Airborne
Networking…
Information
Connectivity in
Aviation
Presented to: RTCA SC206
Ralph Yost, Systems Engineering
(FAA Technical Center)
April 3, 2007
Apr3,2007RTCA_SC206.ppt
Federal Aviation
Administration
Discussion Items
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Airborne
Networking
Background
Problem Statement
Objective
Approach
Multi-Aircraft Flight Demo Series
Products
Summary
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Background
• Airborne Networking began as a Tech Center idea
in support of the NASA SATS Project proposed in
July 1999. (But not limited to SATS aircraft.)
• In December 2004, the JPDO published the NGATS
Plan, validating this premise, and institutionalizing
a plan for network enabled operations for the NAS
(i.e. NGATS).
• We have been engaged in airborne networking
research for several years based upon NASA SATS,
NGATS support from ATO-P-1 (Keegan), and
Congressional earmarking
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PROBLEM: Currently Do Not Have System
Wide Network Connectivity For Aircraft
• Premise is that network capability to aircraft will
improve the way operators of aircraft and the NAS
handle information.
• Various commercial solutions are emerging
– Most are satellite-based technology
– Most do not provide aircraft-to-aircraft connectivity
• An early implementable network connectivity solution is
needed that will allow all aircraft types to participate in
and join the network:
– transport, regional, biz jet, GA, helicopter
• Information flow will remain stove-piped unless a
ubiquitous network solution for aircraft is determined
• Assumptions Made for Ground Networks Do Not Apply
to Airborne Network Links
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Impact of Air-to-Air Link Performance
Assumptions Made for Internet Links Do Not Apply to AN Links
Link Attribute
Terrestrial Internet
Airborne Network
Bandwidth
Infinite – can add
more fiber and
routers as needed
Constrained by available spectrum
in a geographic region
Function of distance, antenna
gain, power levels, interference
Routing
performance
Bit Error Rate
10-9 to 10-12, fairly
constant
10-5 to 10-7, highly variable due to
distance, fading, EMI
End-to-end reliable
transport
Stability
Generally long
periods (days) of
availability
Short periods (minutes, seconds)
of availability the norm
Routing
performance
(convergence)
Threat
Generally few
(e.g., backhoe)
Highly exposed to EMI and
intentional jamming
Network capacity
Directionality
Bidirectional
May be unidirectional (e.g.,
different power levels)
Receive-only nodes
Protocol
algorithms
Latency
Constant based
upon link length
Variable over time as link length
changes
Synchronized
applications
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Networking
Impacts
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Reducing Operational Errors
• Several analyses indicate that
approximately 20% of all en
route operational errors (OEs)
are communications related
– 23% found in CAASD analysis
– Categories of
of
680 OEs in 2002 and 2003
communications-related
OEs
– include:
20% found in 1,359 OEs in
• Readback/hearback
FY04
and FY05*
• Issued different altitude than
intended
With
data communications,
• Issued
control instruction to most
wrong
aircraft
of these
OEs
could be eliminated
• Transposed call sign
“23% of all operational errors at
• Failure
update
data
Miamito
Center
for the
fiveblock
year period
• Communication OEs are
usually more severe
– 30% of the high severity FY04
and FY05 OEs were
communication related*
FY05 En Route OEs
Remaining
OEs
High
Severity
OEs
from January 1998 to September
2003 could have been avoided
by [data link]” – Miami ARTCC
Communication
OEs
* Based on preliminary reports. Detailed analysis underway.
Airborne
Networking
(From briefing by Gregg
Anderson, ATO Planning Data
Link Workshop, Feb 2006)
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The single most deadly accident in aviation
history, the runway collision of two B-747s at
Tenerife, begin with a "stepped on" voice
transmission. (1977)
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Objective
• Develop a ubiquitous network capability for aviation,
based upon managed open standards to make it
safe, secure, reliable, scalable, and usable by all
classes of aircraft.
• Demonstrate that network capability for aircraft
generates value for the National Airspace System
(NAS) (at minimal equipage for all stakeholders) and
begins to put into place the building blocks required
to achieve NexGen in 2025
• Identify equipage incentives that provide the NAS
(FAA) and the aircraft operator both benefits and
economic value that can be measured and received
on an aircraft-by-aircraft basis
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Airborne Networking Multi-Aircraft
Flight Demo Series: Purpose
• Facilitate the early adoption of NexGen
netcentric aviation capability into the present
National Airspace System
• Advance the basic netcentric capability for
aviation (demonstrate Assured
Communication and Shared Situational
Awareness; a key enabling technology)
• Comply with Congressional mandate to
perform three aircraft demonstration
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Airborne Networking Multi-Aircraft Flight
Demo Series: Aircraft Flight Demo Applications
• 4-D Trajectory Flight Plan: sent from ground to aircraft; aircraft
acknowledges and accepts
• Aircraft position reporting displayed on EFB
• Weather – low/high bandwidth apps
• Text messaging: cockpit-to-cockpit and to/from ground
• Web services, white board, VoIP
• Live video images telemetered to the ground (planned April 11)
• Security: VPN, encryption, etc.
