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Alternate Surveillance Technologies fOr iNnovatIve Solutions

Project description

Innovative surveillance solutions for air traffic operations

As aviation traffic grows, surveillance is vital to maintain safety in operations and improve the capacity of airspace and airports. The EU-funded ASTONISH project aims to provide state-of-the-art surveillance solutions to manage traffic movements both in the air and on the ground, thereby enhancing European aviation. Key developments include ground-based surveillance systems, aircraft-based alternate surveillance (A-SUR) technology and new sensing systems for airport operations. The project looks into a LDACS-based passive multistatic radar concept, a network of active radars, and employs available aircraft communication links such us SATCOM and 5G to downlink surveillance data mitigating frequency congestion. Moreover, sensors such as lidars, cameras and compact radars are examined to improve situational awareness with regard to pilots and air traffic controllers.

Objective

With aviation traffic reaching unprecedent levels, surveillance is a critical service for ensuring operations safety and for improving airspace and airport capacity to accommodate the increasing traffic forecast. ASTONISH objective is to develop new surveillance solutions to sustain the growth of the European aviation sector using innovative technologies, addressing the peculiar challenges of airborne and ground traffic management. ASTONISH consortium identified three critical solutions: ground-based systems for enroute and terminal areas surveillance, aircraft-based alternate surveillance (A-SUR) technology, and airport and aircraft-based surveillance sensing systems for ground operations.

ASTONISH will investigate the use of an LDACS-based passive multistatic radar system and a network of distributed active radar systems to increase safety and capacity of sectors not covered by primary or secondary surveillance services, while providing a robust backup solution for non-cooperative surveillance. These solutions are expected to be cost-effective and environmental-friendly, built on services offered by LDACS to deliver a fully integrated CNS solution.

A-SUR solution will leverage the Hyperconnected ATM concept to use existing and potential new datalink channels such SATCOM, LDACS, VDLM2, 5G and LTE as alternative means for downlinking aircraft surveillance data. The objective is to relieve the congestion on the 1030 MHz and 1090 MHz frequencies used by SSR, ADS-B, and TCAS, offering a secure and robust solution for cooperative surveillance with limited impact on surveillance infrastructures and avionics systems.

ASTONISH solution for improving aircraft safety during ground operation will investigate new sensing systems such as lidars, radars, and vision-based sensor at aircraft and airport level, improving ground operation safety and airport resilience by increasing the situational awareness of the pilots and air traffic controllers under all-weather conditions.

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-SESAR-2023-DES-ER-02

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Coordinator

ENAV SPA
Net EU contribution
€ 202 012,50
Address
VIA SALARIA 716
00138 Roma
Italy
Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
€ 202 012,50

Participants (6)