Control zone

Abstract: Predicted growth in air traffic and the desire for more user preferred routes in the National Airspace System (NAS) will impose additional demand on air traffic control and management systems This demand can be met by alternate airspace configurations, modified traffic patterns, and staff reassignment There is a need to understand the effect of changing airspace configurations and traffic patterns on the workload of air traffic controllers This complex relation is referred to as "Airspace Complexity" Research on dynamic density indicates that it is a good measure of airspace complexity Dynamic density is a function of the number of aircraft and their changing geometries in a given airspace In order to use dynamic density as a planning tool, it is necessary to project its behavior over the planning horizon The objective of this work is to study how well dynamic density can be predicted into the future using the trajectory generation feature of the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS) This paper describes the application of trajectory prediction to computation of actual and predicted dynamic density using traffic data from Dallas/Fort Worth airspace Results show that dynamic density can be predicted up to 20 minutes in advance and errors in predictions can be further

Abstract: An improved airport control/management system for controlling and managing the surface and airborne movement of vehicular and aircraft within a defined and selected airport space envelope of an airport, the traffic, comprising apparatus for establishing a precise 3-dimensional digital map of the selected airport space envelope, the map containing GNSS positioning system reference points, a computer with a monitor screen for receiving and displaying the 3-dimensional map, transmit and receive radio equipment located on at least one vehicle/aircraft in the airport space envelope to generate and transmit continuous GNSS-based location reports a receiver associated with the computer to receive the reports from the vehicle/aircraft, programming associated with the computer and using the reports to superimpose 3-dimensional image corresponding to a path of the vehicle/aircraft onto the 3-dimensional map, apparatus associated with the 3-dimensional map for generating airport control and management signals as a function of the vehicle/aircraft path and computer aided design programming for manipulation of the 3-dimensional map and the image of the vehicle/aircraft and the path to a desired apparent line of observation, to control the traffic in the airport, the improvement comprising: the layering of the airport map creating a layered airport map having at least one layer, the layering permitting thereby sorting and tracking of each of the vehicle/aircraft, each of the layers selected from the group determined by function consisting of air traffic control phase of flight, notams, forbidden zone identification, airline and airport operations. The invention may also include systems and apparatus for identifying the type of vehicle and the 3-dimensional orientation of same.

Abstract: The next-generation air traffic control system must be designed to safely and efficiently accommodate the large growth of traffic expected in the near future. It should be sufficiently scalable to contend with the factor of 2 or more increase in demand expected by the year 2020. Analysis has shown that the current method of controlling air traffic cannot be scaled up to provide such levels of capacity. Therefore, to achieve a large increase in capacity while also giving pilots increased freedom to optimize their flight trajectories requires a fundamental change in the way air traffic is controlled. The key to achieving a factor of 2 or more increase in airspace capacity is to automate separation monitoring and control and to use an air-ground data link to send trajectories and clearances directly between ground-based and airborne systems. In addition to increasing capacity and offering greater flexibility in the selection of trajectories, this approach also has the potential to increase safety by reducing controller and pilot errors that occur in routine monitoring and voice communication tasks.

Abstract: A real-time data management system which uses data generated at different rates, by multiple heterogeneous incompatible data sources. In one embodiment, the invention is as an airport surface traffic data management system (traffic adviser) that electronically interconnects air traffic control, airline, and airport operations user communities to facilitate information sharing and improve taxi queuing. The system uses an expert system to fuse data from a variety of airline, airport operations, ramp control, and air traffic control sources, in order to establish, predict, and update reference data values for every aircraft surface operation.