GB2447638A

GB2447638A - Global air traffic control mechanism

Info

Publication number: GB2447638A
Application number: GB0703508A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Blaga Nikolova Iordanova
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-02-22
Filing date: 2007-02-22
Publication date: 2008-09-24
Anticipated expiration: 2027-02-22
Also published as: GB0703508D0; GB2447638B; GB2447638C

Abstract

A global air traffic control system, optimises traffic flows in four dimensional space. The system comprises means for communicating between aircraft and control structures simultaneously, means for obtaining requests from aircraft, airports, airlines or controllers, means for obtaining real-time data regarding 4D positions of aircraft via satellite data, means for parallel processing the requests and the real-time data, and means updating control structures and optimising clearances, wherein global traffic flows and end-to-end trajectories are optimised according to efficiency requirements and the capacity of airports. The choose one system, preferably predicts the development of trajectories and traffic flows during a time period, based on real-time reports and dynamically optimise its clearances of trajectories.

Description

* 2447638

GLOBAL CONTROL MECHANISMS FOR AIR TRAFFIC

AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AIRPORTS

Dr Blaga jV Jordanova, BIOR Know-How Ltd., London, UK

Description

1. Growth versus Sustainability The airports growth reflects the growth of the traffic demands. The effects of air traffic and airports on the environment cause concerns.

Environmental airport sustainability can be accomplished via maximising efficiency of end-to-end trajectories of flights and minimising emissions and environmentally harmful effects from aircraft around the airports waiting for landing.

The global intelligent mechanisms will secure the environmental sustainability by monitoring and controlling the allocation of air space-time and airport resources to 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights and plan traffic flows according to airports capacity available.

* *. Global intelligent control mechanisms will secure the arrival of aircraft according to schedules and thus will increase the efficiency of the use of the airport capacity and reduce the harmful effects from air traffic to the environment. **..

2. Sectors versus Global Control Today the aircraft fly in predefined corridors crossing air traffic control sectors : * and national boundaries. The traffic is controlled in smaller sectors today compared to * the past due to the increased traffic and the attempts of reducing the workload of controllers. The throughput of a sequence of sectors along a corridor of flights is limited by the sector with the lowest capacity within each corridor of flights.

* * * The sectors with the lowest capacity and the limited capacity of airports are the bottlenecks of the current;ystem Yet air traffic is growing and it is expected to continue growing.

The global intelligent mechanisms for control of traffic flows and of allocation of global resources are becoming of a supreme importance to * avoid bottlenecks created by sectors with limited capacity, * enable the efficient use of the existing capacity of the airports, * avoid congestions on the ground and in the air, * ensure environmental;ustainability of the airports and of the global air traffic, * fly aircraft on flexible routes instead of predefined corridors.

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2.1 Global Control Benelits The global intelligent control mechanisms will obviate the current practice of control of airspace and of traffic via sectors and thus the bottlenecks associated with the current practice.

Global intelligent mechanisms embedded in Integrated Operational Decision Support (IODS) systems v ill * synchronise the allocation of global air space-time and airports resources in response to series of distributed flight requests, * will control the efficient use of the capacity of the airports of the global air space-time by the four-dimensional (4D) end-to-end trajectories of flights.

* will monitor four-dimensional trajectories of flights and will keep these trajectories conflict-free within available resources.

The embedded mechanisms improve the monitoring and the control of the global air space-time and of the capacity of airports, and the planning of traffic flows according to the global resources available. The congestions at airports will no longer occur with the IODS control mechanisms in place. The keeping to the departure and the arrival times of flights will be significantly improved.

2.2. Business Intelligence Benefits The global control mechanisms will bring business intelligence benefits for the global air traffic industry, will provide real-time support for decision making, will synchronize business processes and global operations of stakeholders of the air traffic industry namely airlines, airport operators, air traffic control and pilots via synchronized and simultaneous communications of integrated operational decision support.

In order to harmonize the air traffic operations the global air space-time and airport resources must be allocated via global control mechanisms and their embedded technology. The latter will plan and monitor 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights and *: global traffic flows by automating * the allocation of global air space-time and airport resources, ** . the monitoring of the aircraft real positions, * the clearances of flight trajectories.

