Building the future of ATM Together

When an industry’s main driver is safety, change happens in incremental, exceedingly cautious steps. In the Air Traffic Management (ATM) sector, where the slightest error or malfunction can have catastrophic consequences, the integration of each new functionality and/or technology requires extensive testing and, consequently, long lead-times. This increasing demand on safety will not reduce in the future with the new EASA regulation on safety and cyber-security for ground equipment. We can all be satisfied with this trend in a context of growing air traffic demand. At the same time, however, it is now clear to the entire ATM ecosystem that it will not be possible to manage this growing flow safely without accelerating the speed at which we integrate new technologies into our solutions. That is why, over the past decade, Thales has been working on the development of TopSky – ATC new release.

Designed for easier adaptation to changing traffic flows and faster integration of new functionalities and technologies, TopSky – ATC new release is not just a solution, it is also an alliance and a service allowing users to pool resources and work together for the future of ATM– be it flexible, sustainable, or technologically advanced.

TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE OPEN, SAFE AND SECURE ATM

When the world was in the midst (and the worst) of the Covid-19 crisis, it was difficult to imagine that such worldwide catastrophe could potentially bring positive changes.

However, four years after the world came to a complete stop; air travel demand continues to increase much faster than previously anticipated. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2023 international traffic had almost completely caught up with 2019
levels (88.6%). This was supposed to take five years, according to post-pandemic predictions. It took a mere two. Moreover, the disruptions passengers experienced in the year following the end of worldwide major lockdowns due to shortage of staff forced the ATM world to face the fact that its revenue model was no longer viable in an increasingly unpredictable world.

In other words, increasing the number of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCO) while decreasing the size of their areas of responsibility – to make traffic management humanly manageable – is no longer a solution in many cases. The swift post Covid-19 recovery of air travel is now conducive
to take the opportunity to explore new ways to address air traffic fluctuations by opening-up the ATM world to key technological advances.

Eve Air Mobility presents Vector and provides updates on the Urban ATM Software Development  

Eve Air Mobility has released today at the Airspace World in Geneva the name of its Urban Air Traffic Management (Urban ATM) software and provided updates on the solution’s development. Vector will be an agnostic software solution designed to safely address the unique air traffic and network management challenges of current and future Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations, focusing on fleet and vertiport operators, and future service providers for AAM, including Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). The company is advancing towards an operational version of the software which customers can test and trial to help progress the market.

“Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft flights will become an established transportation mode for communities worldwide. Eve expects first deliveries and entry into service as soon as 2026 and has been addressing the airspace and Air Traffic Management (ATM) challenges to support the introduction and growth of the market in a harmonized and safe way. Vector will streamline AAM operations from day 1, coordinating all stakeholders involved to enhance safety, optimize performance, and maximize resource usage,” said Johann Bordais, Eve’s CEO.        

Vector will allow eVTOLs to be integrated with other aircraft flying in low-level urban airspace from day 1 of operations and provide the automation needed to enable Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market scalability. To date, Eve has 14 (fourteen) customers for the solution, including fleet operators, vertiports and airspace and flow management providers. With Vector, eVTOL operators will make their operations more efficient; vertiports will manage resource availability with all operation stakeholders involved; and ANSPs and Providers of Services (PSU) for UAM will optimize the airspace and air traffic network for all users.

In November 2023, Eve partnered with Flexjet to conduct a simulation to validate and refine Vector’s capabilities under real-scenario conditions and better understand the software’s commercial viability and applications. The simulation took place in the UK and involved 18 flights across eight aerodromes, exercising 26 different routes with alternative landing locations to test the standby flight plan functionality. The team also tested delays at departure and destination with impacts on incoming flights, flight cancellations due to airspace and weather constraints, and in-flight emergencies, including alternative landing location requests.

The Eve-Flexjet simulation has found gaps between current ATM systems and those required to support UAM operations from Day 1, such as the lack of integration between fleet and vertiport operator systems to coordinate eVTOL flights safely and efficiently. Therefore, Eve is prioritizing the development of services that address these gaps, including integrated flight planning with airspace and vertiport resource availability; management of alternate landing locations built into the flight planning to support the endurance limitations of electric aircraft; and conformance management to inform stakeholders when flights deviate from their plan and may affect other flights.

“Flight dispatchers are responsible for nearly all aspects of an operation, which requires extensive decision-making and tracking abilities. Urban ATM services can support these activities in preparation for AAM operations through increased levels of automation and an integrated view of the relevant information tied to a specific flight. Eve has been actively incorporating features, including feedback received through user testing, into Vector to ensure the value of its services translates directly to the end users”, added Brenden Hedblom, Eve’s head of traffic management solutions.

