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Initial Trajectory Information Sharing

Project description

Helping improve the infrastructure of future aviation

The SESAR 2020 conference has set a crucial objective of enhancing aviation infrastructure, aiming to unlock price reductions and increase overall efficiency in both digital and real-life systems. The EU-funded PJ31 DIGITS project is dedicated to realising the SESAR 2020 goal through the development and utilisation of 4D trajectory data for ground systems, with the potential to maximise air traffic management benefits. By collaborating closely with numerous European stakeholders involved in significant airborne and ground operations, the project will pioneer an innovative airborne unit capable of downlinking ADS-C data in compliance with established rules and practices.

Objective

"DIGITS will contribute to reinforce the “Enabling Aviation infrastructure” key feature of SESAR 2020 by demonstrating the ATM benefits that can be realized through the use of downlinked 4D trajectory data in ground systems.
The project proposes, in a close to operational environment and in fully representative operational conditions, a set of tightly coordinated development and demonstration actions of key airborne and ground stakeholders in Europe.
The airborne industry will develop up to certification the worldwide first airborne unit capable of downlinking ADS-C data according to ATN Baseline 2 standard in compliance with PCP AF#6 (Initial Trajectory Information Sharing).
The ANSPs and ground industry will build up pre-operational system platforms capable of receiving and processing ADS-C data including the Extended Projected Profile (EPP). These platforms will e.g. display the shared trajectory data to controllers on their working positions and integrate it in the Flight data Processing systems for the enhancement of the ground Trajectory Prediction.
DIGITS plans to have revenue flights becoming available gradually as from mid 2018. These commercial flights will downlink ADS-C data to be processed in ATM ground systems of four participating ANSPs, covering together a substantial part of European airspace and air traffic under a variety of operational conditions.
Demonstrations will be done in a shadow mode system set-up, supported by further offline analysis and post-processing. Project partners will make significant efforts to assess together with operational experts the benefits of initial trajectory sharing, its system impacts, potential human performance impacts and opportunities for further ATM performance improvements.
DIGITS will bridge the gap between the early validation of the Trajectory Based Operations concept achieved in SESAR 1, also known as “initial 4D”, with successful flight trials in 2012 and 2014, and the deployment of PCP AF#6.
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Coordinator

AIRBUS
Net EU contribution
€ 1 266 956,00
Address
2 ROND POINT EMILE DEWOITINE
31700 Blagnac
France

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Region
Occitanie Midi-Pyrénées Haute-Garonne
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost
€ 12 278 571,43

Participants (22)