Thus the conflict-free use of global resources will be secured.

The above innovations can be accomplished via global control mechanisms embedded in IODS systems.

3. Embedded Mechanisms The global control mechanisms must be embedded in an intelligent control layer of a global networking architecture of integrated operational decision support (IODS) systems for airports and airline operators, pilots and air traffic controllers.

The global control mechanisms will be embedded in IODS systems via parallel and distributed processes and the logic of learning clearance-categories of flights from series of distributed reque.ts.

The clearance categories will be organised within Air Space-Time Control Structures. The latter will be communicated between LODS systems and used by the intelligent control mechanisms for monitoring and controlling the allocation of global air space-time and airport resources to 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights and the conflict free-use of the allocated resources by global traffic flows.

The mechanisms will operate via parallel processes monitoring 4D end-to-end trajectories of aircraft and processes clearing these trajectories and allocating conflict-free resources The technology of the embedded global control mechanisms is the technology of an intelligent control Ia) er of a global networking architecture of IODS systems together with the embedded technology automating the allocation of air space-time and airport resources, the embedded technology of the automated monitoring processes of 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights, the embedded computation intelligence technology ol learning clearance-categories of flights and of air space-time control structures and also the technology of synchronized and simultaneous communications between IODS systems.

4. Integrated Operational Decision Support An innovative way of controlling the use of the capacity of the air space-time and of the airports is through automated monitoring and controlling of four dimensional end-to-end trajectories of flights via Integrated Operational Decision Support systems.

The latter systems implement global control mechanisms in allocating air space-time and airport resources to 41) end-to-end trajectories of flights. Thus the systems control the global traffic flows too.

The IODS systems (Figure 1) integrate three main types of components, the User Interface, the Air Space-Time (AST) management components and the Decision * * Support for Planning cf Conflict-Resolutions (PCR) components. The latter S. * components integrate the automation of processes of conflict predictions and of conflict resolutions. * ***

The IODS systems rranage the efficient allocation of the air space-time and airports resources according to the technical capabilities of the aircraft and to the efficiency requirements of flight trajectories and of airports capacity use. *

* Via collaboration between parallel processes of AST components and PCR components the systems generate the decision support knowledge for efficient : clearances of flight-plans (4D end-to-end trajectories) and for keeping them conflict- *:*. free and most efficient within the resources available.

The user interface of the systems will communicate this decision support knowledge to pilots via communications with the on-board computer of aircraft through satellites. Through the global networking architecture of the IODS systems this knowledge will also be communicated via synchronized updates of AST knowledge-and data control structures between the IODS systems via satellites and via synchronized and secure communications between the ground IODS system and the relevant terminals of. the airlines, airport operators, and air traffic controllers concerned with the particular updates of 4D trajectories of flights.

The agent-managers of the user interface components of the IODS systems manage the sequences of flight-plan clearance requests. Their interface agents communicate with the on-board computer of aircraft via communications through satellites and with the terminal of the controllers, airlines and airport operators via synchronised and simultaneous communications.

The agent-managers lrioritise flights requested for clearance, and communicate with the agents managing the 1-lierarchies of Objects and Constraints (HOC) components and their parallel KAR processes.

The KAR processes generate most efficient clearances-categories of requested fights and organise these in AST knowledge and data control structures of conflict-free and optimised 4D end-to-end trajectories.

Each individual KAR process generates the Air Space-Time knowledge-and-data control structure of cletrance-categories of flights (4D end-to-end trajectories) requested during a certain AST period. The result of all parallel KAR processes is a flow of AST control siructures of conflict-free and optimised 4D end-to-end trajectories and thus of traffic flows given the global resources available.

The agent-managers of the HOC components (Figure 2) attend to the management of the parallel KAR Processes and their communications. Agents managing individual KAR processes communicate with agents managing AST monitoring processes.

The KAR processes also maintain conflict-free 4D end-to-end trajectories and their AST knowledge-and-data control structures of clearance categories. Thus they keep the use of air space-time and airport resources conflict-free and the flights most efficient within the available resources.

Each of these clearance-categories in the AST control structures are monitored by monitoring processes of the AST management components (Figure 2). They test 4D end-to-end trajectories for conflict predictions during a certain air space-time period ahead.

