Airport traffic management

• US 7,979,197 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gusler, Carl P., Finn, Peter G., Hamilton, Rick A. II, Seaman, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Kim T
• Application Number:
  US11/952,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20090150013A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701 15- 16, 701120-121, 701/204, 701/207, 701300-301, 340/435, 340/642, 340/933, 340/947, 340/951, 340/953, 340/955
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0082 for monitoring traffic from a ground station radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling

Abstract

Airport ground traffic management methods, program products and systems provided for a plurality of tags or tag readers distributed throughout an airport each spaced greater than a tag reader scanning distance. A traveling apparatus brings a tag proximate to a tag reader and a traffic manager in communication with the tag reader receives tag data and determines an apparatus location characteristic and formats the characteristic into a presentation provided to an apparatus operator or an airport ground traffic controller. Campus regions are identified in response to an airport campus function characteristic, and an apparatus location is plotted within a region on a graphic representation. In response to location, speed, historic data, data from other read tag and the location of another apparatus, a determined course of action is determined including entering a movement directive into an auto-pilot component.

Claims

1. A method for managing ground traffic in an airport, comprising:

receiving read tag data from a plurality of scanning tag readers and determining in real-time airport campus locations for each of a plurality of apparatuses traveling through the airport campus from the read tag data via a traffic manager in communication with the plurality of scanning tag readers, wherein the read tag data is generated by the each of the tag readers individually scanning tags located within their respective tag reader scanning distances in response to the each of the traveling apparatuses bringing;

an attached tag reader proximate to one of a spaced plurality of the tags within the tag reader scanning distance, wherein each of the spaced plurality of tags are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the tags at least a spacing distance greater than the tag reader scanning distance;

or

an attached one of the tags proximate to one of a spaced plurality of the tag readers within the tag reader scanning distance, wherein each of the spaced plurality of tag readers are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the tag readers at least a spacing distance greater than the tag reader scanning distance;

plotting the determined airport campus locations of each of the apparatuses in real-time onto a graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus via the traffic manager; and

providing the graphic depiction presentation to an apparatus operator or an airport ground traffic controller via the traffic manager.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plotting the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto the graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus comprises:

constructing a navigational map of the airport campus comprising a plurality of campus location points, each point correlated to at least one of the distributed plurality of tags or the distributed plurality of tag readers; and

plotting each of the apparatus locations on the navigational map.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a current speed and direction of a first apparatus of the apparatuses in real-time by comparing an input from the one tag within the tag reader scanning distance to historic data read from the one tag, or to other tag data read from another of the tags.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

issuing a unique directive to the apparatus operator or the airport ground traffic controller in response to unique tag data read from the one tag by the tag reader proximate to the one tag within the tag reader scanning distance, wherein the issuing the unique directive is via the traffic manager, and wherein the unique tag data is different from unique tag data encoded in a tag adjacent to the read first tag or provided by a tag reader attached to another of the apparatuses.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the tags are RFID tags and the tag readers are RFID tag readers.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

predicting movement of the first apparatus by analyzing the determined current speed and direction and historical campus traffic data;

determining a possible collision event for the first apparatus in response to the determined airport campus location of the first apparatus, the predicted movement, the determined current speed and direction of the first apparatus, and a determined location of another of the apparatuses within the airport campus; and

providing a ground traffic control directive to the apparatus operator or the airport ground traffic controller to prevent the possible collision event in response to the determined possible collision event.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein providing the ground traffic control directive comprises entering an apparatus movement directive into an apparatus auto-pilot control component;

and

further comprising the auto-pilot component causing movement of the auto-pilot apparatus in response to the apparatus movement directive.

8. A method for deploying an application for managing ground traffic in an airport campus, comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure that;

receives tag data individually read from tags located within a tag reader scanning distance from each of a plurality of tag readers;

determines airport campus locations for each of a plurality of apparatuses traveling through the airport campus from the read data;

plots the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto a graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus; and

provides the graphic depiction presentation to an apparatus operator or an airport ground traffic controller;

wherein the read tag data is generated by each of the travelling apparatuses bringing;

an attached one of the tag readers proximate within the tag reader scanning distance to one of a spaced plurality of the tags, wherein the spaced plurality of tags are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the plurality of tags at least a spacing distance greater than the tag reader scanning distance;

or

an attached one of the tags proximate within the tag reader scanning distance to one of a spaced plurality of tag readers, wherein the spaced tag readers are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the plurality of tag readers at least a spacing distance greater than the tag reader scanning distance.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the computer infrastructure further plots the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto the graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus by:

constructing a navigational map of the airport campus comprising a plurality of campus location points, each point correlated to at least one of the distributed plurality of campus tags or the distributed plurality of campus tag readers; and

plotting each of the apparatus locations on the navigational map.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computer infrastructure further:

determines a current speed and direction of a first apparatus of the apparatuses in real-time by comparing an input from the one tag within the tag reader scanning distance to historic data read from the one tag, or to other tag data read from another of the tags; and

