Wednesday, October 3, 2012
It's been a while...
...since I've been posting here, which was mainly due to the fact that most research projects I was involved in were of a confidential nature. There's more interesting stories about ATM research coming here in the future though. One important development this year was that we paved the way to carrying out two research projects in collaboration with NASA next year. More details can be found at the NLR website.
Monday, December 14, 2009
SWIM if you can...
At the end of this year the SWIM-SUIT user forum took place in Rome. The consortium leader SELEX organised this forum and gave several informative presentations about the work performed and issues encountered in the course of the project. As the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) initiative will continue work in this area, a large number of SESAR representatives also attended the meeting.
From the technical side it was explained that System-wide Information Management (SWIM) was based on three SESAR-defined domains, the flight data domain (FDD), the surveillance data domain (SDD) and the aeronautical information domain (AID). In the FDD a so-called flight data object (FDO) is created, updated and read through publish-and-subscribe mechanisms. The same mechanism is used for SDD (working on the ASTERIX-62 format). For AID a request-and-report mechanism is applied. The SWIM services that are implemented in so-called SWIM boxes expose web services. Legacy systems are adapted to the SWIM boxes and communicate in a VPN SWIM network (through SOAP/XML). The different adapters observe the legacy systems and translate data to the FDO.
A number of legacy platforms are tested and validated for performance (feasibility, inetroperability, flexibility), safety and security. These systems can be found at the Italian and Portuguese ATC centres, CFMU, Heathrow Airport (BAA-CDM), Alitalia and Air France OCCs, Frequentis (EAD) and even in Alitalia Boeing cokpits (FMS). Thus, SWIM can be called the intranet of aviation.
Open issues discussed included, among others, US-European interoperability that could be achieved through translation services between the SWIM clouds (mainly ICOG to ERAM and ASTERIX to ASDI), legal aspects concerning liability (e.g. setting up a compensation fund) and data model standardisation for the different domains.
From the technical side it was explained that System-wide Information Management (SWIM) was based on three SESAR-defined domains, the flight data domain (FDD), the surveillance data domain (SDD) and the aeronautical information domain (AID). In the FDD a so-called flight data object (FDO) is created, updated and read through publish-and-subscribe mechanisms. The same mechanism is used for SDD (working on the ASTERIX-62 format). For AID a request-and-report mechanism is applied. The SWIM services that are implemented in so-called SWIM boxes expose web services. Legacy systems are adapted to the SWIM boxes and communicate in a VPN SWIM network (through SOAP/XML). The different adapters observe the legacy systems and translate data to the FDO.
A number of legacy platforms are tested and validated for performance (feasibility, inetroperability, flexibility), safety and security. These systems can be found at the Italian and Portuguese ATC centres, CFMU, Heathrow Airport (BAA-CDM), Alitalia and Air France OCCs, Frequentis (EAD) and even in Alitalia Boeing cokpits (FMS). Thus, SWIM can be called the intranet of aviation.
Open issues discussed included, among others, US-European interoperability that could be achieved through translation services between the SWIM clouds (mainly ICOG to ERAM and ASTERIX to ASDI), legal aspects concerning liability (e.g. setting up a compensation fund) and data model standardisation for the different domains.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
German Aerospace Congress 2009
The German Aerospace Congress is organised annually by DGLR, the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics. This year it took place at the Eurogress Conference Centre in Aachen, Germany, from September 8 to 10, 2009.
On the second day of the conference, DLR presented the AT-One paper on Virtual Block Control and Separation Bubbles. In contrast to the paper presented at ICNS 2009 in Arlington, this paper had a focus on evaluation of the concepts in cockpit simulator trials.
The conference sessions were generally set up with a broad range of topics so that there were not too many presentations directly focussing on ATM. Some of the presentations were mere descriptions of work approaches and used facilities, but they were nonetheless interesting. The sessions I attended described new approaches to avionics and control systems, especially for small private aircraft, knowledge management, simulator development, data analysis, and last but not least ATM.
A very interesting presentation from one of my AT-One colleagues described a revolutionary approach to controlling aircraft, referred to as sectorless ATM. In that scenario several tactical controllers share one giant airspace sector and control or rather guide a number of aircraft (between 3 to 8) through that sector. Although the concept still has some weaker points (controller communication, priority rules) it is an interesting starting point for innovative research in that area.
