A new worldwide mindset will surround this and the following decades. Technology is one of the enablers of this new world, that has already been presented to us, closer than ever, and is driving society to a new way of living and interacting in many segments.
To live this reality, new terms are progressively taking place as part of our lives, such as “metaverse,” “5G”, “crypto coin,” and “unmanned vehicle,” among others. In the aviation reality, this is no different, where we are also dealing with new concepts and acronyms such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), already being tested and used, advanced air mobility (AAM) regarding the introduction of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, trajectory base operations (TBO), higher airspace, among others, impacting our lives anywhere and leading the entire aviation market, including the air traffic management industry to evolve to this new world.
International regulatory agencies and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) worldwide face a considerable challenge in preparing for this new world. First, they must keep the current airspace infrastructure up and running. Then, they must evolve regulations regarding CNS/ATM infrastructure to embrace this new world, where paradigms will be broken, without giving away the most precious keyword in aviation: safety.
Atech presents in this article a vision for supporting the ANSP with the challenges for the following decades by sharing our vision built based on research done in the last years, as well as what Atech has developed in terms of a new generation of ATC systems that are part of the ATM ecosystem. We will share our vision about how this new generation of ATM systems can be deployed to ANSP and its expectations.
SingleATM Platform
The SingleATM Platform is an HW and SW structure to host ATM systems based on services/micro-services, sustained by five pillars: capacity, efficiency, operational environment, operational security, and software security. This platform reduces expansion, integration, and maintenance costs while increasing ATM systems‘ interoperability, also reduces development/testing costs and provide the same visual identity for the hosted systems with greater availability and resilience. The SingleATM Platform will be responsible for increasing the level of ATM systems cybersecurity, adhering to international standards, and can be hosted on-premises hardware or in private or public clouds.
In the image above, the red rectangle represents the SingleATM platform, which will host the services/microservices for different ATM systems (blue rectangle). In this sense, the different ATM systems (green rectangle), no matter where they are, will subscribe to the services/microservices to receive the proper information based on their operational needs through a local or wide area network.
As a main benefit for the ANSP, the SingleATM Platform enables the reduction of costs related to acquisition, expansion, integration, and maintenance, also increasing interoperability among systems and the cybersecurity level of hosted ATM applications, according to international security practices required for critical systems,“ explains Marcos Resende, ATM Business Director at Atech. Marcos also emphasizes that “this platform is being developed innovatively and customized to meet the demand of DECEA (Department of Airspace Control), the Brazilian ANSP, to integrate and modernize the Brazilian Airspace Control System (SISCEAB) programs.”
Since this innovative platform has been developed under strict safety and security requirements to host applications that are compliant with international regulations, the above benefits of adopting the SingleATM Platform are also suitable for any ANSP worldwide.
An ATC system based on SaaS
The ATC as a service supply model makes the ATC system available to an ANSP without demanding the organizations to invest or acquire hardware to support all infrastructure initially. In this model, Atech is also responsible for support activities, including technical assistance and all necessary hardware and system repairs at no additional cost to the customer, who pays for a predefined recurrent fee, or subscription, during the contractual period, covering the entire operational lifecycle of the new ATM system needed.
In the Brazilian case study, after the analysis of two ATC modernization proposals (SaaS and On-Premises), the ANSP opted for SaaS, considering several advantages. These include: Reducing ANSP effort in acquiring, implementing, maintaining, and managing complex infrastructures enables a focus on ATM efficiency; A reduction of ANPS investment in specialized training and certifications for the technical staff; Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees by transferring responsibilities to the service provider; Approximately 30% savings on project investment (CAPEX + OPEX) – this reduction considers system, hardware, and training investments based on a product life cycle of 12 years; Agility in updating systems with the addition of functionalities of interest; Flexibility in customizing the service according to the ANSP’s needs, and agility in the final delivery of the ATC system (12 months to be fully operational) through the service provider‘s expertise in acquiring hardware and furniture.
The implementation of the ATC as a service is crucial for ANSPs, where the SaaS approach can generate significant gains not only financially but also in the customization of the solution. With consolidated experience in ATM projects, Atech has been leading these new approaches, contributing to the modernisation, security, and efficiency of Air Traffic Services (ATS),“ explains Marcos Resende, ATM Director of Atech.
Initial/Integrated Flight Plan System
Managing flight plans consistently and efficiently is still challenging worldwide for many ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers). In the current complex air traffic scenario, several stakeholders receive, analyze, and forward flight plans along with respective update messages. Numerous professionals are involved, such as pilots, operational dispatchers, ARO officers, flow managers, and ATC flight plan operators, among others and they use different procedures and tools to perform their activities.
In this case, incorrect entry of flight plan data and the consequent difficulty in proper validation may occur, requiring human intervention to verify the consistency of this data. A lack of interoperability between automated systems can result in loss or duplication of information. Implementing an The Integrated Initial Flight Plan Processing System (IFPS) is excellent for consolidating all flight plans across the airspace in a single database. This allows all stakeholders to monitor the status of the flight plans, giving them the exact situation awareness, the IFPS promotes the exchange of messages between existing systems with reliability and traceability.
All flight plans and associated messages for aircraft that fly over the airspace shall be submitted to the IFPS for processing, which centralizes the flight plan reception and validation synthetically and semantically. In case the flight plan is rejected, the IFPS notifies the user of the error(s); otherwise, the flight plan is approved and distributed to all stakeholders involved in the flight plan.
AI for the ATM ecosystem
Over the last few years, Atech has invested in R&D projects dedicated to the ATM ecosystem using AI, that are not directly related to ATCO‘s decision while sitting in their CWP, but supporting different ATM tools that produce information for ATCO.
For instance, one of these projects is the “Analysis of Air Traffic Operational Performance through Flight Trajectory Data,” which aims to explore trajectory data using AI to support Air Traffic Management (ATM) by developing performance indicators aligned with the Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP). The expected results are to characterize the airspace through spatial and temporal identification of air traffic patterns by analyzing ATM performance indicators. This can lead to an airspace restructuring, such as creating new sectors or implementing new trajectories over time.
Another project is the “Flight time operational prediction,” which provides higher-quality data to assist in operational decision-making. Using Machine Learning techniques, the solution considers the flight trajectories, meteorological conditions, airspace design, and constraints to improve the 4D Trajectory Prediction for the ATFM. The expected result is to improve the estimated times forecast to optimize operational decision-making.
During 2022/2023, 11 (eleven) projects were developed, and others are planned for 2024/2025. Once the operational stakeholders homologate the project outcomes, they will be incorporated into the Atech ATM products portfolio.
In recent years, advanced air mobility has become a hot topic with the introduction of eVTOL (electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft, and many OEMs worldwide are rushing to have their equipment certified and ready to operate. The expectation is that this equipment, as part of the mobility ecosystem, will reduce commute time in big cities and metropolitan areas. The new equipment imposes new requirements on the ATM Systems that are not fully supported today. Using our core expertise in the ATM ecosystem, Atech participates actively in different areas, supporting CONOPS preparation for ANSPs and developing the new generation of Systems that will support the AAM.
One of the projects is developing the Vector system, an Atech and Eve solution for the AAM. This system aims to integrate the AAM stakeholders into a single platform by providing flight dispatch for the eVTOL vehicles and helicopters that will fly in urban airspace, vertiport automation, urban airspace management, and flow management, among other services.
Another project involves a partnership with several stakeholders for the UTM ecosystem (UAS Traffic Management) involving drone operators, ANSP, security, the Civil Aviation Agency, and others to speed up the definition of operation rules under VLOS (Visual Line-of-Sight) and BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight) conditions. For that, Atech developed its own DSS (Discovery and Synchronization Service) following the ASTM standard and the USS (UTM Service Supplier) System, the last integrated with Atech’s ATC solution, the SAGITARIO, sharing drone and regular aviation data using standard protocols. The USS solution was tested and integrated with other USSs and the ANSP’s Airspace Authorization Service in the Test of Capability Verification Operations.