Demonstration
Approach
The demonstration will combine ground-based airport systems and on-board EFB applications by sharing data between them. Locally available airport data are transferred to the cockpit to support surface operations by the flight crew. With this approach, the airspace user can also benefit from the solutions, originally developed to support ground controllers, in operating aircraft movements on the airport surface.
The demonstration will take place at Hamburg Airport. Traffic information and planned routes for aircraft will be calculated using real operational data from the Hamburg Airport Research and Innovation Facility (ARIF), which is connected to the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS) and flight plan systems at Hamburg Airport. This platform is operated by DLR, Hamburg Airport, and the German Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) DFS.
ARIF also provides flight information with a direct interface to the Airport Database including A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) information. Based on this information, the SINTEF Optimization Service automatically generates and maintains a current, optimized, ground-based routing plan, with detailed taxi routing and timing information, for all arriving and departing aircraft at the airport.
With these functionalities already in place thanks to the demonstrations in project PJ28 IAO, AUDIO will reuse the demonstration set-up and add the connection to the on-board EFB to share the local airport information with the flight crew.
With a secured network connection, the traffic situation and the planned route will be shared with Lufthansa central Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) server systems and distributed to the EFB of the related aircraft using wireless technologies. Lufthansa aircraft are equipped with an EFB moving map application which is already used during normal day-to-day operations. An advanced version of this application, including these additional functions, will be integrated into one or several aircraft of the Lufthansa fleet.
Flight crews will evaluate the functionalities while operating at Hamburg Airport in day-to-day operations. Route planning and departure sequencing will be demonstrated in passive shadow mode to not interfere with real airport operations.
The transmission of these dynamic data (like a taxi route) provides improved common situational awareness for the pilots during taxiing, thus contributing to the effectiveness of the overall airport safety net.
Scope
The demonstration will cover the following main aspects:
- Technical and operational feasibility of sharing locally available airport data with a centralized EFB distribution system
- Implementation of a secure data connection approach between decentralized safety critical systems to avoid cyber security attacks and hazardous situations
- Providing evidence that functionalities are ready to be implemented and used in day to day live operations and enhance trust in results by demonstration of pre-operational products
- The human-machine interface (HMI) and data quality can be certified against applicable certification standards
- The protocol for ground/air data communication uses open standards and is defined in a way which allows re-use with other airports/ground infrastructure
- The airport layout data are based on a standardised format and can be updated quickly when changes occur
Expected impact
AUDIO demonstrates the extension of support systems originally designed for controllers. Available local airport data will be shared and connected to onboard systems. In the case of a successful demonstration, the new functionalities are ready to be implemented in new EFB applications used in Lufthansa aircraft or other airlines, thus providing significant benefits at airports providing local data.
- The demonstration is expected to show the benefit of providing local airport data to the flight crew. By providing the planned taxi route and time calculated by the A-SMGCS routing function to the cockpit, benefits are expected in terms of safety and predictability, as well as an increase in situational awareness. The safety and predictability gain is clearly relevant for passengers. For the public at large, environmental benefits are also expected. The optimised surface routing means optimised aircraft movements on the ground, with reduced fuel burn (fewer carbon emissions, less noise and less cost).
- As Airspace Users will be aware of the route planning, the departure sequencing should be more stable. In providing the planned information to the cockpit, flight crews are aware of the planned trajectory and can adjust operations, which will lead to a stable sequence and more reliable meeting the TTOT. Equipped with this additional information, on-board operations are expected to run smoother as crews are aware of the planned ground trajectory and the surrounding complex environment. This also allows them to react more easily to last-minute re-planning of routes. The results: safer ground movements, more reliable targeted take-off time and sequences, less complexity for the crew, more efficient taxiing, and fewer emissions due to lower fuel consumption.
- Exchanging ground traffic information results in common situational awareness between all stakeholders. The overall safety guaranteed by Air Traffic Controllers is enhanced by pilots’ better awareness. Consequently, the number of conflicting situations during airport surface operations is expected to be reduced. Visualization of the taxi route will improve operations (reduced route deviations, enhanced predictability, reduction of potential conflicts) for Airport Operators.
