Augmented Reality for Airport Control Tower: Analysis and Implementation of Safety Nets

With the development of new technologies, Air Traffic Control, in the nearby of the airport, switched from a purely visual control to the use of radar, sensors and so on. As the industry is switching to the so-called Industry 4.0, also in this frame, it would be possible to implement some of the new tools that can facilitate the work of Air Traffic Controllers. The European Union proposed an innovative project to help the digitalization of the European Sky by means of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) program, which is the foundation on which the Single European Sky (SES) is based, in order to improve the already existing technologies to transform Air Traffic Management in Europe. Within this frame, the Resilient Synthetic Vision for Advanced Control Tower Air Navigation Service Provision (RETINA) project, which saw the light in 2016, studied the possibility to apply new tools within the conventional control tower to reduce the air traffic controller workload, thanks to the improvements in the augmented reality technologies. After the validation of RETINA, the Digital Technologies for Tower (DTT) project was established and the solution proposed by the University of Bologna aimed, among other things, to introduce Safety Nets in a Head-Up visualization. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the Safety Nets in use within the control tower and, by developing a working concept, implement them in a Head-Up view to be tested by Air Traffic Control Operators (ATCOs). The results, coming from the technical test, show that this concept is working and it could be leading to a future implementation in a real environment, as it improves the air traffic controller working conditions also when low visibility conditions apply.

Air traffic control : computer capacity shortfalls may impair flight safety : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate.

"B-235974"--P. [1]

Safety in the air : a curriculum about flight and air traffic control designed for middle school students.

Mode of access: Internet.

A safety assessment methodology applied to CNS/ATM-based air traffic control system

In the last decades, the air traffic system has been changing to adapt itself to new social demands, mainly the safe growth of worldwide traffic capacity. Those changes are ruled by the Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) paradigm, based on digital communication technologies (mainly satellites) as a way of improving communication, surveillance, navigation and air traffic management services. However, CNS/ATM poses new challenges and needs, mainly related to the safety assessment process. In face of these new challenges, and considering the main characteristics of the CNS/ATM, a methodology is proposed at this work by combining ""absolute"" and ""relative"" safety assessment methods adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in ICAO Doc.9689 [14], using Fluid Stochastic Petri Nets (FSPN) as the modeling formalism, and compares the safety metrics estimated from the simulation of both the proposed (in analysis) and the legacy system models. To demonstrate its usefulness, the proposed methodology was applied to the ""Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcasting"" (ADS-B) based air traffic control system. As conclusions, the proposed methodology assured to assess CNS/ATM system safety properties, in which FSPN formalism provides important modeling capabilities, and discrete event simulation allowing the estimation of the desired safety metric. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cognitive process modelling of controllers in en route air traffic control

In recent years, various efforts have been made in air traffic control (ATC) to maintain traffic safety and efficiency in the face of increasing air traffic demands. ATC is a complex process that depends to a large degree on human capabilities, and so understanding how controllers carry out their tasks is an important issue in the design and development of ATC systems. In particular, the human factor is considered to be a serious problem in ATC safety and has been identified as a causal factor in both major and minor incidents. There is, therefore, a need to analyse the mechanisms by which errors occur due to complex factors and to develop systems that can deal with these errors. From the cognitive process perspective, it is essential that system developers have an understanding of the more complex working processes that involve the cooperative work of multiple controllers. Distributed cognition is a methodological framework for analysing cognitive processes that span multiple actors mediated by technology. In this research, we attempt to analyse and model interactions that take place in en route ATC systems based on distributed cognition. We examine the functional problems in an ATC system from a human factors perspective, and conclude by identifying certain measures by which to address these problems. This research focuses on the analysis of air traffic controllers' tasks for en route ATC and modelling controllers' cognitive processes.

Air traffic control simulation studies. Final progress report.

"Contract FAA/BRD-129."

Air traffic control and the National security,

Mode of access: Internet.

Air traffic control [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, September 30, 1980.

"Serial 96-111."

A controller display technique for a terminal air traffic control system.

"Contract no. FAA/BRD-15, Task order no. 14. Prepared for Federal Aviation Agency, Bureau of Research and Development, Systems Analysis Division."

FAA air traffic control computer modernization [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Transportation, Aviation, and Materials of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, June 16, 17, and 18, 1981.

"No. 12."

Improving the air traffic control system : an assessment of the National Airspace System Plan.

Item 1005-C

Direct support and general support maintenance repair parts and special tools lists (including depot maintenance repair parts and special tools) for air traffic control facility AN/TSQ-97 (NSN 5895-00-137-8548).

"23 November 1983."

Organizational maintenance manual : air traffic control central AN/TSW-7A (NSN 5820-01-018-1246).

"June 1979."

Direct support and general support maintenance repair parts and special tools list ... for air traffic control central AN/TSW-7A (NSN 5820-01-018-1246).

"18 January 1983."

Organizational maintenance repair parts and special tools lists for air traffic control facility AN/TSQ-97 (NSN 5895-00-137-8548).

"23 November 1983."