Within the scope of the
Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR)
programme , the German air navigation service provider DFS and the
software company GLVI (Gesellschaft für Luftverkehrsinformatik) have
developed a highly performant system to assist air traffic
controllers in monitoring flight paths.
During large-scale
simulations, air traffic controllers were able to control up to 20
percent more traffic when using the Controller Assistance Tool
(CATO) while safety levels remained high. DFS and GLVI want to
continue their partnership that commenced in 2011 to include
research on additional functions that will result in further
automation of air traffic control in the future.
CATO helps air
traffic controllers detect and solve potential conflicts. The system
immediately informs the controller about flight levels and headings
that are conflict-free and can be issued for individual flights.
This information is re-calculated at short intervals. Software
algorithms developed by GLVI for DFS form the core element of this
tool which enables real-time conflict detection and resolution.
“From a
technical perspective, CATO algorithms are unique because of their
high level of performance. Large-scale simulations, at times with
extremely high traffic volumes, have shown that controller
productivity and airspace capacity could be increased considerably,"
explained Robert Schickling,
Managing Director of DFS.
"The next step will
be to gradually implement the functions into our future air traffic
control system iCAS along with our European partners from the iTEC
initiative who are working on similar solutions."
Ralf Bertsch,
Director of the Planning and Innovation division at DFS, added, “The
processing speed of the tested algorithm is impressive. Fast
algorithms are essential for further automation in air traffic
control.”
DFS and GLVI have
been collaborating on the project to develop the assistance tool
since 2011. It is funded by the SESAR programme. |