Airport Traffic Monitoring System

Description
Specifications

The Airport Traffic Monitoring System is intended to:

  • enhance flight safety in the airport environment
  • provide ground traffic situation awareness for airport stakeholders
  • reduce ground traffic incidents and improve safety
  • provide apron management functions
  • allow user-defined traffic events monitoring and statistics accumulation.

The system is designed to cover apron management services in line with Regulation (EU) 2020/1234.

The Airport Traffic Monitoring System receives surveillance data from  ADS-B sensor(s) and/or external sources and provides an operational environment (ground movement information, notifications and conflict alerting) for operators, vehicle drivers and airside individuals.

The system utilizes the advantages of ADS-B technology and provides key functions of A-SMGCS, namely cooperative surveillance and Safety Nets.

The Safety Nets function supports users by:

  • Anticipating potential conflicts
  • Detecting conflicts and incursions
  • Detecting mobiles that are not following given Clearances
  • Providing alerts

Airport Safety Nets algorithms take into account surveillance data, airspace and airport layouts, configuration parameters, type of traffic, speed and direction of the traffic (linear and non-linear track prediction), proximity to certain areas of the movement area where the risk of conflict is high (e.g. runway-holding positions and runway intersections).

The system performs the following main functions:

  • aircraft and vehicles detection based on GPS via ADS-B and/or mobile network data links
  • targets labelling and presentation on the aerodrome maps
  • regulation and tracking of the movement of the traffic in the airside and landside areas
  • situation prediction and detection of aircraft/vehicles/obstacles conflicts (Safety Nets)
  • predefined and customizable real-time alerts and notifications
  • sound and visual vehicle drivers alerting and notification
  • apron management
  • authorization of vehicle operations
  • statistics accumulation and calculation of operational KPIs
  • obstacles and special zone marking by ADS-B marker
  • interface and data exchange with external systems (ATM, A-SMGCS, AODB, etc).


Key Features

The key features of the Airport Traffic Monitoring System are:

  • Integration with all kinds of surveillance sensors, making use of existing available infrastructure and resources
  • Safety Nets in accordance with EUROCONTROL specification for A-SMGCS services
  • User-defined safety cases (e.g. drones, authorized operations)
  • Interoperability with external systems (ATM system, A-SMGCS, AODB, etc.)
  • Web-based Traffic Situation Display
  • The cloud-ready solution, suitable for all deployment options
  • Recording with instant data playback
  • Advanced Control and Monitoring
  • Modular, open, and scalable architecture
  • A customizable solution, offering the best value for money and safety for each individual airport.

The Airport Traffic Monitoring System consists of the following main constituents:

  • Surveillance sensors (ADS-B ground stations)
  • Vehicle and individuals’ ADS-B transponders
  • Data Processing Servers
  • Operator working positions with Traffic Situation Displays
  • Mobile Traffic Situation Displays
  • Control and Monitoring System
  • Network equipment

The exact configuration and components used may vary from project to project depending on the customer’s needs.

The system could be sized to fit the specific needs of a particular airport while retaining flexibility for future expansion.

The system (hardware and software) is designed according to the modular principle.

The system is easily scalable to full-fledged A-SMGCS without the need to replace the already existing hardware. The functionality of the system can be expanded by updating the software.  Additional servers (if needed) and working positions can be added to the system, ensuring pay-as-you-grow scalability.

The system can be supplied and commissioned in one of the following options:

  • turn-key supply, including all needed hardware and software
  • supply of the software to be rolled out on the client’s hardware and IT infrastructure (server-based or cloud-based)
  • Product-as-a-Service (Software-as-a-Service) supply based on a third-party cloud platform (Oracle cloud, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, etc).