System and method for airport surface management

• US 8,554,457 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2011
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PASSUR Aerospace, Inc.
• Original Assignee: PASSUR Aerospace, Inc.
• Inventors: White, Thomas, Gerlett, Peter, Dunsky, Ron, Cole, James, Damis, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAYNE, ROBERT T
• Application Number:
  US13/236,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20120245836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 701/120, 701/117, 701/14, 301/16, 702/34
• US Class Current: 701/120
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0043 Traffic management of multiple aircrafts from the ground G08G5/003 takes precedence; data processing specially designed for resource management, e.g. scheduling or allocating time, human or machine resources G06Q10/06
• 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 5/06 for control when on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for surface management of an airport. One embodiment of the disclosure of this application is related to a method including receiving airport data from an airport network, receiving surface surveillance data for specific segments of an airport area, identifying predicted conflicts within one of the segments based on the airport data and surface surveillance data, and allocating a taxi time slot for the flight. Another embodiment of the disclosure of this application is related to a system comprising a user interface displaying information related to flight plan data and airport data received from an airport network, and a surface management module receiving the airport data and surface surveillance data for specific segments of an airport area, identifying predicted conflicts within one of the segments based on the airport data and surface surveillance data, and allocating a taxi time slot for the flight.

Claims

1. A method, including:

receiving airport data from an airport network, the airport data including an aircraft-holding capacity value for each of a plurality of segments of an airport area;

receiving surface surveillance data for each of the segments;

identifying predicted conflicts within a first segment based on the airport data and surface surveillance data;

identifying a predicted surface saturation level within the first segment based on the aircraft-holding capacity value for the first segment; and

allocating a taxi time slot for a flight in the first segment based on the predicted conflicts and the predicted surface saturation level.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating an alert when a number of aircraft within the first segment equals the aircraft-holding capacity value for the first segment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

re-allocating the taxi time slot for the flight based on a change in at least one of the airport data, the predicted conflicts and the predicted surface saturation level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of segments of an airport area includes at least one of a runway, gate, an alleyway entrance, and a holding pad.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the airport data includes a surface map color-coded based on the predicted saturation level.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicted conflicts are identified based on an alert metrics table including alert condition and a predictive logic engine.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the airport data includes runway configurations, taxiway availability, aircraft restrictions, and aircraft suitability for specific runways.

2. A system, comprising:

a user interface displaying information related to flight plan data and airport data received from an airport network, the airport data including an aircraft-holding capacity value for each of a plurality of segments of an airport area; and

a surface management module receiving the airport data and surface surveillance data for each of the segments, identifying predicted conflicts within a first segment based on the airport data and surface surveillance data, identifying a predicted surface saturation level within the first segment based on the aircraft-holding capacity value for the first segment, and allocating a taxi time slot for a flight in the first segment based on the predicted conflicts and the predicted surface saturation level.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the surface management module further generates an alert when a number of aircraft within the first segment equals the aircraft-holding capacity value for the first segment.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the surface management module further re-allocates the taxi time slot for the flight based on a change in at least one of the airport data, the predicted conflicts and the predicted surface saturation level.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of segments of an airport area includes at least one of a runway, gate, an alleyway entrance, and a holding pad.

13. The system of claim 2, wherein the airport data includes a surface map color-coded based on the predicted saturation level.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein the predicted conflicts are identified based on an alert metrics table including alert condition and a predictive logic engine.

15. The system of claim 2, wherein the airport data includes runway configurations, taxiway availability, aircraft restrictions, and aircraft suitability for specific runways.

3. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the program instructs processor to perform the following steps:

receive airport data from an airport network, the airport data including an aircraft-holding capacity value for each of a plurality of segments of an airport area;

receive surface surveillance data for each of the segments;

identify predicted conflicts within a first segment based on the airport data and surface surveillance data;

identify a predicted surface saturation level within the first segment based on the aircraft-holding capacity value for the first segment; and

allocate a taxi time slot for a flight in the first segment based on the predicted conflicts and the predicted surface saturation level.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the steps further include:

generate an alert when a number of aircraft within the first segment equals the aircraft-holding capacity value for the first segment.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the steps further include:

re-allocate the taxi time slot for the flight based on a change in at least one of the airport data, the predicted conflicts and the predicted surface saturation level.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the plurality of segments of an airport area includes at least one of a runway, gate, an alleyway entrance, and a holding pad.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the airport data includes a surface map color-coded based on the predicted saturation level.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the predicted conflicts are identified based on an alert metrics table including alert condition and a predictive logic engine.