On the second day of the conference, DLR presented the AT-One paper on Virtual Block Control and Separation Bubbles. In contrast to the paper presented at ICNS 2009 in Arlington, this paper had a focus on evaluation of the concepts in cockpit simulator trials.
The conference sessions were generally set up with a broad range of topics so that there were not too many presentations directly focussing on ATM. Some of the presentations were mere descriptions of work approaches and used facilities, but they were nonetheless interesting. The sessions I attended described new approaches to avionics and control systems, especially for small private aircraft, knowledge management, simulator development, data analysis, and last but not least ATM.
A very interesting presentation from one of my AT-One colleagues described a revolutionary approach to controlling aircraft, referred to as sectorless ATM. In that scenario several tactical controllers share one giant airspace sector and control or rather guide a number of aircraft (between 3 to 8) through that sector. Although the concept still has some weaker points (controller communication, priority rules) it is an interesting starting point for innovative research in that area.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
ICNS 2009 - Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance Conference
In May this year I attended the ICNS conference that took place in Arlington, Virginia. It was organised by IEEE/AESS together with AIAA/DATC, the FAA, the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) and NASA at the Crystal City hotel district.
The main topic of the conference was NextGen, of course. One of the opening presentations had a look at the 2009 NextGen Implementation Plan, which can be found here. The plan currently acts as communication medium between the FAA and the aviation community on NextGen equipage thereby answering the requirements set by the national airspace system (NAS) enterprise architecture (EA). Such dialogue will be critical for achieving benefits and return on investment for both the community and the government. The document tries to answer what NextGen will look like in the mid-term from 2012 to 2018, what benefits it will deliver, what the aircraft avionics equipage needs are through 2018, what FAA is committed to deploy in the near-term and what activities are underway to support future capabilities.
The conference agenda was composed of plenary sessions that were set-up like theatre play type of interviews with a certain panel at centre stage. The sessions addressed the three main topics of the conference, namely NextGen, Net-centric Operations, and Trajectory Based Operations (TBO).
NLR presented the results of their project on Virtual Block Control and Separation Bubbles. For the complete programme and the paper presentations, the ICNS website can be consulted.
The main topic of the conference was NextGen, of course. One of the opening presentations had a look at the 2009 NextGen Implementation Plan, which can be found here. The plan currently acts as communication medium between the FAA and the aviation community on NextGen equipage thereby answering the requirements set by the national airspace system (NAS) enterprise architecture (EA). Such dialogue will be critical for achieving benefits and return on investment for both the community and the government. The document tries to answer what NextGen will look like in the mid-term from 2012 to 2018, what benefits it will deliver, what the aircraft avionics equipage needs are through 2018, what FAA is committed to deploy in the near-term and what activities are underway to support future capabilities.
The conference agenda was composed of plenary sessions that were set-up like theatre play type of interviews with a certain panel at centre stage. The sessions addressed the three main topics of the conference, namely NextGen, Net-centric Operations, and Trajectory Based Operations (TBO).
NLR presented the results of their project on Virtual Block Control and Separation Bubbles. For the complete programme and the paper presentations, the ICNS website can be consulted.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
NARSIM Simulations on Virtual Block Control and Separation Bubbles
During the last two weeks NLR successfully carried out simulations on Virtual Block Control and the use of Separation Bubbles for Taxiway Conflict Alerting under low visibility conditions. The project was carried out by AT-One, the ATM research alliance between the Dutch and German Aerospace Research Institutes NLR and DLR, for Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
The objective of the project was to evaluate operational improvements that would support air traffic controllers in more efficiently and more safely handling airport ground traffic when visibility conditions are so bad that pilots cannot avoid collisions by looking outside the cockpit (VIS-3). Furthermore, it was assumed that there were no additional means in the cockpit that would increase pilot situational awareness, such as moving map displays.
In an earlier workshop with controllers from several European airports it was concluded that a concept for Virtual Block Control in combination with a safety net for separation (Separation Bubbles) would most probably be the most effective improvement for ground control under the specified conditions.
In order to evaluate the new tools and the associated operational procedures, the NARSIM Tower simulation environment of NLR was equipped with prototype virtual stop bars on a ground traffic radar display and appropriate alerting services for stop bar and separation violations. Rotterdam Airport (EHRD) was chosen as the geographic location as it was considered to have an ideal layout for evaluating all operational challenges when using the new tools. Above that the Rotterdam set-up was already successfully used for controller training.
