Historical Perspective of FAA-Sponsored Conflict Resolution Research © 1999 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved. This is the copyright work of The MITRE Corporation and was produced for the U.S. Government under Contract Number DTFA01-93-C and is subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Clause , Rights in Data-General, Alt. III (JUN 1987) and Alt. IV (JUN 1987). No other use other than that granted to the U.S. Government, or to those acting on behalf of the U.S. Government, under that Clause is authorized without the express written permission of The MITRE Corporation. For further information, please contact The MITRE Corporation, Contracts Office, 1820 Dolley Madison Blvd., McLean, VA 22102, (703) Dan Kirk October 21, 1999

2 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Overview Overview of AERA 1, AERA 2, AERA 3 functions Major differences between AERA 2 and URET AERA chronology Future plans

3 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Functionalities of AERA: Automated En Route ATC (1 of 2) AERA 1: – Trajectory Modeling – Automated Problem Detection Aircraft-to-Aircraft, Aircraft-to-Airspace Flow Instruction problems, including No Directs, Specified Airways/Fix, Miles-in-Trail, Meter Fix Time, Altitude constraints Both radar and non-radar airspace – Conformance Monitoring and Reconformance – Trial Planning – Quick Trial Planning – Interfacility Data Exchange – Integrated R/D positions and Datalink interface

4 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Functionalities of AERA: Automated En Route ATC (2 of 2) AERA 2: – Built on top of AERA 1 – Automated Problem Resolution (APR): Resolution of Aircraft-to-Aircraft, and Aircraft-to-Airspace, Flow Instruction problems – Both radar and non-radar airspace AERA 3: – Controller role changed to Traffic Manager – Different conflict detection and resolution algorithms from AERA 2

5 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Major Functional Differences Between AERA 2 and URET Daily Use (DU) System Additional AERA 2 capabilities: – Automated Problem Resolution (APR) Automatically generates a set of resolutions to each problem alert (before alert notification) Alert goes to the sector that controls the aircraft maneuvered in the highest-ranked resolution Alert and resolution are presented simultaneously APR may also be initiated manually – Flow instruction problem detection, resolution – Automatic acceptance of handoff – Quick Trial Planning (in URET, not used in DU) AERA 2 had no URET red/yellow alert distinction – Was present in AERA 1

6 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Major Display Differences Between AERA 2 and URET Daily Use (DU) System Additional AERA 2 displays: – Controller reminders E.g., Transfer of Communication, Start Maneuver, Top of Descent, Planned Change to VFR – Aircraft Conformance List E.g., Missed Planned Maneuver, Early Maneuver – Traffic Management Advisory List – Sector Activity Display No Aircraft List in AERA 2 – Flight Data Entries displayed only on request or in unusual situations

7 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Early AERA Chronology (1 of 2) Flight-plan based conflict detection work started in late 50s – FAA/MITRE follow-on to Air Force/MITRE air defense work Automated IFR Traffic Control project – Trajectory Modeling, Problem Detection and Resolution; Preliminary prototyping of algorithms 1977: Automated En Route ATC (AERA) start

8 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Early AERA Chronology (2 of 2) 1978: FAA/MITRE AERA Prototype started – AERA testbed prototyping spanned to support controller team evaluations – Legacy algorithms and SW baseline used in URET (both conflict detection and resolution) Work in knowledge-based (expert systems) for conflict resolution, e.g., MITRE-funded AIRPAC – Advisor for the Intelligent Resolution of Predicted Aircraft Conflicts 1985: AERA work closed at the end of FY : AERA 2 Program Plan re-baselined

9 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation AERA : Major events (1 of 4) AERA ATACT reassembled for AERA 2 operational evaluations AAS acquisition AERA 2 System Level Specs AERA 2 CHI Specs

10 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation AERA : Major events (2 of 4) Conflict Resolution Prototyping (Symbolics Lisp Machine) to support ATACT Evaluations – times a year

11 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation AERA : Major events (3 of 4) CHI Prototyping (VAX)

12 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation AERA : Major events (4 of 4) APR concept, functional description and algorithmic requirements developed AERA restructure: Initial AERA services (IAS) and Full AERA services (FAS) 1992: – FAA/MITRE AERA facility closed, ATACT disbanded – AERA material archived and delivered to FAA

13 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Development and Deployment: Present 1994: Initial AERA Field Evaluation System (IAFES; similar to URET; cancelled in 1 year) 1995: URET – Evaluations at ZID since February 1996, and ZME since June : Problem Analysis, Resolution and Ranking (PARR) – AERA 2 legacy APR requirements and algorithms – Controller-initiated – Addresses aircraft-to-aircraft, aircraft-to-airspace, and meter fix time problems – Integrated into a laboratory version of URET

14 Copyright 1999, The MITRE Corporation Future Plans Continue current research areas and proceed with field trials for operational validation – Start the next spiral of the evolutionary development cycle for FFP1+ Investigate issues that surfaced within FFP1 URET program but beyond CCLD baseline Migration of Conflict Probe from D- to R-side Investigate integration with other automation: Datalink, Traffic Management Unit, and multi- sector planning position Additional details in U.S. Future Perspectives briefing