The agent managing the AST Management component also manage the parallel AST Monitoring processes, and the communications between its agents managing the S.. parallel AST Monitoring processes and the agents managing KAR processes of the HOC component.

. The tasks of the Agents managing individual monitoring process are to monitor an individual 4D end-to.end trajectory from an AST knowledge-and-data control *: structure of clearance-categories, to verify and to update the recorded positions of the aircraft on the trajectory with reports of real-time positions of aircraft communicated : through satellites, to revise the 4D trajectory and perform trajectory projection from the reported real position of aircraft, to perform tests for conflicts along the updated 4D end-to-end trajectory ahead of the currently updated real position of the aircraft. If a conflict is predicted along the projected trajectory ahead of time, the agent communications with a K.AR process regarding a service for clearance alterations of 4D end-to-end trajectories within the current or a new clearance-category and thus also for the maintenance of the AST knowledge-and-data control structure of clearance-categories. The,e communications include the request for the maintenance service asked for by the agent managing the AST monitoring process. This is provided by the agent managing the KAR process of the HOC component.

When an AST conflict is predicted and the monitoring process requests a maintenance service the relevant KAR process plans clearance-alteration of the flight trajectory and alter the clearance-category in the AST control structure accordingly. These alterations are communicated through the user interface of the IODS systems to the terminal of the controllers, airlines and airport operators and to the on-board computer of the aircraft via synchronised and simultaneous communications.

4.1 Computational Intelligence The computational intelligence technologies embedded in KAR processes automate the allocation of global air space-time and of airport resources and ensure the planning of four-dimensional end-to-end trajectories of flights and of global traffic flows according to the resources available.

These technologies enable dynamic control of the use of global resources of air space-time and of airports and prevent occurrences of congestions on the ground and in the air.

They secure efficiency in planning, in allocating and in controlling global air space-time and airport resources, and dynamic flight trajectories and traffic flows too.

The computational intelligence imbedded in IODS processes implement global control mechanisms and secure business intelligence benefits in a global infrastructure of networking architecture of IODS systems.

The global control benefits as accomplished via the embedded computational intelligence technologies of parallel and distributed processes learning clearance-categories and air space time (AST) control structures in IODS systems.

4.2. The Air Space-Time Control Structures The Air Space-Time (AST) control structures are created by parallel knowledge * *. acquisition and reasoning (KAR) processes. The latter automate the allocation of air space-time and airport resources to 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights booked by airlines in advance andloi at the time of their clearances before the take off of the aircraft. *e**

: The control structures ensure the conflict-free use of allocated global resources.

* The structures contain clearance-categories of flights and are used by IODS processes to monitor 4D end-to-end 1 rajectories of aircraft in flight.

A clearance-category of a flight consists of hierarchical objects organised in an S...

AST knowledge-and-data control structures (Figure 3) such as air traffic routes and : streams of aircraft.

The categories accommodate most efficiently the 4D end-to-end trajectory of flights in respect of Ilight efficiency and the efficiency of the use of air space-time and of airport resources.

The computational intelligence imbedded in parallel KAR processes learn and incrementally update the hierarchical objects of clearance-categories of flights. They organise the most efficient ones in a hierarchical AST knowledge-and-data control structure of clearance-cate:ories The aircraft agents requesting clearances may influence the decision of agents managing the relevant KAR processes, by providing specific efficiency requirements together with their requests. The agent managing a relevant KAR process takes into account the efficiency requirements requested for the flight and evaluates possible concepts of clearance-categories according to the efficiency the prospective categories can secure. The agent prioritise the categories by efficiency and communicates the clearance parameters generated by individual categories to the aircraft agent. The aircraft agent makes its final choice and communicates the decision back to the agent managing the KAR process.

The final clearance-categories ol flights are included in the AST control structures. The latter are used by IODS monitoring processes for controlling the 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights and the traffic flows and for ensuring the use of the air space-time and the airport resources is conflict-free and most efficient.

5. Global Infrastructure The global networking infrastructure of ground IODS systems for airlines and airport operators and for air traffic control and management will secure conflict-free planning for global air traffic and airports capacity use.

It will automate the allocation and the control of the air space-time and of airport resources.