As Vector matures, Eve continues to pursue additional opportunities to trial the solution with its customers and partners. Testing it in real-world scenarios is the best way to ensure the services provide optimal value. The company expects this year to advance towards an operational version of the software which customers can test and trial to help advance the market and prepare the UAM ecosystem for initial operations.

SeRo Unveils its State-of-the-Art GRX 3X Multi-Band Receiver 

Receive and Monitor Up to 6 Channels Simultaneously with a Single Integrated Device 

The GRX 3X reflects SeRo’s commitment to innovation and affordability in the field of air traffic surveillance and spectrum protection. This affordable sensor is the first in its class, boasting an expandable motherboard that can operate up to three independent radio front-ends (daughterboards) simultaneously. 

 FRANKFURT, Germany March 19, 2024 – SeRo Systems, a leader in next-generation CNS monitoring solutions, announced the latest innovation in its GRX receiver platform, the GRX 3X Multi-Band receiver. This affordable sensor is the first in its class, boasting an expandable motherboard that can operate up to three independent radio front-ends (daughterboards) simultaneously. Daughterboards are available for the 978 MHz, 1030 MHz, and 1090 MHz frequency bands, covering the main frequencies used in Europe and the US for commercial, military, and general aviation operators. With this innovative design, the GRX 3X enables SeRo’s customers to receive and monitor up to 6 channels simultaneously with a single integrated device. In addition, the GRX 3X offers the flexibility to accommodate custom daughterboard designs for customers with special requirements, making it an ideal choice for a wide range of applications. 

“The GRX 3X reflects SeRo’s commitment to innovation and affordability in the field of air traffic surveillance and spectrum protection,” said Dr. Matthias Schäfer, managing director of SeRo Systems. “Designed with state-of-the-art radio technology, these receivers are rigorously tested to ensure the highest level of operational performance and reliability across the board. We are proud to be the provider of the only affordable multi-band standalone receiver solution that offers this extensive level of features and flexibility.” 

The GRX product line is the backbone of SeRo’s air surveillance and monitoring receiver network. It is widely deployed in Europe and the east coast of the US to help customers ensure the security and safety of the airspace. Designed to meet the stringent demands of modern communication and monitoring, the new GRX 3X’s features include: 

• Comprehensive Frequency Coverage: This receiver is ADS-B (1090ES and UAT), and Mode S Up and Downlink compliant, making it a reliable and cost-effective choice for monitoring all air surveillance frequencies. It provides the ability to receive and monitor ADS-B, Mode S, and other frequencies simultaneously.

• Antenna diversity: Supports beamforming, angle-of-arrival measurements, and use of sectorized antennas with multiple synchronized RF front-ends covering the same frequency.

• Exceptional Performance: The GRX product line offers proven performance, particularly in high-noise environments, thanks to the highest degarbling capabilities. It has a configurable dynamic range, making it suitable for wide area and surface surveillance, even under challenging conditions.

• Cutting-Edge Technology: Built on state-of-the-art software-defined radio technology, the GRX 3X supports the latest standards, including phase overlay of ADS-B v3 (DO-290C/ED- 102B). It is capable of providing nanosecond timestamps for multilateration and Doppler shift/frequency measurements with Hz resolution for more than 3000 received signals per second.

• User-Friendly Interface: All our devices feature a convenient, language-independent, and well-documented API, granting users access to raw data, metadata, I/Q data, monitoring information, GPS data, system health data, and spectrum data (PSD data). Standardized ASTERIX data stream options are also available.

• Maximum Flexibility: The GRX 3X runs on Debian Linux, ensuring maximum flexibility for users. It can be extended with custom firmware/tools and hardware extensions via USB, all while maintaining a remarkably small deployment footprint (SWaP).

Winners of the 2023 Global ATM Awards announced

Airways New Zealand won the Overall Excellence Award at the CANSO Air Traffic Management Global ATM Awards today (Tuesday 19 March) at a packed ceremony held on the CANSO stand at Airspace World 2024.

This year’s programme recognised achievements in five categories, along with an overall winner. The judges had a tough job this time around with a wealth of great entries to consider from 20 countries, initially resulting in a shortlist of 29 entries. 

Drone topics monopolised the entries this year, with around half of the overall entries focused here and entries crossing beyond the drone category. This aligns well with the growing impact of this technology in our industry and can be seen by the increase in drone related exhibitors at this year’s event.

Look out on Airspace World Today for more details tomorrow but, in the meantime, here are our winners for 2023.

Overall Excellence Winner

Airways New Zealand: Resilient new physical and digital infrastructure.

