Intelligent Surveillance and Management Functions for Airfield Applications Based on Low Cost Magnetic Field Detectors. Publishable Executive Summary

Transcription

1 Intelligent Surveillance and Management Functions for Airfield Applications Based on Low Cost Magnetic Field Detectors Publishable Executive Summary Project Co-ordinator Prof. Dr. Uwe Hartmann Saarland University P.O. Box D Saarbrücken u.hartmann@mx.uni-saarland.de Project Homepage: Date of Preparation: March 2005 A Project funded by the European Community under the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development

2 Contractors No Participant Name Participant short name Country 1 Co-ordinator: USAAR Germany Universität des Saarlandes Fachrichtung Experimentalphysik Prof. Dr. Uwe Hartmann P.O. Box D Saarbrücken u.hartmann@mx.uni-saarland.de 2 Zentrum für integrierte Verkehrssysteme ZIV Germany GmbH, Institut an der TU Darmstadt 3 Votronic Entwicklungs- und VOTRONIC Germany Produktionsgesellschaft für elektronische Geräte mbh 4 Centre for Research and Technology Hellas ITI-CERTH Greece 5 HiTec- Vereinigung High Tech Marketing HITEC Austria 6 Fraport AG Fraport Germany 7 Advantage Technical Consulting ADVANTAGE United Kingdom 8 European Research and Project Office GmbH EURICE Germany General objectives The main objective of ISMAEL is the development of an alternative system for surface movement surveillance at airports and thus to improve safety and efficiency of ground movements. A new detector based on magnetic sensor technology will be developed for use within Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS) at major international airports or as cost-effective alternative to Surface Movement Radar at smaller airports. In order to understand the needs and demands of operational users of such systems, ISMAEL captures the requirements for an effective and usable system from a technical, economic and legal point of view and identifies relevant user groups. Appropriate hardware prototypes for magnetic field sensors will be developed and their function will be optimised through first field trials. ISMAEL will develop and apply complex algorithms for the detection and identification of vehicles and to measure speed and direction. In a next step it will be examined whether the developed detector module can be successfully integrated into complete systems for airport applications by developing a solid concept for combining the detector output with other information sources like radar and flight data etc. In this context the potential benefits of the new technology for enhancements of existing systems as well as for new systems are also explored. By means of practical experiments and trials in real airport environments it will be investigated if the new detector technology is able to satisfy the identified user requirements and it will be determined where further work or investigation of the system is required. In this context a socio-economic evaluation of the system s impacts on users and society in general will be carried out including an analysis of users acceptance, of relevant regulatory

3 issues and of costs and benefits in particular for smaller regional airports. A detailed market analysis will deliver the basis for improvements of the detector system and its further development towards a marketable product. For that purpose market opportunities, adoption barriers, and competitive pressures will be identified and different operational scenarios set up. To provide for valid implementation and marketing strategies the technical and economic potential with respect to the most promising applications will be considered putting special emphasis on safety related applications. The ISMAEL project and its results will be made transparent to both experts and the general public by means of extensive dissemination activities of all partners. Main objective is a real communication policy at the same time coherent, consistent, and finalised with respect to identified user groups, standardisation bodies, and other relevant stakeholders. Work progress and results achieved Within the first steps of the project the identification of user groups and other stakeholders and the Identification of user requirements are the most important tasks for the system development. Starting from was the stakeholders associated with Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) as identified in relevant Eurocontrol documents. From this, potential user groups/stakeholders for ISMAEL were derived. This initial set was then extended through literature research and discussion with experts from within the consortium. Also, findings and experiences of prior EU projects in this field were incorporated. Finally, the extended list of stakeholders was divided into three categories according to their degree of involvement in the system, and their influence and relevance for requirements. The user needs and performance requirements for the range of possible applications in airport traffic control were captured and analysed. Applications with real potential added value resulting from magnetic sensor detection were identified as Runway Incursion Protection and Airport Surveillance (either as a stand alone solution in smaller airports or as part of an integrated A-SMGCS suite at larger airports). A consolidated set of requirements was developed, covering Operational, Performance, Safety, Installation, Maintenance, Environmental, EMC, Economic and Software topics. Together these requirements should provide a basis for developing an ISMAEL system that can meet the real needs of the identified users. To fulfil user requirements, several steps were taken to develop the detector with its core component: the sensor head. Detector development began with the specification and identification of relevant aspects that have to be met to enable the cooperation of the analogue sensor head with the digital processing unit. An interference control document (ICD) for the sensor head and the processing unit was used for this purpose. Two generations of sensor head prototypes (A-series and B-series) have been designed and produced. The basic structure and components of the sensor head prototype include: magnetic field sensors; power supply; compensation coil and flipping coil; amplification stages, gain switch; low pass filter, etc. Each sensor head has its own address and it can communicate with the measurement system through a bus system. A reset and self-checking function is also included. Various numbers of A-series modules and B-series modules were manufactured by using surface mount components during this project period.