Two teams of controllers (from Rotterdam and Stockholm) took part in the evaluation sessions that assessed operational procedures and, in a later stage, traffic throughput together with automation trust, impact on mental workload, situational awareness, and general system usability. Results will be reported to Eurocontrol in a final report at the end of this year. It is expected that Eurocontrol will publish that report in early 2009.
The objective of the project was to evaluate operational improvements that would support air traffic controllers in more efficiently and more safely handling airport ground traffic when visibility conditions are so bad that pilots cannot avoid collisions by looking outside the cockpit (VIS-3). Furthermore, it was assumed that there were no additional means in the cockpit that would increase pilot situational awareness, such as moving map displays.
In an earlier workshop with controllers from several European airports it was concluded that a concept for Virtual Block Control in combination with a safety net for separation (Separation Bubbles) would most probably be the most effective improvement for ground control under the specified conditions.
In order to evaluate the new tools and the associated operational procedures, the NARSIM Tower simulation environment of NLR was equipped with prototype virtual stop bars on a ground traffic radar display and appropriate alerting services for stop bar and separation violations. Rotterdam Airport (EHRD) was chosen as the geographic location as it was considered to have an ideal layout for evaluating all operational challenges when using the new tools. Above that the Rotterdam set-up was already successfully used for controller training.
Two teams of controllers (from Rotterdam and Stockholm) took part in the evaluation sessions that assessed operational procedures and, in a later stage, traffic throughput together with automation trust, impact on mental workload, situational awareness, and general system usability. Results will be reported to Eurocontrol in a final report at the end of this year. It is expected that Eurocontrol will publish that report in early 2009.
Monday, August 18, 2008
EMMA2 Airport Simulations (Milan)
In July 2008 real-time simulations for a safety assessment of the Milan Malpensa tower controller working environment were carried out with the NARSIM-Tower validation platform at NLR Amsterdam as part of the EMMA project.
The objective of the simulations was to obtain results that support a safety assessment of the Italian prototype A-SMGCS components developed within the project timeframe.
The following analysis methods were applied during the experiments:
- Observation and Improved Operational Expert Elicitation
- Insertion of Hazards in the Simulations
- Measurement of Parameters for Risk Uncertainty Reduction
Results of the real-time experiments will become available as part of the EMMA2 Validation Analysis Report at the beginning of 2009.
The objective of the simulations was to obtain results that support a safety assessment of the Italian prototype A-SMGCS components developed within the project timeframe.
The following analysis methods were applied during the experiments:
- Observation and Improved Operational Expert Elicitation
- Insertion of Hazards in the Simulations
- Measurement of Parameters for Risk Uncertainty Reduction
Results of the real-time experiments will become available as part of the EMMA2 Validation Analysis Report at the beginning of 2009.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Skybrary
During this year's ATC Global exhibition Eurocontrol presented a new website called Skybrary. This website is an initiative of Eurocontrol, ICAO and the Flight Safety Foundation. It is supposed to become the most important point of reference when it comes to aviation safety knowledge.
Skybrary is set up as a wiki site allowing registered users to contribute to its contents. Apart from being a library of safety related terms the website currently provides three portals addressing different safety aspects. These portals try to categorise information for different purposes and different audiences. The main portal looks at operational issues and is a good reference for research in the aviation safety field in general. Two other portals focus on enhancing safety (e.g. through safety management and technology) and safety regulation.
While much of the information presented on the Skybrary website might already be available on the net, it is hoped that this effort will help in consolidating the knowledge under a single roof. From the point of view of R&D this is certainly met with approval and in the long run research results, especially in the category of operations and safety enhancing technology and methodologies, should find their way into this base of information.
Skybrary is set up as a wiki site allowing registered users to contribute to its contents. Apart from being a library of safety related terms the website currently provides three portals addressing different safety aspects. These portals try to categorise information for different purposes and different audiences. The main portal looks at operational issues and is a good reference for research in the aviation safety field in general. Two other portals focus on enhancing safety (e.g. through safety management and technology) and safety regulation.
While much of the information presented on the Skybrary website might already be available on the net, it is hoped that this effort will help in consolidating the knowledge under a single roof. From the point of view of R&D this is certainly met with approval and in the long run research results, especially in the category of operations and safety enhancing technology and methodologies, should find their way into this base of information.
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