Digital Transformation in ATM

Winner: EUROCONTROL for the new Network Manager Operations Centre

Runner-up: NATS, Leidos, Think & LVNL: Intelligent Approach goes live at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

Re-imagining ATM Operations

Winner: NATS for the West Airspace Deployment

Runner-up: DFS – Deutsche Flugsicherung and EUROCONTROL Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC): Common deployment of Integrated Flow Management Position (iFMP) at the Karlsruhe and the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centres within the MAKAN cooperation

Greener Skies

Winner: DFS – Deutsche Flugsicherung for the Future ATS System Architecture

Runner-up: The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (HKCAD), Thales, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK): Achieving Environmental Benefits through implementation of Wake Turbulence Group and Approach Spacing Management System at the Hong Kong International Airport

Resilience in ATM

Winner: Airways New Zealand, for the Resilient new physical and digital infrastructure

Runner-up: ENAV: Delegation of Airspace.

Integration of Drones/AAM

Winner: Airways New Zealand, for the integration of a Wisk Aero drone into unsegregated controlled airspace.

Runner-up: SkeyDrone: Drone Detection-as-a-Service Solution.

CERTIUM Locate from Rohde & Schwarz enhances air traffic control efficiency and safety over Hungary

HungaroControl has successfully implemented nationwide CERTIUM Locate system from Rohde & Schwarz, ensuring comprehensive air traffic coverage above 10,000 feet in Hungarian airspace.

Geneva/Munich, March 19, 2024 – Rohde & Schwarz and HungaroControl, the national air navigation service provider of Hungary, jointly announced during the CANSO Airspace World event, that they successfully implemented CERTIUM Locate nationwide. This cutting-edge technology, developed by Rohde & Schwarz, ensures comprehensive coverage above 10,000 feet in the airspace of Hungary by automatically identifying and pinpointing calling aircraft on the air traffic controller’s radar screen. The benefits are intuitive call sign identification on the screen, avoidance of confusion, increased situational awareness and improved user experience and confidence.

The deployed CERTIUM Locate system comprises ATC direction finders strategically placed across the country for optimal functionality. Central components such as administration consoles and allocation servers calculate the exact position of the calling aircraft in almost real-time and provide it via the Asterix interface seamlessly to the radar screen.

To ensure minimum environmental impact and maximum cost efficiency while achieving seamless coverage, the direction finding (DF) sites were installed on top of existing telecommunication towers. This innovative approach allowed for a simplified roll-out process, as base station towers are readily available across the country and the top part of the masts is typically vacant and ideal for direction finder antennas. To further enhance the system’s effectiveness, eleven ATC VHF radio sites were connected to the location server to suppress ground station radio transmissions on the operators’ radar screens.

László Tóth, CEO of HungaroControl, expressed his satisfaction with the CERTIUM Locate system, stating: “During peak times, this advanced technology significantly improves our controllers’ work efficiency and enhances overall safety.”

Barnabás Kis, CTO of HungaroControl, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the positive feedback received from users on the intuitive use and the increased situational awareness.

The nationwide implementation of the CERTIUM Locate system marks a significant milestone for HungaroControl and the aviation sector in Hungary. The system’s swift execution, coupled with its numerous benefits, including increased efficiency and enhanced safety, has solidified its role as an innovator in air traffic management. Given the recent surge in air traffic volumes in South-Eastern Europe, other ANSPs in the region or in other parts of Europe with dense airspace can benefit from HungaroControl’s experience.

Caption: Rohde & Schwarz and HungaroControl have successfully implemented CERTIUM Locate nationwide (Image: Rohde & Schwarz)

FREQUENTIS boosts aviation audio quality with AI enhancement

• Control towers and centres set to benefit from a new generation of voice quality
• AI-based audio enhancement from Danish company, Augmented Hearing, to improve speech in noisy environments

Frequentis and its cooperation partner, Augmented Hearing, based in Denmark, have been working together to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) based audio enhancement suitable for the aviation industry.

“In pursuit of future-ready safety critical communications Frequentis plans to establish a new stage of effortless controller-pilot interaction using AI based audio enhancements with its X10 voice communication system,” says Gerald Mohnl, Director ATM Communication. “Augmented Hearing are revolutionising communication by enhancing speech comprehension in noisy environments, and it is a pleasure to work with them on such an important project.”

For decades, air traffic controllers have adeptly managed their responsibilities despite voice quality challenges in ATC radio calls, learning to work with significant noise exposure as part of their job. Frequentis now intends to revolutionise the audio quality of voice communications, reducing controller workload, by using the AI-based software module from Augmented Hearing to enhance speech information in ATC communications.

