Solution Provider and Consultant to the Air Traffic Management Domain

Powerful ARTAS technology will expand the surveillance of Iceland’s huge control area

Isavia elected German expert COMSOFT to provide powerful ARTAS technology for the enhancement of their air traffic surveillance and with site acceptance now finalised the system moves a step closer to operational use.

By joining the ARTAS community Isavia will benefit from the mature data processing capabilities, and the latest tracking technology, enabling exceptional accuracy and reliable surveillance coverage to one of the world’s largest airspaces.

COMSOFT’s in depth knowledge and long standing experience with ARTAS led to their selection to supply the technology and provide a turnkey solution that will include integration, training and tuning.

ARTAS is EUROCONTROL’s ATM Surveillance Tracker which has evolved over the decades to become Europe’s standard Tracker. A fundamental link to the success of the software is due to CAMOS (Centralised ARTAS Maintenance and Support) for which COMSOFT has been EUROCONTROL’s industrial partner since 2001.COMSOFT is also performing training and customisation services next to the turnkey supply of ARTAS systems. ARTAS is now one of the most advanced and well-established data processing and distribution systems in the world. In addition, the ability of ARTAS to act as an enabler for ADS-B and WAM makes it an important technology for the future of air traffic management.

Guðmundur J. Kristjánsson, Project Manager, ISAVIA stated: “ISAVIA is convinced it will become a very valuable addition to the community of ARTAS users, contributing its unique surveillance and ATC environment with very special operational needs and challenges. ISAVIA’s selection of ARTAS will increase the ARTAS user base and reputation and, in addition, all the experience generated by its usage as SDPS within our environment will be available for the benefit of the whole ARTAS community.”

Almost 40 civil and military Air Navigation Service Providers use, or plan to use, ARTAS as a cornerstone of their national surveillance infrastructure. ARTAS is designed to establish an accurate Air Situation Picture over a well-defined geographical area and to distribute the relevant surveillance information to a community of user systems. It is continuously updated and improved – from functionality to safety – in order to meet the increasing demands of its users. By joining the ARTAS community ISAVIA will be able to safely tackle their increasing air traffic, as annual tourist numbers continue to exceed residents.

The ISAVIA project also includes the provision of ESMS (Control & Monitoring), RAPS-3 and SDDS-NG – the surveillance data conversion and distribution system from COMSOFT to facilitate a uniform connection of all Icelandic surveillance sensors using the ASTERIX standard. With the addition of COMSOFT’s RAPS-3 the Icelandic ANSP can also perform powerful and versatile validation, analysis and assessment of the surveillance data output from their conventional radar sources as well as their countrywide ADS-B network, which was also recently provided by COMSOFT.

COMSOFT GmbH was established in 1979 and has been active in the ATC domain for over 20 years. Today the company’s expertise covers a vast proportion of the modern ATM industry, providing market-leading products, including innovative surveillance and communication solutions such as ADS-B and Multilateration sensors.
The continuous development of current technologies is a permanent focus in order to support customers’ needs with cutting edge solutions.

About ISAVIA
ISAVIA manages one of the largest airspaces in the world at 5.4 million square kilometres, from the North Pole almost to Scotland, and from the Greenwich Meridian in the East to west of Greenland. They provide services in the air and on the ground and handle the operation and development of all airports in Iceland, as well as managing air traffic in the Icelandic control area.