EEC-ATI (V2) 1 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ European ATS Provider Benefits Real-time Simulation Results ATN2002 Conference London, September 2002 Rod McGregor

EEC-ATI (V2) 2 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ Programme –Datalink Implementation for Europe –Services selected because of identified effective operational benefits –Implementation at centres and airports where the need exists –Affordable infrastructure - ATN over VDL2 (exploiting airline investment)

EEC-ATI (V2) 3 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ Real-time Simulation Project –followed other datalink projects such as EATCHIP IIIb/EOLIA and PETAL IIe –concentrated on operational aspects not technical aspects of datalink implementation –focused on an early implementation and non-time critical datalink services that had been previously evaluated –explored the implementation of datalink from the controllers perspective –developed a complex real-time datalink simulator to replicate ATN datalink functionality

EEC-ATI (V2) 4 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Simulation Conduct –Conducted at the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre near Paris –Involved project teams from the Aix-en-Provence and Rome ATC Centres, as well as the EEC and the LINK2000+ Programme –A major effort for the EEC with over 50 individuals committed to the system build and experimental conduct –Used operational controller teams to provide authentic feedback on the use of datalink in future datalink scenarios

EEC-ATI (V2) 5 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ Experiment Objectives –Confirm the feasibility of conducting voice and datalink in a mixed-mode environment –Determine good practice when considering datalink over voice (and vice-versa) –Identify potential changes to controller working methods –Identify ATC Procedures required for datalink operations –Assess the safety implications of non-nominal situations –Define the need for improvements to the datalink interface –Assess the operational and technical response times

EEC-ATI (V2) 6 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Real-time Simulation –February 2002, 3 weeks including training and measured exercises (28 measured exercises of 1 hour) –14 Controllers (7 from Aix-en-Provence and 7 from Rome) –Traffic based on busiest regional day in 2001(plus 10% and 25%) –Airborne datalink equipage at 0%, 25% and 50% (representing the implementation period) –Scenarios 1 - Nominal (variation in traffic and datalink equipage) 2 - PC Transfer (routine transfer task moved to the PC) 3 - ACM Monitor (datalink aircraft did not check on frequency) 4 - Non-Nominal (degradation of performance)

EEC-ATI (V2) 7 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ Controller Interface (Two Controllers per sector each with a 28” screen) –No ‘Paper’ Flight Strips –Interactive Aircraft Label with 3-Button Mouse as sole input device (no keyboard) –Extensive use of colour coding –SYSCO silent electronic co-ordination –Graphical and list display of flight data –Safety Nets and System Reminders –Integrated datalink functionality with messages represented in track labels and Message In/Out windows BAW1234 NW BEKOS h045 m81 r25

EEC-ATI (V2) 8 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ Datalink Implementation –DLIC - Datalink Initiation Capability - (between Equipped and Non-Equipped ATC Centres) –ACM - ATC Communication Management - Silent transfer of Data Authority and Aircraft Frequency Change Instructions, with indication that the Aircraft was ‘Monitoring’ the new frequency –AMC - ATC Microphone Check - Via simulated “Stuck Microphone” message to all aircraft –ACL - ATC Clearances – including Cleared Flight Level, Heading, Direct Route, Speed, and Rate of Change

EEC-ATI (V2) 9 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ LINK2000+ Datalink Implementation –LACKS - Logical Acknowledgements – for all messages (defined timeouts for LACK response, Operational Response and Standby Offset) –Delay Value based on fixed (6 second) delivery time and defined Failure Rates for datalink messages –Pseudo-pilot responses to uplinked messages including WILCO, STANDBY, UNABLE, and scripted downlinks of REQUEST DIRECT and REQUEST LEVEL

EEC-ATI (V2) 10 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Real-time Simulation Analysis –Subjective analysis based on: Simulation Observation Controller Debriefing Sessions Questionnaires (Pre-simulation, Exercise, and End of Simulation) Controller Workload Recordings –Supported by objective analysis based on recorded system data (including time- stamped HMI actions and datalink messages) Datalink Benefits

EEC-ATI (V2) 11 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ During the experiment –1953 flight hours recorded for all sectors over the measured exercises –Sector throughput (1 hour) from (depending on sector) –Maximum number of aircraft on frequency ranging from aircraft –424 Pilot datalink requests downlinked to the controllers –2719 Controller instructions uplinked to simulated datalink aircraft

EEC-ATI (V2) 12 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Results - Controller comments –The Air/Ground concept was easy to understand –Air/Ground datalink procedures were easy to work with –Using Air/Ground datalink reduces routine communication tasks –It was not difficult to decide when to use datalink or voice to communicate –It was easy to learn to work with the Air/Ground datalink

EEC-ATI (V2) 13 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Results - General –Voice channel occupancy significantly reduced –0% Datalink (39%) –25% Equipage - 32% (-18%) –50% Equipage - 26% (-33%) –Further gains (35%-50%) when combined with datalink aircraft ‘Monitoring’ not calling on frequency

EEC-ATI (V2) 14 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Results - Working Method –Controllers took less than 3 weeks to integrate datalink in to a new effective working method –Two separate control techniques developed for Datalink and Non-datalink aircraft (as non time-critical messages could become time-critical) –CPDLC clearances were (apparently) less suited to highly tactical environments (controllers reported two minutes required for action)

EEC-ATI (V2) 15 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Results - Task Reallocation –Planning Controller must be active (focussed on the screen) not passive as today –ACM with PC Transfer with Datalink Aircraft Monitoring was reportedly very successful –ACL service more complex to transfer clearance tasks to the PC due to issues of control responsibility, teamwork, and situational awareness

EEC-ATI (V2) 16 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Results - Controller Interface –Clear distinction between equipped and non-equipped aircraft essential –Equally efficient HMI inputs for both equipped and non-equipped aircraft required –Revert-to-voice procedure and system update, in case of datalink error (DL Error or No Reply) as short as possible –History of datalink messages required to support better team situational awareness

EEC-ATI (V2) 17 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Results Time-outs and Response Times –Timeouts for LACK response and No Reply as short as possible (30 seconds and 60 seconds) –Mean controller response time to a pilot request was 40 seconds (including delivery time) –(Pseudo-pilot response time was 25 seconds) –Controller composition times for datalink messages 75% less than 2 seconds and 99.5% less than 10 seconds (EATCHIP III datalink interface) –Non-nominal degraded datalink performance had little impact for controllers (due non-time critical use)

EEC-ATI (V2) 18 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Summary - ATS Provider Benefits –Results suggest that a safer, more efficient, ATM system through Datalink implementation is achievable –Effective R/T reduction and task re-distribution was demonstrated “With datalink it should not be a problem if you never talk to an aircraft the whole time it is in your sector” –Next - further interface improvements and more research into teamwork and situational awareness issues –Finally, datalink was shown to have the potential to revolutionise ATM, perhaps enabling change as radical as the introduction of radar

EEC-ATI (V2) 19 ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ ATN2002 CONFERENCE LINK2000+ Contacts –Rod McGregor - LINK2000+ RTS Project Manager (EEC) –Alex Wandels – LINK2000+ Programme Manager (Brussels) –Chris Brain – LINK Operational Issues (Brussels) –Martin Adnams – Implementation Issues (Brussels) References –LINK2000+ Real-time Simulation Report - September 2002 (EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre Report)