness.

Air Traffic Management (ATM) is defined as a broad domain that consists of complex activities such as Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM). Within this context this paper presents two prototypes of a module (MAAD) assembled in a decision support device that is based on Artificial Intelligence, which generates suggestions for air traffic flow control according to each traffic saturation scenario. The device known as Distributed Decision Support System for Air Traffic Flow Management (SISCONFLUX) was built with a computational agent based on Reinforcement Learning (Module MAAD), which uses Q-learning algorithm. Two prototypes were built and one of them incorporated the specialist's (human agent) experience. The performance of the prototypes was evaluated through a case study modeled from real traffic demands verified on certain dates. The results obtained in the case study are promising; the behavior of the prototypes demonstrated that the Q-learning algorithm converged in a satisfying way. The prototypes generated actions that contributed effectively to the reduction of saturation in the air traffic scenarios under test.

This paper addresses topics concerning the development of future Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) so that they can operate safely within the community of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Studies by the Defense Science Board; the Office of Science and Technology; Government Accountability Office; and the Congressional Research Service: Library of Congress; have all emphasized that soon there will be a significant number of UAVs operating sideby- side with manned civil aircraft in the FAA’s National Airspace System (NAS). It is anticipated that future UAVs will start to perform many of the dull, dirty, and dangerous civilian missions. In 2006, about 600 UAVs are expected to be manufactured in the US alone. Therefore, there is an urgent need for developers of UAVs to understand safety certification for operations in the NAS, and that safety certification starts with the safety requirements; safety design; safe development process; safety verification; and safe operating procedures in the planned operational environment. This paper presents and discusses the experiences and lessons gained by the authors on the development of end-toend aviation safety; from the safety requirements to their final safety certification in the planned operational environment. The authors’ previous and ongoing works include the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) systems such as the GPS; WAAS; LAAS; MSAS; GPS III; and different operational environments at different airports such as Incheon International Airport. The FAA started with the two traditional safety certifications processes: airborne system certification and ground system certification; governed mostly by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) and FAA’s Acquisition Management System (AMS), respectively. However, when FAA started to implement GNSS, the lines between airborne and ground systems became blurred, and as a result many current Communications, Navigation, Surveillance, and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) systems have to follow both processes. We will also discuss the current Safety Management Systems being developed by both FAA and ICAO as an integrated, systematic, and harmonized approach and process to sort out the differing safety requirements from FAA, SAE-ARP, MIL-STD, RTCA, ASTM, ICAO, etc. to provide the eventual safe operations within the NAS. The discussion will then focus on the real world of institutional, operational, and technical issues for safety certification worldwide. Despite the numerous standards and guidance documents, many past safety analyses and studies were guided by best practices that had been used successfully in the past to streamline the process of providing all the required documentations and verifications. One such area is in the use of the “Integrity Panel of Experts” that had been used successful in the implementation of safety for the FAA’s Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) programs. In many areas of the world, safety certification from a technical point of view is only the first step to achieving safety certification to fly in their national and sovereign airspace. Finally, we will show the first steps that UAV manufactures need to consider if they want their UAVs to be approved to fly safely in different national civilian airspace.

Based on a long-term prediction by the International Civil Aviation Organization indicating steady increases in air traffic demand throughout the world, the workloads of air traffic controllers are expected to continuously increase. Air traffic control and management (ATC/M) includes the processing of various unstructured composite data along with the real-time visualization of aircraft data. To prepare for future air traffic, research and development intended to effectively present various complex navigation data to air traffic controllers is necessary. This paper presents a mixed reality-based air traffic control system for the improvement of and support for air traffic controllers’ workflow using mixed reality technology that is effective for the delivery of information such as complex navigation data. The existing control systems involve difficulties in information access and interpretation. Therefore, taking notice of the necessity for the integration of air traffic control systems, this study presents the mixed reality (MR) system, which is a new approach, that enables the control of air traffic in interactive environments. This system is provided in a form usable in actual operational environments with a head-mounted see-through display installed with a controller to enable more structured work support. In addition, since this system can be controlled first-hand by air traffic controllers, it provides a new experience through improved work efficiency and productivity.

ABSTRACTThe current Air Traffic Management (ATM) system in the United States supports a wide variety of users in providing a safe and efficient air transportation system. The ATM system has to be responsive to the changing needs of its users. One of the challenges in the ATM system evolution is to design the evolution of a Decision Support System (DSS)/automation architecture. This paper proposes a framework and a common language for understanding the different aspects of a DSS architecture.

Concept of Future Air Traffic Management and its Real-Time Decision Support utilizing Concept Learning