4 Numerous laboratory tests and field tests were carried out in order to check and improve the functions of the prototypes. Initial measurements of sensor head performance in the airport environment have also been obtained during the first project phase. A fixed test site was built up along one taxiway of airport Saarbruecken. Five B-series sensor head prototypes were installed at selected locations there. Initial checking of the system and regular measurements on passing aircraft were performed at the beginning of As an example, the test result of Boeing 737 of one sensor head prototype which is buried in the middle of the taxiway is presented in Figure1: Fig. 1 Field test result (red curve) of a Boeing 737 by one sensor head which is in the middle of taxiway. The current test setup and the test results show that all tested aircraft can be detected by the sensor head prototypes in the middle of taxiway regardless of the weather conditions. The theoretical calculations of the magnetic field change due to the presence of aircraft are important for the choice of sensor head prototype parameters as well as for the choice of optimum sensor position and direction. Initial calculations have been made based on simplified parameters of various aircraft. A core element of the system is the Sensor Data Fusion (SDF) server to present detector output to end-users. The basic structure of SDF has been designed with regards to the requirements of the ISMAEL system and a significant part of it has already been developed. The Sensor Data Fusion Server can be divided in five subsystems: 1) The Graphical User Interface; 2) The Data Processing Unit; 3) The Tracker of the system; 4) The ASTERIX encoder (for data interchange with other surveillance systems) and 5) The Data Transmission Unit. Furthermore an assessment plan has been elaborated which validates the detector system, its functions and its operability. Taking the user requirements as a starting point, the assessment plan defines the technical and socio-economic assessment categories and lists the assessment objectives in these categories. This translation from the user s point of view towards a solid assessment and evaluation methodology has been executed with a focus on the link between the assessment task and the user demands. While the technical assessment focuses on real-life measurements, the socio-economic evaluation uses these hard facts for solid projection of the application viability. Each assessment type will not only produce results on the performance of the magnetic field

5 detector but will also reveal possible contributions to the complete application of the systems designed around the detector module. The dissemination task of ISMAEL makes the activities of the project transparent to both experts and the general public. Also, a strategy towards economic success of the new technologies and the appropriate market penetration has been established. During the current project phase, Market Analysis has been started with segmenting the potential market for ISMAEL according to different airport characteristics (annual passenger number, annual movements, layout, etc.) obtained from different statistical and regulatory documents. Important information not contained in these documents has been obtained through survey addressing more than 500 airports. Respective results are currently analysed and will serve as starting point for the subsequent estimation of market potentials for the segments identified. A dissemination plan has been issued which contains information for the partners on how to present exploitable knowledge and publishable results. Moreover, the dissemination approach and targeted stakeholder and user groups are presented. Publications in the Internet and in relevant journals and magazines as well as ISMAEL s project brochure and broadcasted documentary films have been made to disseminate ISMAEL result to the general public as well as experts. Presentations have been held at various international conferences. Referring to concertation, candidate projects in related fields have been identified and contracted. Expected end results and intentions for use and impact A steady increase of air traffic over the last decades has led to the situation that many major airports are working at their capacity limits. Efficient measures are required to overcome the resulting delays and to cope with the projected traffic volume in the future. ISMAEL responses to these emerging needs with the following expected results: The addition of new, comparatively low-cost passive sensing technology to SMGCS A SMGCS solution for regional and smaller airports A candidate contributor to existing SMGCS solutions by adding a new technology module to survey otherwise hardly controllable airport areas, e.g. blind areas of SMR coverage, or where active sensors are not sufficient and reliable, since not all aircraft and vehicles are equipped and there is no fall back in case of failure. According to the main philosophy in aviation: safety first, this project contributes to this objective by enhancing situation awareness to the control personnel. ISMAEL will provide precise and accurate surface surveillance irrespective of visibility, which will be of great help for keeping the airport management in a safe situation at small or middle-size airports. The ISMAEL product can also be used as point surveillance which works as one input to a multisensor A-SMGCS at a major airport fixed point surveillance independent of other systems at critical locations such as runway stop bars. A worldwide market is accessible in more than 80 countries, each with at least 5 airports with a need for SMGCS in various levels of complexity. Large project integrators and airport development companies will be interested in the technology, once its usability and reliability has been proven.