450 of Europe’s leading researchers in air traffic management (ATM) and aviation gathered in Seville for the SESAR Innovation Days (SIDS) from 27 to 30 November. Hosted by the University of Seville at its Faculty of Engineering, with support from SESAR 3 JU founding members, Enaire, Indra, Ryanair and AENA, the conference featured some 66 posters and 42 papers, covering data-driven methods for safety and resilience prediction, climate-optimised trajectories, drone traffic management, airport operations, among other research areas.
Speaking at the conference, Andreas Boschen, Executive Director of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking welcomed the flow of innovative concepts coming into the Digital European Sky, noting how critical they are to addressing key challenges, such as airspace capacity, climate and catering for new entrants. “We count on you, the brightest research minds, to dare to think outside the box and challenge conventional limits in order to transform European air traffic management, making it smarter, more resilient and above all sustainable.”
Following welcoming words from hosts Andres Saez Perez, Dean of the Engineering School, University of Seville and Sergio Esteban Roncero, Delegate of the Rector of the university, the conference heard from María Luz de Mateo, Enaire, who gave an industry view on the importance of collaboration with academia for fostering knowledge exchange. She noted that the concepts discussed today will be the solutions of tomorrow to solve current and future challenges in the most efficient, environmental and safest manner. “Common challenges need common solutions; we are fully dedicated to the development of innovative procedures and next-gen technologies to achieve the SESAR vision of a Digital European Sky,” she added.
In his keynote, Andrea Gentili, Clean Partnerships Manager and Deputy Head of Unit, Clean Planet, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission, said that the aviation industry has to become more digital, sustainable, and resilient in order to meet Europe’s climate ambitions and to maintain its global leadership. He made a strong appeal to the community to ensure that their research is aligned with policy needs, to deliver results that are impactful, and to find synergies with industry to ensure market take-up, keeping in mind citizens’ changing mobility patterns.
Speaker Milagros Sanchez, Strategy and Innovation ATM, Program Manager, Indra, is a self-professed SESAR enthusiast: This spirit of partnership is the true catalyst for change. “It is the only mechanism that breaks frontiers,” she said, underlining the importance for industry to plug the brain drain and retain the young emerging talent who will shape the future of aviation.
Higher airspace operations
On day one, panellists from ICAO, Eurocontrol, NATS, Politecnico di Torino and Airbus, discussed what is needed to cater for new types of air vehicles flying much higher than today’s aircraft. These vehicles offer a variety of services, including expansive mobile connectivity (equivalent to up to 250 telecoms towers) and earth observation applications. These higher space operations were the focus of a recently-completed SESAR 2020 exploratory research, ECHO, which mapped out a concept of operations (CONOPS), and now ECHO 2 a new SESAR project, will build on the CONOPS by introducing modules on space launch real-time monitoring and packages covering air-ground operational integration procedures.
US airspace modernisation
Day two opened with a look at US national airspace system modernisation, from long-term research and innovation to implementation. Flexibility is the driving requirement behind the US Automation Evolution Strategy, said Rebecca Guy, Vice-President, Programme Management Organisation, US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The operational needs and environment are changing all the time, she said, noting that now rockets take off daily stateside compared to 5 per year 20 years ago. A move away from hardware infrastructures to cloud-based services and standardised systems is helping to reduce the innovation lifecycle and to move technology implementation forward, she added. Connectivity with the aircraft will be at the centre of future operations, said Steve Bradford, Chief Scientist for NextGen4, at the FAA, which will greatly improve efficiency.
AI use cases and future trends
The application of artificial intelligence in air traffic management was at the heart of discussions at a plenary on day two. Experts headlined some of the operational use cases where artificial intelligence applications are being trialled through research and innovation, as well as some of the challenges facing acceptance and implementation of this promising technology.
The conference was also an opportunity to discuss with academic representatives from the University of Westminster and TU Braunschweig on the future research trends and needs in the context of the European ATM Master Plan, Europe’s shared roadmap for ATM modernisation. Key takeaways included having a free flow of operational data for the common good to help build the future faster; involving policymakers at early stages of concept design to ensure research outputs can better support future transport regulations; and to invest in future technologies like neuromorphic and quantum computing to optimise operations in real time and with greater accuracy.
The conference heard from Micol Biscotto, coordinator of Engage 2, SESAR 3 JU’s Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), who presented some of the activities that are helping to nurture knowledge building on future trends and foster closer ties between academia and industry.
Young Scientist Award
Fittingly, the conference hosted the SESAR Young Scientist Award ceremony, celebrating the next generation of aviation and ATM researchers in two categories, students and PhD. The top prize among the students went to Christopher Conrad, Cranfield University, whose thesis targets developing a data model supporting vertiport operations. The jury praised Conrad for going beyond the current state-of-the art innovations to tackle the question of resource management and schedule optimisation in urban air mobility.
Nils Mäurer, Airbus/Universität der Bundeswehr München, received first prize in the PhD category for his research into addressing cyber-secure communications in the next generation of aeronautical datalinks. The jury praised him for a very sound and rigorous approach to the research, which included solution design, simulation, a security validation, lab work and flight trials.
Closing remarks
Sergio Millanes Vaquero, Director of Seville Airport from SESAR 3 JU founding member, AENA, presented the digital transformation taking place at the airport, including the use of passenger info bots, maintenance drones and remote screening. He said that by harnessing innovation, the airport has been able to manage effectively the intensive growth it has experienced since COVID.
Innovation is also critical for meeting the climate impact of aviation. We have to take a 360-degree approach to climate, said Giovanni Zucchetta, EU Public Affairs Lead from SESAR 3 JU founding member, Ryanair, who presented the company’s pathway to net zero, a strategy to become carbon neutral by 2050, covering sustainable aviation fuels, offsetting, but also improvements to ATM operational improvements.
In his closing address, Raúl Medina, Director General, EUROCONTROL,said: “Predicting the future is always risky, but one thing we know for sure is that it is full of challenges. The SESAR 3 JU and Digital European Sky have a major role to help us bring the ATM system up to the performance level needed to meet these challenges,” he added. "The time for change is now, we need to focus on the quick wins but also to have a long-term view", he concluded, underlining the importance of the update of the European ATM Master Plan, which is planned for 2024.
SESAR Innovation Days 2024
The conference closed with the announcement of the next SESAR Innovation Days which will take place in Rome, Italy, from 11 to 15 November 2024.