It will control 4D end-to-end flight trajectories and global traffic flows in accordance to the business objectives of conflict-free and efficient use of global air space-time and of capacity of airports, and of securing the environmental sustainability of airports and of the growth of the air traffic.

It will provide intelli;ent, interactive and integrated operational decision support to pilots via communications though satellites with on-board computers of aircraft and to controllers, airlines and airport operators through synchronized and simultaneous communications between IODS systems and their terminals.

*:*::* 6. Conclusions

The integration and synchronization of global operations is vitally important.

This can be accomplished via global control mechanisms embedded in an intelligent control layer of a global infrastructure of IODS systems for airports, airlines, pilots and controllers.

The automation of the allocation and the control of the global air space-time and of airport resources, and the monitoring of the four dimensional end-to-end trajectories of flights are important for securing business benefits through intelligent and integrated operational decision support for pilots, controllers, airport and airline * ** operators.

The IODS automation of allocation and of control of air space-time and of airport resources provides the fle'dbility needed in planning global traffic flows. The IODS monitoring processes control the conflict-free use of global resources by 4D end-to-and trajectories of fights. Thus the IODS provides global control mechanisms and business intelligence and benefits, not available under the current practice, for avoiding congestions, so called "bottlenecks" occurring frequently in the current practice due to sectors with low capacity causing delays of flights and increased airline costs. The IODS also secures the safest management of air traffic and airspace.

The global control mechanisms of [ODS systems will monitor and protect against hazardous and unexpected events.

The IODS embedded business intelligence and control mechanisms will fundamentally change the global system.

The IODS parallel and distributed processes will automate the allocation and the control of the conflict-free and efficient use of the air space-time and of the airport resources via embedded computational intelligence of learning clearance-categories of 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights and of planning most efficiently 4D end-to-end trajectories according to the global resources available. IODS processes will provide global control and business benefits together with the automated planning and monitoring 4D end-to-end trajectories of flights and global traffic flows.

All parties involved within the air traffic industry will benefit from the global control mechanisms embedded in IODS systems for airport and airlines operators, and air traffic controllers and pilots. The mechanisms will secure conflict-free planning for global air traffic flows and airport capacity use, safety and efficiency of global operations, and financial savings and environmental sustainability. * ** * S S * S* **** * S * S.. S...

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Claims

I Global control mechanisms for optimising traffic flows in a dynamic global four dimensional (4D) space by creating and dynamically updating clearances of trajectories and control structures from real-time data, and by means of communicating these simultaneously in a global air traffic control and management system via a control layer of a global networking architec:ure of integrated operational decision support systems for airports, airlines, pilots and controllers comprising i. means for obtaining lequests from physical entities, aircraft, airports, airlines, and controllers, ii. means of real-time data reporting from physical entities to ground IODS systems such as real-time 4D positions of aircraft in the air via satellites, aircraft & environmental related real-time data and real-time airports' resources, iii. means of centralising the processing of these requests and real-time reports within a global networking architecture of IODS systems by parallel processes producing technical effects of a) clearing 4D end-to-end trajectories by means of dynamically allocating of conflict-free global resources of air spacetime and of departure and of destination airports, b) creating and dynamically updating global air space-time control structures of clearances of 4D enc 1-to-end trajectories, and by c) communicating the control structures and the clearances simultaneously within the global network of 10 DS systems and to the physical entities concerned with the updates by means of simultaneous communications to their equipment.

d) technically constantly monitoring 4D end-to-end aircraft' trajectories via monitoring processes e) technically changing & optimising the aircraft trajectories in the 4D dynamic space * ** of the end-to-end tralfic flows via issuing dynamic clearances and/or optimising alterations of the end -to-end trajectories and by means of technically * communicating these dynamic clearances and/or alterations simultaneously to physical entities concerned with the alterations wherein the global traffic flows of end-to-end trajectories are optimised according to : capacity and environmental ustainability of airports in a dynamic global (4D) space. I..

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2. Global control mechanisns according claim lwherein technically enabling the control of global traffic flows by the technical means of controlling the allocation and the use of 1.: global air space-time and of airports' resources by 4D end-to-end trajectories.