• Pico cell: use of special encrypted cell phones (US AF AFCA)
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Wx Application Level Characteristics
• Reliability of broadcast is questionable without
dependency upon discovery and reachability
information
• Our program tests and demonstrates the following:
– Auto-segmentation and reassembly of large
products.
– Acknowledge delivery of uplinked products.
– Target (receiver) location used to optimize
delivery priority.
– Aircraft knowledge permits transmission and
“stopping transmission” once appropriate
delivery requirements have been met.
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Assured Broadcast Product Distribution
– Auto-segmentation and reassembly of large
products
– Ack (and selective reject) of fragments to
optimize delivery
– Target location used to optimize delivery
(e.g., aircraft on final MUST have latest
arriving ATIS)
– Aircraft existence knowledge permits
knowledge of “who” has received what and
“who” needs what-when to dynamically
manage broadcast product mix
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Datafeed
• Ground station retrieves information from internet
through one of a series of methods (either ground
station pull or central server push)
• Ground station fragments product into smaller
chunks and broadcasts chunks in reserved slots
• Air stations receive fragments and reassemble
original product
• Air stations acknowledge both partial and complete
products to optimize uplink schedule
• Ground station receives acknowledgments and
refrains from transmitting fragments that have been
acknowledged by all aircraft in the region.
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Airborne Networked Weather: Data
and apps already demonstrated
• Prog Charts: Surface, 12 hr, 24 hr
• Airmets: Turbulance, Convective
• Pireps (Northeast)
• Icing Potential
• Satellite: Albany, BWI, Charlotte, Detroit
• Radar: Sterling, VA; Mount Holly, NJ
• Custom app to bring RVR to the cockpit
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Weather To the Cockpit: Graphical
• US Map with selectable product overlays to
show
– Terrain, States, ARTCC, VORs,
Airports, TWEB
– Airmets: Icing, MTO, IFR, Turb
– Sigmets: WS, WST
– Pireps: Icing, Turb
– Misc: METARs, Radar Reflectivity
– Satellite
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
Airports
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
ARTCC Airspace
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
VORs
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
TWEB (Transcribed Wx Enroute Broadcast)
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
AIRMETS: Icing
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
AIRMETS: Turbulence
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
AIRMETS: IFR
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
AIRMETS: MTOS (Mt. Obscuration)
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
AIRMETS: All overlaid
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
SIGMETS: Convective T-storms
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
Icing
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
PIREPS: Icing
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Wx Graphical Overlay Example
SIGMETS: Icing & Turb overlaid
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Airborne Networking Multi-Aircraft Network Capability
Demonstration: Two Systems, Three Planes
N39
N35
N47
45
High
Bandwidth
90 Mb/s
Position
reporting,
situational
awareness
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Ka/KU Band
FIREWALL
PMEI
AeroSat
Airborne Networking
Lab
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SWIM
and
AFCA
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Play Flight Date Here
Run EFRMON Playback Here
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Products
• AeroSat:
–
–
–
–
K-band, directional antennas each end.
ISM band omni air-to-air.
TCP/IP, network management software developing.
Approach is potential oceanic solution.
• PMEI
– VHF, 25Khz channels.
– Has Beyond Line of Sight relay capability (potential oceanic solution).
– Potential terminal, enroute, Oceanic, CONUS solution.
• These are early approaches to network connectivity that
meets basic criteria of network connectivity for air-to-air, airto-ground, usable by all classes of aircraft, relatively low cost.
• They are learning opportunities, not product endorsement.
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Summary
• Wx and AIS are building netcentric information
services. Airborne Networking can easily connect
to deliver information to the aircraft.
• NexGen requires airborne networking.
• Reliability of broadcast is questionable without
dependency upon discovery and reachability
information
• Airborne Networks can deploy any data or
application that can be deployed on ground
networks, as long as standard protocols are used.
• Weather applications will run the same as “normal”
applications will run on any networked computer
system.
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