In the future, air traffic controllers will no longer sit in the tower, but operate from control centers that are sometimes hundreds of kilometers away. From here, they monitor the traffic from several airports – even at the same time. The “OMNyFlug” project shows how they focus on the right aircraft.

At regional and small airports, the volume of traffic is mostly marginal, apart from the daily peaks (“peaks”) in the morning and afternoon. The idle times and the associated low income, e.g. B. at night, there are high costs for the air traffic controllers deployed. To counter cost pressures, several initiatives are working to centralize air traffic control for small and regional airports. The aim is to establish a so-called multiple airport remote control (Multi-Remote-Tower, Multi-RTO) and to implement the necessary technologies in a single control center (Multi-RTO-Center). In addition to new technological approaches, the implementation of such a remote control requires new tasks for air traffic controllers and supervisors.

The focus of the research project was the prototypical development of two planning tool components – one for air traffic controllers and one for supervisors. The software solution developed in the project enables an effective distribution of air traffic controller resources in multi-remote tower operation. A new type of planning and optimization tool is used that reduces idle times and personnel costs. This could significantly strengthen the competitiveness of regional and small airports.

The “OMNyFlug” project was funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) as part of the mFUND innovation initiative with a total of around 495,000 euros.

In addition to the network coordinator HFC Human-Factors-Consult, the project partners were the company m-click.aero. After a period of around three years, the project will be successfully completed in December 2022. The final event will take place on Friday, December 16, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via zoom:

Link to Zoom Meeting (German language only).

About the funding program mFUND of the BMDV

With the mFUND innovation initiative, the BMDV has been funding data-based research and development projects for the digital and networked mobility of the future since 2016. Project funding is supplemented by active professional networking between actors from politics, business, administration and research. Open data is provided via the Mobilithek. You can find more information at www.mFund.de.

The aim of the project is to develop software assistance using the available basic data of the aeronautical infrastructure in order to completely digitize the NOTAM process. The NOTAMs can be processed automatically and displayed in a pilot’s “navigation device” (Electronic Flight Bag – EFB). This reduces not only the risk of missing important NOTAMs, but also the pilot’s workload in flight planning to a considerable extent.

For this project, m-click.aero will develop a SWIM compatible aeronautical data platform to provide the required airport infrastructure data and to generate and process the digital NOTAMs in AIXM 5.1 format. In cooperation with the project partners from BER Berlin Brandenburg Airport and HFC Human Factors Consult, the digital interfaces and services for data input and display are configured.

Our partner company HFC takes on the role of project coordinator. HFC carries out the requirements analysis and works with the project partners to develop a solution concept for the user interface, which is evaluated in a final field study together with the partners of the consortium.

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cloud4.aero

cloud4.aero is an Aeronautical Data Information Platform to provide real-time data streams for all aviation clients, in particular for mobile devices and web applications. The cloud4.aero platform makes it easy to access and share aviation data to improve operational performance.

Video: What kind of data does cloud4.aero provide?

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A demo service is available on the web. Please request your credentials at solutions@m-click.aero

Download the cloud4.aero Data Platform brochure in PDF format.

The DCS task consists of a central engineering report (ER) aimed to consolidate all task’s outcomes including the development of components of DCS architecture. Among them are DCS Server, Key Management Server and Authorization Server. Playing together in the DCS architecture, these components shall implement two use case scenarios demonstrating the controlled provisioning and consumption of sensitive/classified (and this cryptographically protected) data. The scenarios shall demonstrate mixed levels of data protection, utilization of symmetric and asymmetric encryption keys and a JSON DCS implementation using STANAG 4774 and 4778. NATO STANAG 4774 defines the Confidentiality Metadata Label Syntax for Data Centric Security. NATO STANAG 4778 is the Metadata Binding Mechanism for Joint Coalition Information Sharing.

The scenarios are based on a well known digital rights management architecture (DRM). The first scenario deals with short living cryptographic keys used for immediate decryption/consumption of protected data within a synchronous data request. The second scenario anticipates a more asynchronous style of data consumption. It includes download of a larger set of encrypted, partially sensitive/classified data from the DCS server and upload on mobile electronic devices prior to the “field use” (for example in emergency situations when in the absence of network connection the rescue teams use navigation/situational-awareness equipment containing classified geospatial data sets). The encrypted data remains stored on such devices for a longer period of time, which potentially represents a security threat. The decryption is performed on demand, using keys having a longer period of validity and stronger cryptographic protection. Required keys are issued by the authorization server in accordance with user credentials and roles.

Both use cases of advanced DCS are relevant for the provision of aeronautical data. For example, high quality AIXM 5.1 data sets might be purchased from an authorized, commercial data provider on a licence basis and be delivered to a client device (for example, a preflight briefing application). The data usage would then be driven by the licencing policy, which would include the decryption key having an expiration time and restrictions derived from the purchased data package. Obviously, the DRM architecture and DCS could be successfully utilized in the aviation domain, especially considering the cloud services. The outcomes of this testbed will provide valuable information regarding the feasibility and the implementation details.

m-click.aero GmbH has lots of experience with security of data in the aeronautical domain. In OGC Testbed-13 we already have been working on a Security ER dedicated to data security in the aviation domain. On behalf of Eurocontrol and FAA we were participating in several projects regarding the aeronautical data security service model (SWIM) and were investigating how to specify and enforce the policies over data sets in the aviation domain. Our award winning aviation data validation platform was developed as an outcome of those activities as one of the first aviation data analysis services available on the web.

We are looking forward to our further, fruitful collaboration with testbed’s participants, sponsors and the OGC staff.

MasterMAN iRoom

Key features of MasterMAN iRoom

• Intuitive handling via touchscreen
• Transparent overview of traffic at the airport and the deployment of ATCOs
• Color-coded user interface for a better comprehensibility
• Flexible staff deployment (Optimization according to different criteria possible)

How it works

In the first step, you enter information about your staff (vacation days, license types, etc.) In the second step, iRoom loads and analyses flight plan and real-time data provided by m-click.aero using the cloud4.aero services. Finally, the roster is calculated based on the traffic at the airport and availability of the ATCOs. The result is an optimized roster, displayed in a transparent, color-coded User Interface.

What used to be complicated and time-consuming paperwork becomes an automated, intuitive process. With MasterMAN iRoom you can not only reduce your labour costs but you simplify your deployment planning and you can prevent mental overload and underload of your ATCOs by allocating your staff intelligently.

ATCO Data Sheet

Day Plan

Month Plan

About the Developer

The software was developed by Human Factors Consult. HFC specializes in designing and configuring technical systems and software interfaces in terms of usability, product experience, acceptance and safety. With an interdisciplinary team that brings together expertise from psychology, engineering, mathematics and computer science, problems of hardware and software adaptation to humans are solved. These include the evaluation of assistance systems in the vehicle and the investigation of fatigue measurability. Their customers come from the automotive, railway and aerospace industries as well as the departments of safety and medical equipment.

The basis of the work at HFC is a high methodological competence – not only in human scientific and technical fields, but especially in interdisciplinary collaboration. Thus, the different questions of human-technology design can be handled for all domain applications. They range from the analysis of safety vulnerabilities over developing services such as GUI design or user guidance, to long-term research projects in occupational health and safety, and road safety.

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GUIDOR Flight optimization

GUIDOR, the advanced in-flight trajectory optimization application, developed by the Toulouse based SME Skyconseil, responds perfectly to these demands.

Connected to the m-click.aero SWIM and AIM services, GUIDOR takes advantage of the latest available technology to help pilots optimizing the flight – live in the cockpit.

• Altitude/speed depending on changing weather, delays and air traffic
• Lateral route depending on turbulence and restricted areas
• Decisions with regards to the current overall situation

Using state of the art in-flight connectivity to, not only access the aircraft’s avionics system, but also online services as SWIM, GUIDOR will improve the coordination between pilots, OCC and ATC.

Find out more about GUIDOR by Skyconseil

Outlook

As a member, m-click.aero has privileged access to all the relevant standards and joins a potent network including key actors of the aviation industry. We believe that the digitalization brings disruptive changes in fields of safety, ecology and cost-efficiency. Thus, we are happy to work together with other partners on setting standards and leading developments in SWIM and AIM.

Our contribution

m-click.aero offers data integration and validation solutions in the cloud. This includes a powerful tool for semantic and syntactic validation of SWIM standards, the Aeronautical Data Validation Platform.

To find out more about EUROCAE, please visit the EUROCAE website

The event was a big success: The presentations gave an insight to the work and innovations of local companies, new business contacts could be made and the German Capital Region is positioning itself as a Player in the global Aviation and Aerospace industry.

Having said that, this year m-click.aero was awarded to be the main editor of an engineering report dedicated to architecture, design and development of a common purpose data quality assessment service (DQOS). Such service is planned to be used as intermediary component utilized to assess the overall quality of data, which an observed service instance claims to be capable to provide.

m-click.aero has lots of experiences with aeronautical data validation. On behalf of Eurocontrol and FAA we were working on different aspects of aeronautical data quality and were exploring the way of how to specify the data validation rules and enforce them in the aviation domain. Our award winning aviation data validation platform was developed and put in operational use as outcome of those activities as one of the first aviation data analysis services available on the web. This year however, the focus was set to a more general approach and broader meaning of data quality. Having said that, the theoretical work will be conducted by engineering reports dedicated to the quality of data requirements specification and assessment model, while our report will deal with the implementation part.

We are looking forward for the fruitful, successful collaboration with testbed’s participants, sponsors from FAA and the OGC staff.

This collaboration comes at a crucial time considering that already in 2015 the Swedish ANSP LFV is the first worldwide who perform Remote Tower Services. With the extension of LFV’s Remote Tower Center in February 2017, LFV can remotely control three additional airports from Sundsvall. During this spring, two airports will be connected and remotely controlled from Sundsvall.

The German air navigation service provider DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung equip Saarbrücken Airport with a remote tower solution. The go-live is planned for 2017, with the airports in Erfurt and Dresden to follow. All three airports will be operated remotely from a remote tower center located at Leipzig Tower. Main goal of DFS is to centralize multiple tower operations in this single remote tower center and to maximize the efficient use of the tower controllers.

In Europe alone, there are more than 240 small and regional airports with a traffic density between 100.000 and 2.000.000 passengers per year. This level of traffic density is appropriate for remote control operation and promises the largest efficiency benefits when applying Multi-Airport control.

To control several airports remotely by only one air traffic controller is the next step of development and becomes more and more apparent.

m-click’s Aeronautical Data Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solution integrates aviation data seamlessly across applications, processes and systems, quickly and cost-effectively – on premise, in the cloud and between aviation stakeholders. It supports open standards such as OGC and SWIM and therefore the interoperability between aviation formats and standards.

Consolidated aviation data provided by m-click.aero help out to to monitor the aviation traffic management process, providing a comprehensive data basis for collaborative decision making and improving situational awareness in the congested Europa’s airspace.

About HFC Human-Factors-Consult GmbH

HFC specializes in designing and configuring technical systems and software interfaces in terms of usability, product experience, acceptance and safety. With an interdisciplinary team that brings together expertise from psychology, engineering, mathematics and computer science, problems of hardware and software adaptation to humans are solved. These include the evaluation of assistance systems in the vehicle and the investigation of fatigue measurability. Our customers come from the aerospace, automotive, and railway industries as well as the departments of safety and medical equipment. HFC GmbH, founded in Berlin, Germany is privately held. For more information visit http://human-factors-consult.de or contact us at masterman@human-factors.de.

About m-click.aero GmbH

m-click.aero is provider of a cloud-based Integration and Analytics Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solution for interoperable data integration that ensures the seamless flow of information across aviation SWIM and interconnected networks. m-click.aero enables its customers to easily and cost-effectively consume aeronautical, flight and weather data providing them implementing the SWIM paradigm, to the right place and at the right time, so they can easily communicate and coordinate with other aviation stakeholders. m-click.aero GmbH, founded in Berlin, Germany is privately held. For more information visit www.m-click.aero or contact us at solutions@m-click.aero.

Visit m-click.aero and ask for MasterMAN® at World ATM Congress, Madrid 7.-9. March 2017, Stand #137