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3. Global control mechanisms according claim 1 wherein technically optimising global traffic flows according to airports' capacity available and environmental sustainability.
4. Global control mechanisms according claim I wherein technically enabling the keeping of the 4D end-to-end trajectories and of global traffic flows conflict-free and optimised according to the global resources available.
5. Global control mechanisms according claim 1 wherein technically synchronising global operations and enabling the;ecuring of the environmental sustainability of the airports and of the minimisation of harm FUL effects of the global traffic to the environment.

6. Global control mechanisms according claim 1 wherein technically enabling global traffic monitoring and control without control sectors.

7 Global control mechanism:; according claim I wherein technically enabling efficient and sustainable use of airports' capacity without congestions on the ground nor in the air.

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1. Global control mechanism fbr optimisilig traffic flows in four-dimensional (41)) dynamic Space by creating control stTuctun tic)nl ival-time data and dynamically installing and updating these in a global air traffic control & management system by means of communicating these simultaneously via a control layer of a global iotworking architociure of integrated operational detision support systems Ihr airports, airlines and muuft operators and air traffic coni rollers comprising i. means for obtaining tequests from physical entities, aircraft, airports. airlines, and controllers.

ii. means of obtaining r:al-time data such as regular real-time reports of 4D positions of aircraft in the air via satellites, wcathcr related real-time reports, aircrafl & environmental related real-time and safety-critical data reports, and real-time reports of availability oF airports' esourecs, iii. means of parailci processing oF the requests and the real-time reports within the global networking architeclure of dedicated ground integrated systems iv. moans ofcreating eoiitrol ucturvs from processed real-tinle reports and requests.

v. means of installing ajid dynamically updating control structures and optimising updates of clearuncca by vi. means of simultaneous communisations within the global networking architecture vii. means of communicating optimisiag updates to physical entities concerned by means of communicitions to their equipment, having therein the technical effects synchinising global operations wherein the global traffic flows of end-to-end trajectories are optiniised according to efficiency requirements and he capacity and the environmerdal sustainability of airports.

2. (ilobal control mechanism according claim 1 wherein it has the means of issuing and communicating dyrntmiu clearances and optimising alterations of 4!) cud-to-end trajectories which has the tecimicat effects of changing & optimising the aircraft' trajectories in the-dynamic 41.) spacc of the end-to-end traftic ftows in real-time.

3. Global control rncchanisni according claims 1,2 wherein it ha means of obtaining and paral1el processing regular n.ports of real- time 4D positions of aircraft in flight by parallel processes of ground integratcd systems which has the technical effects of constantly monitoring aircraft' trajecthuics and global traffic flows, and oloplimising these according *, to real-june reports ofavailbiUty of global resources. **..

4. Global control mechanisni according claims I 23 providing therein the technical effects : *** of optimising global traffic 1 ows iii real-time according to the departure and the destination airports' capacity, weather c,,nditions. safty-critical and environmental related issues.

S. Global control mechanism according claims 1,2, 3 wherein it has * i. mcans of predicting:he development of trajectories and traffic Ilows during an air * space-time period ahead based on real-time reports. and *:. ii. means of generating dynamic optirnising alterations of clearances of trajectories and simultaneous update. of control structures, and iii. means of communiciting these simultaneously to dedicated ground systems within the cntnl layer and to the physical entities concerned by means of communications to Iheir equipment having therein the technical:ffeets of optiniising and keeping global traffic flows of end-lu- end trajectories optimised ir 4D dynamic space without interferences of contzollcrs in real-time.
6. Global control mechanism according claims I.2,3.4,5 having therein the technical ef$ct.s of global control of traffic flows without flying aircraft in predelined corridors.
7. Global contiol mechnisrn according claims 1,2,3,4, 5, 6 having therein technical effects o1muiiiising and of controlling global trullic without control sectors.
8. Global onLro1 mechanism according daimsl 234,5,6.7 having therein technical effects securing the efficient and th environmentally sustainable use of airports' capacity without cungestions on the ground and without congestions in the air.
9. Global contn1 meehiinisni according claim 1.2,3,4.5.6,7,8 wherein it technically monitors and secures the en'.ironrnental su.stainability of the airports and minirnises harmful of reels of aircraft to the environment. * .. * * *. * -*. * * ** S * S. * . S I.. S

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