LOW-COST AIRBORNE DATA SYSTEMS

THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO PROVIDE A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR A BROADCAST DATA SERVICE THAT CAN PROVIDE REAL-TIME SITUATION AWARENESS INFORMATION TO A WIDE CROSS-SECTION OF AIRBORNE USERS. WE WILL ALSO CARRY OUT AN ACTUAL FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION OF A LOW COST SYSTEM FOR THE AIR SEGMENT OF THE ARCHITECTURE. THE TECHNICAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION IS LOW SINCE IT WILL INVOLVE INTEGRATION OF COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF HARDWARE AND AN EXISTING DATA TRANSMISSION SERVICE. THE FAA AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM MAINTAINS A LARGE DATABASE CONSISTING OF THE RADAR POSITIONS OF AIRCRAFT WITHIN US AIRSPACE. THE DATABASE IS CURRENTLY CONSTRUCTED USING TRANSPONDER DATA FROM GROUND-BASED RADARDS, AND IS SHARED ACROSS THE CONUS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL NETWORK. THIS INFORMATION CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE TO AIRBORNE USERS ON A CHEAP AND TIMELY BASIS, PROVIDING COMMERCIAL, GENERAL-AVIATION, AND MILITARY AIRCRAFT WITH ONBOARD PSEUDO-RADAR DISPLAYS FOR LOCAL AIR TRAFFIC. THE SYSTEM CAN ALSO PROVIDE COMPRESSED WEATHER IMAGES FOR DISPLAY IN THE AIRCRAFT, AS WELL AS TEXT MESSAGE TRAFFIC. THIS PROPOSAL CONCERNS THE TECHNICAL MEANS OF ACCOMPLISHING THESE GOALS IN A LOW-COST MANNER. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION OF THIS WORK IS TO THE CIVILIAN AIR SAFETY. ONBOARD SITUATION AWARENESS SYSTEMS ARE NOT CURRENTLY PART OF CIVILIAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL. THE INTEGRATION OF LOW-COST BROADCAST DATA NETWORKS WITH OTHER TECHNOLOGIES DESCRIBED IN THE STUDY WILL MAKE THIS POSSIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME.