Air traffic control system

• US 9,245,451 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NATS Limited (NATS Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: NATS PLC (NATS Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Roberts, Alison Laura Udal, Pember, Stephen James
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHALEN, MICHAEL F
• Application Number:
  US12/158,957
• Publication Number:
  US 20090005960A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,323 Days
• Field of Search: 701 3- 4, 701/120, 701/122, 701209-210, 701300-301, 340/945, 340/990, 342/29, 342 36- 38
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• 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 5/045 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. determination of anti-collision manoeuvers radar or analogous systems specially adapted for anti-collision between aircraft G01S13/933

Abstract

An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling multiple aircraft, comprising a processor, an input device and a display device, further comprising: trajectory prediction means for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft, for inputting aircraft detected position data, and for recalculating the trajectories based on said position data, and conflict detection means for detecting, based on the trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, and for causing a display on the display device indicating said circumstances, further comprising means for inputting instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by the controller to an aircraft, and in which the proximity indication means is arranged to use a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test; and in which the system is arranged to display a symbol representing pairs of aircraft which violate the second test in a first display mode, and those which violate the first set but not the second set in a second display mode, and in which the system is arranged, on input of a said instruction by a controller in relation to a pair of aircraft, to change the display mode of the symbol for said pair from the second mode to a third mode indicating that no further action is necessary.

Claims

1. An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling a plurality of aircraft, the system comprising:

at least one processor;

an input device;

a controller workstation having a controller display device;

a trajectory predictor for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft, for receiving data indicative of detected positions of said plurality of aircraft, and for recalculating said trajectories based on said position data, wherein said trajectories comprise predicted future positions and uncertainty data; and

a conflict detector for detecting, based on said trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of said plurality of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, for causing a display on said controller display device indicating said circumstances, and for receiving instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by said controller to said plurality of aircraft,

wherein said predetermined proximity tests comprise a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test,

wherein the system is arranged to display on said controller display device symbols representing pairs of said plurality of aircraft that violate the second proximity test in a first display mode and those that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test in a second display mode,

wherein the system is arranged, on receipt of one of said instruction data in relation to one of said pairs of aircraft that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test, to change the display mode of the symbol displayed for said pair, on said controller display device, from the second display mode to a third display mode indicating that no further action is necessary,

wherein the trajectory predictor is further arranged for calculating an uncertainty region associated with the future position of each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft,

wherein the first proximity test comprises testing whether the uncertainty regions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a predetermined separation threshold, and

wherein the second test comprises testing whether the predicted future nominal positions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a predetermined separation threshold.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein each display mode corresponds to a different symbol colour.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the second test comprises testing whether the predicted future nominal positions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a second predetermined separation threshold.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the future circumstances comprise circumstances occurring within approximately eighteen minutes.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the future circumstances comprise circumstances occurring within approximately twenty minutes.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the uncertainty data comprises along-track uncertainty data, across-track uncertainty data, and altitude uncertainty data.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said trajectories comprise uncertainty data for each of the predicted future positions.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the trajectory predictor calculates multiple trajectories for one or more aircraft of the plurality of aircraft.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the multiple trajectories comprise a first trajectory and a second trajectory, wherein the first trajectory comprises predicted future positions based on a heading of the one or more aircraft, and the second trajectory comprises predicted future positions of the one or more aircraft based on a divergence from the heading by the one or more aircraft.

10. A system according to claim 8, wherein the multiple trajectories comprise a first trajectory and a second trajectory, wherein the first trajectory comprises predicted future positions based on a current heading of the one or more aircraft, and the second trajectory comprises predicted future positions based on tentative data input by the controller.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein each of the display symbols comprises an indication of a relationship of headings of the represented pair of aircraft.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the indication of the relationship of headings of the pair of aircraft comprises one of:

an indication that the represented pair of aircraft are approaching each other approximately head-on,

an indication that one of the pair of aircraft is approximately following the other of the pair of aircraft, and

an indication that trajectories of the pair of aircraft will cross.

13. An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling a plurality of aircraft, the system comprising:

at least one processor;

an input device;

a controller workstation having a controller display device;

a trajectory predictor for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft, for receiving data indicative of detected positions of said plurality of aircraft, and for recalculating said trajectories based on said position data, wherein said trajectories comprise predicted future positions and uncertainty data; and

a conflict detector for detecting, based on said trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of said plurality of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, for causing a display on said controller display device indicating said circumstances, and for receiving instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by said controller to said plurality of aircraft,

wherein said predetermined proximity tests comprise a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test,

wherein the system is arranged to display on said controller display device symbols representing pairs of said plurality of aircraft that violate the second proximity test in a first display mode and those that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test in a second display mode,

wherein the system is arranged, on receipt of one of said instruction data in relation to one of said pairs of aircraft that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test, to change the display mode of the symbol displayed for said pair, on said controller display device, from the second display mode to a third display mode indicating that no further action is necessary,

wherein the first proximity tests comprises a first distance threshold and the second proximity test comprises a second distance threshold which is less than the first distance threshold, and

wherein the conflict detector, for each pair of said plurality of aircraft;

based on the predicted future positions of the trajectories for the pair of aircraft, determines a closest approach point comprising a future position at which a nominal distance between the pair is at a minimum;

based on the uncertainty data of the trajectories for the pair of aircraft, determines an uncertainty region for each of the pair of aircraft at the future position of the closest approach point;

determines a minimum distance between the uncertainty regions of the pair of aircraft;

if the minimum distance is less than the first distance threshold but greater than the second distance threshold, classifies the pair of aircraft in a first class; and

,

if the minimum distance is less than the second threshold, classifies the pair of aircraft in a second class.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein the first distance threshold comprises approximately twenty miles, and the second distance threshold comprises approximately five miles.

15. A system according to claim 13, wherein the conflict detector, if the minimum distance is less than the first distance threshold but greater than the second distance threshold, further:

for each of the pair of aircraft, determines whether the aircraft is on its own navigation or on a heading issued by the controller;

if either of the pair of aircraft is on its own navigation, classifies the pair of aircraft in a third class; and

,

if both of the pair of aircraft is on a heading issued by the controller, classifies the pair of aircraft in a fourth class.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the third class and the fourth class are subclasses of the first class.