The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) project works to develop tools and technologies essential for safely enabling civilian low-altitude UAS operations. Currently there is no established infrastructure to enable and safely manage the widespread use of low-altitude airspace and UAS operations, regardless of the type of UAS. The UTM technical challenge will develop comprehensive and validated airspace operations and integration requirements to safely enable large-scale persistent access to visual line of sight and autonomous beyond visual line of sight small UAS in low-altitude airspace. Within the UTM project, a number of communications technologies to support UTM command and control (C2) are under investigation. In particular, commercial networked cellular systems are being tested and assessed for their ability to meet the reliability, scalability, cybersecurity and redundancy required. NASA Glenn Research Center is studying some of the aspects of employing such networks for UTM C2 communications. This includes the development of a test platform for sensing and characterizing the airborne C2 communications environment at various altitudes and in various terrains and topologies, measuring such aspects as received signal strength and interference. System performance aspects such as latency in the link, handover performance, packet error loss rate, drop outs, coverage gaps and other aspects impacting UTM operation will also be assessed. In this paper we explore some of the C2 approaches being proposed and demonstrated in the UTM project, the reliability, availability and other general C2 performance requirements, and approaches to evaluating and analyzing UTM C2 links based on commercial cellular networks.
Hidden communications is one recent method to provide reliable security in transferring information between entities. Data hiding in media carriers is a power limited and band-limited system, as a consequence, there is a tradeoff between the host media perceptual fidelity and the transferred data error rate. In this paper, a developed embedding approach is proposed by considering the altering process as a signaling communications problem. This approach uses a structured scheme of Multiple Trellis-Coded Quantization jointed with Multiple Trellis-Coded Modulation (MTCQ/MTCM) to generate the stego-cover space. The developed scheme allows transferring a high volume of information without causing a severe perceptual or statistical degradation, and also be robust to additive noise attacks.
This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation covering the ontology-based representation and semantic querying of digital notices to airmen (DNOTAM). The following areas are outlined: proof-of-concept prototype; Aeronautical Information Exchange Model; HMI usability and completeness; and validation for integrated digital briefing.
VHF radio system has been used for Air Traffic Control (ATC) communication, Aircraft Operational Communication (AOC) etc. on the continental area. The data communication system of the VHF radio system uses communication protocols specified in the international standards called SARPs (Standards and Recommended Practices) of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). The VHF data communication system is commonly called the VHF datalink system. The VHF datalink system has been implemented into AOC, however it has not yet been implemented into ATC communication in Japan. By using the VHF datalink system, an air traffic controller can exchange requests or instructions with a pilot on a flying aircraft, and it significantly contributes to the safety of flight. CARATS, which is the abbreviation of “Collaborative Actions for Renovation of Air Traffic Systems”, is a long-term vision for the future air traffic systems of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) [1]. JCAB challenges to change the current air traffic systems into more intelligent systems. We have been attending the activities of CARATS Working / Adhoc Group. We analyze the transmission delay as one of the performance analyses in the case of using the VHF datalink system for the part of the VHF ATC voice communication in the activities. For the analysis, we use the protocol simulator in which VHF communication protocol models are installed. In this paper, we first describe the background of performance analysis and the VHF datalink system simulator for aeronautical communication. Then, we show the results of statistical analysis to be used as some parameters for the simulator. Finally, we describe the results of simulations and predict the communication performance in the future.
Improving flight efficiency in terms of fuel efficiency and travel time reduction is of great interest for the aviation industry. An increase in efficiency is assumed to lower not only airline costs but also the environmental impact of aviation [1]. Among other strategies, improved route planning provides an opportunity to reduce fuel burn and travel time. In this context efforts should not be limited to finding routes that reduce the distance travelled, but attempts should be made to find routes that take weather effects into account. This study investigates whether following wind optimal routes has a positive impact on fuel consumption and travel time of inner-European flights. In order to evaluate the savings potential, fuel consumptions achieved from wind and distance optimized trajectories are compared. Moreover, it is discussed what wind conditions justify deviations from great circle routes. The paper provides an analysis of potential fuel savings achieved through the use of wind optimized routes for inner-European flights. The optimization process is carried out with respect to the provided wind direction and wind speed. For this purpose, DLR's trajectory optimization tool was improved to take weather information into account and to calculate wind optimized routes. The corresponding calculations are performed for one specific traffic scenario under different weather conditions.
Integrating growing Commercial Space Transportation (CST) operations into the National Airspace System (NAS) is an emerging challenge for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This industry consists of new players, ideas, launch methods, and vehicle designs, in addition to traditional vertical rocket launches. Integrating commercial space vehicle operations in an efficient manner that minimizes impacts on other NAS users is essential for the future growth, development, and sustainability of the NAS.
The Communications subproject technical challenge will be met through 4 primary objectives: 1. Develop data and rationale to obtain appropriate frequency spectrum allocations to enable the safe and efficient operation of UAS in the NAS 2. Develop and validate candidate UAS control and non-payload communication (CNPC) system prototype which complies with proposed international/national regulations, standards, and practices 3. Perform analysis and propose CNPC security recommendations for civil UAS operations 4. Perform analysis to support recommendations for integration of CNPC and ATC communications to ensure safe and efficient operation of UAS in the NAS.