issues a unique directive to the apparatus operator or the airport ground traffic controller in response to unique tag data read from one tag by the tag reader proximate to the one tag within the tag reader scanning distance, wherein the unique read tag data is different from unique tag data encoded in a tag adjacent to the read first tag or provided by a tag reader attached to another of the apparatuses.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the computer infrastructure further:

predicts movement of the first apparatus by analyzing the determined current speed and direction and historical campus traffic data;

determines a possible collision event for the first apparatus in response to the determined airport campus location of the first apparatus, the determined current speed and direction of the first apparatus, the predicted movement and a determined location of another of the apparatuses within the airport campus; and

provides a ground traffic control directive to prevent the possible collision event in response to the determined possible collision event.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the computer infrastructure further enters the ground traffic control directive directly into an apparatus auto-pilot control component.

13. A computer program product for managing ground traffic in an airport, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium device; and

program code stored in the computer readable storage medium device comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to;

receive tag data read individually from tags located within a tag reader scanning distance from each of a plurality of tag readers;

determine airport campus locations for each of a plurality of apparatuses traveling through the airport campus from the read data;

plot the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto a graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus; and

provide the graphic depiction presentation to an apparatus operator or an airport ground traffic controller;

wherein the read tag data is generated by the travelling apparatuses bringing;

an attached one of the tag readers proximate within the tag reader scanning distance to one of a spaced plurality of tags, wherein the spaced tags are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the plurality of tags at least a spacing distance greater than the tag reader scanning distance;

or

an attached one of the tags proximate within the tag reader scanning distance to one of a spaced plurality of tag readers, wherein the spaced tag readers are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the plurality of tag readers at least a spacing distance greater than the tag reader scanning distance.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to plot the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto the graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus by:

constructing a navigational map of the airport campus comprising a plurality of campus location points, each point correlated to at least one of the distributed plurality of tags or the distributed plurality of tag readers; and

plotting each of the apparatus locations on the navigational map.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to:

determine a current speed and direction of a first apparatus of the apparatuses in real-time by comparing an input from the one tag within the tag reader scanning distance to historic data read from the one tag, or to other tag data read from another of the tags.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to:

predict movement of the first apparatus by analyzing the determined current speed and direction and historical campus traffic data;

determine a possible collision event for the first apparatus in response to the determined airport campus location of the first apparatus, the predicted movement, the determined current speed and direction of the first apparatus and a determined location of another of the apparatuses within the airport campus; and

provide a ground traffic control directive to the apparatus operator or the airport ground traffic controller to prevent the possible collision event in response to the determined possible collision event.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the ground traffic control directive is an apparatus movement directive;

and

wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to enter the apparatus movement directive directly into an apparatus auto-pilot control component.

18. A system, comprising:

a processing unit;

a computer readable memory in communication with the processing unit; and

a computer readable storage system in communication with the processing unit, wherein program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage system for execution by the processing unit via the computer readable memory that cause the processing unit to;

receive tag data read individually from tags located within a tag reader scanning distance from each of a plurality of tag readers that are in communication with the processing unit;

determine airport campus locations for each of a plurality of apparatuses traveling through the airport campus from the data read from the tags located within the tag reader scanning distance from the tag readers;

plot the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto a graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus; and

provide the graphic depiction presentation to an apparatus operator or an airport ground traffic controller; and

wherein the read tag data is generated by the travelling apparatuses bringing;

an attached one of the tag readers proximate within the tag reader scanning distance to one of a spaced plurality of tags, wherein the spaced tags are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the plurality of tags at least a spacing distance greater than the scanning distance; and

an attached one of the tags proximate within the tag reader scanning distance to one of a spaced plurality of tag readers, wherein the spaced tag readers are distributed throughout the airport campus and spaced from adjacent others of the plurality of tag readers at least a spacing distance greater than the scanning distance.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processing unit further plots the determined airport campus locations of the apparatuses in real-time onto the graphic depiction presentation of the airport campus by:

constructing a navigational map of the airport campus comprising a plurality of campus location points, each point correlated to at least one of the distributed plurality of tags or the distributed plurality of tag readers; and

plotting each of the apparatus locations on the navigational map.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the tags are RFID tags, and wherein the tag readers are RFID tag readers.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit further:

determines a current speed and direction of a first apparatus of the apparatuses in real-time by comparing an input from the one tag within the tag reader scanning distance to historic data read from the one tag, or to other tag data read from another of the tags;

predicts movement of the first apparatus by analyzing the determined current speed and direction and historical campus traffic data;

determines a possible collision event for the first apparatus in response to the determined airport campus location of the first apparatus, the predicted movement, the determined current speed and direction of the first apparatus and a determined location of another of the apparatuses within the airport campus; and

provides a ground traffic control directive to prevent the possible collision event in response to the determined possible collision event.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the ground traffic control directive is an apparatus movement directive;

and wherein the processing unit further enters the apparatus movement directive directly into an apparatus auto-pilot control component.