Development of an innovative acoustic system for the improvement of co-operative air traffic management

Projektinformationen

SAFE-AIRPORT

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 507008

Startdatum 22 Dezember 2003

Enddatum

Finanziert unter

• Information Society Technologies: thematic priority under the specific programme "Integrating and strengthening the European research area" (2002-2006).

Gesamtkosten € 1 806 620,00

EU-Beitrag € 1 038 000,00

Koordiniert durch

D'APPOLONIA S.P.A.
Italy

Exploitable results

More efficient and accurate acoustic systems promise safer skies

Technologies has launched a new era in airport safety. Human error, bad weather and ineffective ground radar can all have serious consequences for airport safety, increasing the risk of an accident. New complementary airport safety systems currently under development promise to avoid such incidents in the future. 'Though technology has come a long way in recent years toward improving airport safety, it is evident that current systems using ground radar or cameras to detect aircraft and other vehicles suffer from deficiencies,' says Haibin Gao, a researcher at Saarland University. New, more efficient and more accurate systems are therefore needed to prevent accidents, especially as the world's skies and airports buzz with an ever-increasing number of commercial and private aircraft. Saving lives is obviously the central goal of any such safety improvement. But they can also provide significant economic benefits. Reducing the number of near misses between planes, and between planes and ground vehicles - thousands of which occur worldwide each year, primarily as a result of runway incursions - would save airlines and airport operators billions of euros in lost time and efficiency. By being able to pinpoint the exact location and course of an aircraft or vehicle, airports would be able to maintain current capacity even during periods of bad visibility. The Safe-Airport project developed an innovative acoustic system based on two passive phased array microphone antennas capable to discover and track aeroplanes up to at least sixth nautical miles distance in air and on ground. The system consists of two acoustic sensors, to be used in open environments, and a control unit linked to the sensor with fibre optics connection, with a control console, managed by an operator, to be installed inside the airport structure. Data survey portability to radar platform and data visualisation and exchange are compatible with Eurocontrol document for ATS ADEXP [DPS.ET1.ST09-std-01-01]. The system can be completely integrated with airports air traffic management procedures and it is an effective air control system for aerodrome traffic zone (ATZ), autonomous for smaller airports, and has been integrated with standard control systems for larger airports. The main advantages of Safe-Airport system in respect to radar systems is the lower cost and that the electromagnetic and acoustic devices are pollution free. The system has been able to detect aircraft within five nautical miles. Tests have confirmed simulation results, except for those at the maximum range of reliable limits. 'Because they do not produce electromagnetic radiation like radar or any noise pollution, multiple arrays can be used to detect aircraft from their engine and aerodynamic noise with very high precision,' explains Safe-Airport coordinator Alessandro Ferrando at D'Appolonia in Italy. 'Also, unlike radar, they can detect aircraft with composite, non-metallic bodies that are likely to be used widely in civil aviation in the future.' What's more, the system costs of these technologies will be in such a range that small airports will be able to make the necessary investments, thus improving safety and augmenting capacity in a sector constantly growing. Three related Sixth Framework Projects have developed an alternative to ground radar and are designed to improve safety. 'They are all very innovative and they are likely to have a vast impact on the future of air traffic control at airports: they could even be a cheap alternative to ground radar,' says Gao, who is developing magnetic sensors to detect and track aircraft in another IST project. Two other IST projects, Airnet and Ismael, are also applying emerging technologies to reduce the risk of accidents on the ground and during takeoff and landing. Most importantly they are all complementary, opening the door through their collaborative efforts to multi-sensory detection, tracking and identification systems for planes and ground vehicles. They all expect to have commercial products on the market within two to three years.