System and method for monitoring airspace

• US 20070139252A1
• Filed: 10/31/2006
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PASSUR Aerospace, Inc.
• Original Assignee: PASSUR Aerospace, Inc.
• Inventors: Dunsky, Ron, Marcella, Matthew, Barry, James, Cinello, Timothy
• Granted Patent: US 7,522,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/29
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/685 using pulse modulation, e.g. pulse frequency modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0082 for monitoring traffic from a ground station radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91

Abstract

A method for receiving data corresponding to an aircraft in a monitored airspace, comparing the data to rules, each rule corresponding to a threat posed by the aircraft and generating a threat indication based on at least one of the rules triggered by the data. A system having a rule set including a plurality of rules corresponding to potential threats in a monitored airspace and an airspace monitor receiving data corresponding to aircraft in the monitored airspace and comparing the data to the plurality of rules, the airspace monitor generating a threat indication when the data triggers at least one of the rules.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving data corresponding to an aircraft in a monitored airspace;

comparing the data to rules, each rule corresponding to a threat posed by the aircraft; and

generating a threat indication based on at least one of the rules triggered by the data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is received from a passive radar system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data includes one of a time, an x-position, a y-position, an altitude, an x-velocity component, a y-velocity component, a z-velocity component, a speed, a flight number, an airline, an aircraft type and a tail number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rules include one of a violation of an ADIZ rule, an emergency transponder rule, an aircraft of interest rule, an abnormal behavior rule and a repeat offender rule.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a user indication corresponding to the threat indication.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user indication is one of a visual display alert, an audio alert, a printout alert, a communication via an electronic message and a log history.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is received from a plurality of data feeds.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the rules, wherein the rules are generated by one of a manual input of rules and a comparison of received historical data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a level of the threat indication corresponds to the rule that was triggered.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

responding to the threat indication based on the level of the threat indication.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

predicting at least one threat based on the data and information corresponding to the monitored airspace.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information includes a location of ground objects in the monitored airspace.

13. A system, comprising:

a rule set including a plurality of rules corresponding to potential threats in a monitored airspace; and

an airspace monitor receiving data corresponding to aircraft in the monitored airspace and comparing the data to the plurality of rules, the airspace monitor generating a threat indication when the data triggers at least one of the rules.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the data is received from a passive radar system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the data includes one of a time, an x-position, a y-position, an altitude, an x-velocity component, a y-velocity component, a z-velocity component, a speed, a flight number, an airline, an aircraft type and a tail number.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a user alert module indicating the threat indication to a user, the user alert module including one of a visual display alert, an audio alert, a printout alert, a communication via an electronic message and a log history.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the rule set generates the rules by comparing historical data received by the airspace monitor.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the airspace monitor generates a level of the threat indication corresponding to the rule that was triggered.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the airspace monitor predicts at least one threat based on the data and information corresponding to the monitored airspace.

20. A system comprising a memory storing a set of instructions and a processor executing the instructions, the instructions being operable to:

receive data corresponding to an aircraft in a monitored airspace;

compare the data to rules, each rule corresponding to a threat posed by the aircraft; and

generate a threat indication based on at least one of the rules triggered by the data.