The AI-based audio enhancement from Augmented Hearing is already improving critical communication environments within Danish public safety organisations. The AI module is trained to suppress noise and works offline and on premises, while ensuring full reliability and GDPR compliance.

“We are thrilled to be working with Frequentis on a solution to enhance aviation audio. Our Sharpi software is developed based on decades of experience in the hearing aid industry and is already used in safety critical communication environments in Denmark. We are happy to embark on the journey with Frequentis to bring the benefits of improved audio quality for reduced controller workload to the air traffic management market,” says Mette Carstensen, CEO Augmented Hearing.

Augmented Hearing aims to harness AI to create software solutions that not only improve hearing but enrich lives – fostering effective, effortless communication for everyone. With over 50 years’ experience in the Danish hearing and audio industry, Augmented Hearing brings unique insights into market.

Frequentis and Augmented Hearing will be at Airspace World, Geneva, March 19-21 presenting the results of combined capabilities, set to launch a new generation of voice quality for control towers and centres.

Nats Services and Altitude Angel partner to deliver integrated traffic management services portfolio

NATS Services, the commercial arm of the UK’s leading ANSP and Altitude Angel, a global leader in unified traffic management (UTM) and creators of the 165 mile UK drone superhighway, have chosen the first day of Airspace World Expo in Geneva to announce a strategic commercial partnership which will revolutionise the way the sky is managed for new airspace users. 

The combination of Altitude Angel’s GuardianUTM suite of technologies and NATS Services’ leading airspace management expertise will enable competitive and innovative services to integrate new airspace users, while maintaining safe operations for its existing commercial aviation customers.

This deal will also see GuardianUTM Flight Approval Services being deployed at some NATS-controlled airports later in 2024, allowing for digitally managed UTM flight requests and approvals and enhanced situational awareness.

The partnership will also accelerate Altitude Angel’s roll-out of its transformative ARROW technology, which when fused with its GuardianUTM platform, detects and identifies all airspace users, enabling drones to fly BVLOS and share the airspace with crewed aviation safely and securely.

On the strategic partnership, Guy Adams, Managing Director of NATS Services, said: “Supporting the development of New Airspace Users through airspace integration and the provision of new services is one of our strategic priorities. This partnership with Altitude Angel is a milestone in UK aviation, bringing together the technology, operational expertise and innovation that will allow us to further support the industry.

“The combination of Altitude Angel’s UTM technologies and NATS’ deep understanding of air traffic and airspace management will allow us to further embrace the integration of this new generation of airspace users, while also continuing to deliver the very highest standards of safety and efficiency.”

Richard Parker, Altitude Angel, CEO and founder, added: “Through this alliance, NATS and Altitude Angel bring together the unparalleled strength of air traffic control expertise with the world leading innovation of UTM.

“This partnership brings together in-depth knowledge, real-world experience, and, most importantly, a shared vision for a future where the skies are not just open but interconnected, where traditional and emerging aviation seamlessly coexist. Together, we will create an airspace which reflects the harmony of collaboration and the promise of a safer, more sustainable aviation future for all. We are pleased our leadership and innovation has been recognised by NATS as important to not only its future, but to the future of UK airspace.”

FAA selects FREQUENTIS for digitlisation of air ground communications

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Frequentis a contract to implement the air-to- ground protocol converter system (APCS) for the U.S. National Airspace System, which supports over one billion passengers per year.

The APCS will replace the existing radio control equipment in the NAS. Migrating from the current analogue and time division multiplexing (TDM) communication to digital internet protocol (IP) communication has many benefits including enhanced communication, improved surveillance, increased efficiency, and added security. These are crucial in an industry where communication is key to ensuring the safety and efficiency of air travel.

“Frequentis is pleased to have been selected by the FAA for its APCS program,” says Dieter Eier, President Frequentis USA. “We are looking forward to helping the FAA to migrate its air to ground network into the IP world. With IP-centric voice communication, both voice and data can be transmitted using the same IP network infrastructure, also resulting in cost savings increased flexibility and scalability.”

The scope of work includes all services and supplies required for the successful design, development, test, and deployment of the APCs, including program management, systems engineering, test and evaluation, delivery, installation, integrated logistics support (including training), and operational support. The system is also ED137 compliant, ensuring system interoperability, reliability, and quality.

Frequentis USA has been providing voice communications and data information systems for FAA, Department of Defense, NASA and other U.S. government agencies for over two decades. Frequentis was also recently selected by Verizon for the FAA’s Enterprise Network Services (FENS) contract that implements TDM to IP solutions for FAA NAS and administrative communication domains.