This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation about Eurocontrol A/G DataCom centralised services.
The European Union aims to reform Air Traffic Management (ATM) in Europe to cope with sustained air traffic growth and to ensure that air traffic operates under the safest, most cost- and flight-efficient and environmentally friendly conditions. Therefore, the Single European Sky (SES) legislative framework, supplemented by its ATM Research (SESAR) program, aims to increase the overall performance of the ATM systems in Europe by developing the new generation pan-European interoperable ATM system [1]. A key enabler in achieving this is the implementation of System Wide Information Management (SWIM) [2]. SWIM consists of standards, infrastructure and governance enabling the management of ATM information and its exchange between qualified parties via interoperable services [3]. Interoperability needs to work at many levels. For example, it is crucial that: computer systems and services can be linked in order to exchange information; both service providers and consumers can understand and interpret the exchanged information in the same manner and; coordinated processes exist to allow different organizations to achieve their goals [4]. Interoperability also needs to be set in the appropriate political context if it is to succeed. This means that cooperating partners must have compatible visions, agreed priorities and focused objectives [4]. This paper, primarily, explores the need for “semantic interoperability” within new European ATM system. It introduces the notions of semantic correspondence, the SESAR ATM Information Reference Model (SESAR AIRM) [5] and the SESAR AIRM compliance framework. In addition, the paper describes an example service which complies semantically with the SESAR AIRM. It then looks at the next steps in the development of the SESAR AIRM and introduces the need to define an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) AIRM as the appropriate political context for achieving semantic interoperability within the global ATM community.
This paper addresses operational performance management within air navigation and considers an initial approach to modelling resilience within air navigation and applies it to the current performance framework of performance of air navigation services at European airports. Resilience is an emerging paradigm and has gained the attention of political decision makers and operational planners. In particular, the distinction between nominal and non-nominal situations is closely linked with the identification of disruptions and associated impacts on the quality of service. This paper considers resilience from a system-theoretic perspective. From that perspective, operational performance can be modelled as a situation management problem and resilience aspects can be discussed on the basis of changes of system state within the state space over the considered time horizon. For the purpose of this paper, service levels of air navigation within the airport context are conceptualized on the basis of the performance indicators set forth by the European performance scheme. This exploratory study aims at identifying the fit of the existing scheme to identify and categorize disrupted services. The model is based on a case study analysis of disruptions at two European airports. The case study approach allows to derive an initial set of parameters. The results obtained provide evidence for the conceptual feasibility of addressing resilience from a situation management and state-oriented perspective. Initial requirements can be derived for the adaptation of the current set of performance indicators for air navigation within the airport context and inform further refinement of the performance framework.
This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation about ongoing data link deployment in Europe.
Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: European SWIM; system wide information management; and ATM information.
Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: European response; airport; SESAR system; air traffic controller; and air traffic services.
Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: SESAR project 9.49; CNS integration; aircraft enablers; ATM modernization; retrofit impact analysis.
This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation. The avionics roadmap supporting the ATM modernization is a living roadmap needing continuous consolidation and synchronization with the Ground deployment roadmap. SESAR and NextGen harmonization efforts have to be continued, endeavoring a common overarching concept. ICAO GANP and ASBUs have a fundamental role in building and maintaining the momentum worldwide. Live trials, SESAR VLD, FAA PoC,... are key instruments to demonstrate benefits and give confidence on investment decisions.
Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: evaluation standards; environmental test; electromagnetic compatibility; EMC; power transient; electrical safety; evaluation planning; evaluation sequence; component survivability assessment ;mission survivability; and UAV.
Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: unmanned aircraft systems; national airspace system project; UAS control; nonpayload communication system phase-1 flight test; NASA-Rockwell Collins cooperative agreement; civil UAS communication architecture; waveform trade study; datalink technology evaluation; NASA design lead allocations; hardware test bed setup; ground station; Rockwell-Collins generation 1 CNPC radio testing; research flight track; and hand-off test.
We present a model scenario in which airports and commercial aircraft are equipped with optical transceivers for high-speed onboard internet access. In a first step, basic line-of-sight calculations for ground station-to-flight and flight-to-flight are performed using timetable data published by major airline alliances. We then choose a set of relevant markets/arenas (both inter-continental and continental) to calculate respective aircraft reachability statistics. Based on this, the feasibility of single-hop and multi-hop data relays is estimated for typical scenarios. As several simplifying assumptions are made, we compare our data to actual historical flight data to judge the model's accuracy. Finally, we discuss major technical and commercial aspects for an eventual implementation of this dynamic free-space optical network.
This paper presents a design, modeling and simulation for an aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) based on the operational concept as describe the ICAO recommendations, and the actual operational requirements defined for the CAA in Colombia. Special emphasis is given to the different ground to ground applications like AMHS and AIDC for the actual and projected requirement in a midterm basis taking into account the actual and future air-traffic conditions of the country and the local planning of CNS/ATM development. The model used a protocol stack according to the ICAO recommendations and well know standards used today in the telecommunications industry. The paper also presents the methodological process in order that the simulation, of the ground to ground sub-network, has validity and credibility.Finally, this paper gives some preliminary results of the simulation process and further conclusions are showed.
