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.

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.

What is the E-OCVM?

E-OCVM stands for the European Operational Concept Validation Methodology and is a framework that has been developed in 2004 by Eurocontrol in collaboration with several R&D partners including the ATM & Airports Department of NLR. Generally, the E-OCVM is based on the methodological approach described by the Master European Validation Plan (MAEVA) project in its Validation Guideline Handbook (VGH).

The MAEVA VGH suggests a five-step approach to validation that was originally defined in the Eurocontrol Development of EATCHIP/EATMP Validation Methodologies (DEVAM) project. As refined and expanded, these five steps form the core of the VGH. In order to address each of the steps at the appropriate level and for the appropriate audience, the VGH contains three parts, each describing the steps at different levels of detail. Despite the general acceptance of the VGH within the ATM community, several adaptations of the framework were proposed within European R&D initiatives (especially the Gate-to-Gate and C‑ATM projects) concentrating on the initial approach to validation activities and the related life cycle of the concept or technology to be validated.

Eurocontrol together with the Co-operative Approach to Air Traffic Services (CAATS) project team (responsible for co-ordinating validation approaches within the current European Commission Framework Programme) consolidated all change proposals in the first edition of the E-OCVM, which has become the mandatory methodological framework for concept validation within the European ATM community.

The E-OCVM addresses validation at the highest two levels of the MAEVA stepped approach, and additionally introduces a concept life cycle model as well as a so-called case-based approach. The latter integrates validation exercise results into key cases that directly address stakeholder issues about ATM performance and behaviours. More information can be found at the Eurocontrol Validation Forum website.

Barcelona

The inspiring city of Gaudi: a vibrant, self-centred metropolis right on the Mediterranean Sea. This week the European-US ATM R&D conference was held in the direct neighbourhood of las Ramblas, Barcelona's amusement strip crowded day and night with its endless streams of tourists.

The conference featured many interesting ATM research results. These came from the areas of Innovative Research, Performance Management, Safety, Airport Management, Airspace Management, Human Factors, Environment, Air-Ground Integration, Network Management, and the new category of Finance and Deployment.

In the concluding session it was noted that much of what was presented concerned research on already existing concepts and technologies, which could be a sign of rather market-driven R&D. Nevertheless, about a third of the papers looked at innovative ideas generated on the basis of the needs of SESAR and NextGen, the European-US future air transportation system initiatives calling for major changes in the current ATM system to cope with future demand.

Plenary discussions following the concluding remarks of Eurocontrol and the FAA discussed the reasons for the current focus of ATM research on more market-driven topics and whether a more integrated approach between the US and Europe was possible despite the somewhat different kind of innovation needs in both regions of the world. Certainly, knowledge and awareness of what has been done in recent years on both sides of the Atlantic was considered desirable. The conference helped to promote the issue, however, this was not really reflected in the papers. Therefore, future research activities should also highlight common achievements, also for the sake of harmonising the approaches for solving the imminent problems in air traffic congestion in both systems.

The paper on Resolution Advisory Downlink that was written by Stan Drozdowski and Doris Dehn from Eurocontrol together with Bernd Lorenz and myself won the best paper award in the ATM safety conference track. The best conference paper award was attributed to a paper on an analysis method for new ATM concepts being applied to a multi-sector planner in US airspace. It was written by Kevin Corker, Paul Lee, and Tom Prevot from San Jose State University together with Diana Liang from the FAA.