Aeronautical Communications Research Articles

AIR SAFETY, LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT POLICY, AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF AVIATION ENGLISH

The language of international aviation communication is English, but numerous aviation incidents and accidents have involved miscommunication between pilots and air traffic controllers, many of whom are not native speakers of the language. In 2004 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published a set of Language Proficiency Requirements and a Proficiency Rating Scale, and by 5 March 2008, air traffic controllers and pilots were required by the ICAO to have a certificate attesting to their proficiency in the language used for international aeronautical communication. Although some organizations made efforts to produce tests by the deadline, in the event an implementation period was allowed, with a new deadline of March 2011. This article describes a number of surveys of tests of aviation English, the implementation of the ICAO requirements, and the rating scales. It concludes that many of the assessment procedures appear not to meet international professional standards for language tests, the implementation of the language assessment policy is inadequate, and much more careful and close monitoring is needed of the quality of the tests and assessment procedures required by the policy.

항공통신 네트워크에서 보안구조 및 모델

In this paper, it is reviewed security architecture and proposed security model about secure aeronautical system, which is considering in the cynical research topics out of aeronautical traffic system. The reviewed contents is treated about security model fur domestic aeronautical system with international security technology trends in the basis of security technology related aeronautical services. In the security framework of aeronautical communication network, it is analyzed data link security technology between air and ground communication, and security architecture in according to aeronautical system, and presented security architecture of U information HUB model. The security architecture of U-information HUB includes the internetworking scope of airline, airport network, airplane network, and related government agency, etc.

Language Proficiency in Aeronautical Communications: Some Recent Developments

Consequent upon the mid–air collision over India in 1996 which resulted in the death of 349 persons, and particularly since 1998, ICAO has made consistent efforts to standardize language proficiency for pilots and air traffic controllers. The issue has reached critical proportions in recent times due to the exponential growth in air traffic which involves longer flights operated by ultra long–range aircraft crossing several territorial boundaries within a given flight. Such conditions could cause fatigue among air crew, leading them to misunderstand instructions, particularly if they are unfamiliar with the language of communication with the tower. Failures in communication bring to bear the compelling need for a standardized aviation language that all those who are involved in the technical operation of a flight could speak and understand. Recent measures by ICAO to strengthen and standardize global regulation in language proficiency include Resolution A 36–11, which, inter alia, recognizes the need for work in introducing language provisions to ensure that air traffic personnel and pilots are proficient in conducting and comprehending radiotelephony communications in the English language. It also acknowledges that the language provisions reinforce the requirement to use ICAO standardized phraseology in all situations for which it has been specified. Based on these observations the Resolution specifies several requirements that ICAO Member States should meet. This article traces regulatory measures taken and inquires into the legalities of such measures and the obligation of States.

The economical viability for satellite systems providing safety aeronautical communications

Air traffic forecast projects an important increase of aeronautical communications at the 2020 timeframe. The actual communication infrastructure which supports ATM (Air Traffic Management) cannot ...

The ANASTASIA project: A contribution to the definition of a future aeronautical communication system

Project objectives: The core of ANASTASIA (Airborne New Advanced Satellite Techniques & Technologies in a System Integrated Approach) research is to provide on-board Communication, Navigation and S...

EDA toolbox for VHF Data Link system simulation

Commercial communication systems design software is usually shipped with libraries and toolboxes covering standards like GSM or UMTS. For designing aeronautical communication systems such ready-to-use libraries are rare. Low-level elements and functional blocks have to be adopted and used instead. In this paper a toolbox consisting of system elements for the use with electronic design automation software was developed. It enables radiofrequency design engineers to perform system level simulations using specialised components dedicated to aeronautical communication. For this, functional blocks within the physical layer of VHF Data Link were defined and made available. They cover basic radio frequency (RF) baseband operations as well as modulation, demodulation and power-ramp functionality. The library was tested and verified with a VHF Data Link Mode 4 signal generation application as well as with a VHF Data Link Mode 2 system simulation set-up. While the toolbox presented in this paper is intended to speed up development cycles by providing ready-to-use VHF Data Link functional blocks to radiofrequency system engineers, it is also a useful tool in signal generation and receiver testing.

Operational concept for multi-carrier broadband VHF communications

Operational air traffic management needs have led to the concept of the broadband VHF (B-VHF) aeronautical communications system. This explains the functional principles, architecture, and internal mechanisms of the B-YHF system, showing how it can be used to provide the existing aeronautical voice and data link communications services and a multitude of new data link services expected for the next decade or two.

NEWSKY – A concept for networking the sky for civil aeronautical communications

An efficient and sustainable network for aeronautical communications is required to enable the implementation of a range of operational improvements needed to support the expected growth in air transportation. The NEWSKY project (“NEtWorking the SKY”) is co-funded by the European Commission within the 6th Framework Programme and was initiated with the aim to develop a concept of a global aeronautical communication network based on Internet technologies. NEWSKY focuses on the design of an IPv6 based network for air-ground communications by supplementing existing concepts to be applicable to aeronautics. NEWSKY pursues the vision of “Networking the Sky” by integrating different radio link technologies and different applications into a single IP-based aeronautical network. The integration of satellite-based, ground-based and airport communication links is targeted. The envisaged application classes comprise not only safety related services as Air Traffic Services (ATS) and Aeronautical Operation Control (AOC), but also non safety related services as Airline Administrative Communications (AAC) and passenger communications (APC). The transition from the current ACARS and Aeronautical Telecommunication Network based on OSI technologies (ATN/OSI) is considered. As a result, the modular and highly flexible architecture of the proposed NEWSKY approach helps to create a future aeronautical communication system which is viable well beyond 2020.

The economical viability for satellite systems providing safety aeronautical communications

Air traffic forecast projects an important increase of aeronautical communications at the 2020 timeframe. The actual communication infrastructure which supports ATM (Air Traffic Management) cannot deal with this evolution of data volume exchanged in dense areas. The SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) European project has started to prepare the Future Communication Infrastructure (FCI), with aviation stakeholders. To feed the investigations on the Future Communication Infrastructure, a joint study between ESA (European Space Agency) and CNES has been performed to prove that satellite communications system can be a good candidate to participate in the FCI. Technical and economical viability have been studied during this activity.

Air Traffic Management (ATM) communications and satellites: An overview of EUROCONTROL's activities

This paper provides an overview of the EUROCONTROL activities and involvement in relation to using satellite communications to support the aviation requirements in the context of the work to define the future aeronautical communications infrastructure. In addition, the paper discusses the key issues that need to be addressed and describes a potential model that could contribute to the greater utilisation of satellite aeronautical communications in the future.

The ANASTASIA project: A contribution to the definition of a future aeronautical communication system

Project objectives: The core of ANASTASIA (Airborne New Advanced Satellite Techniques & Technologies in a System Integrated Approach) research is to provide on-board Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) solutions to cope with the foreseen doubling of air traffic by 2020. ANASTASIA will carry out research of future technology and system architectures for navigation, resulting in the development of a new generation of airborne Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers for all phases of flight. Such systems will offer accurate and safe global navigation while reducing avionics cost through the optimisation of the number and complexity of on board equipment. On the communication side, work will concentrate on the design and implementation of a prototype Satcom system that will meet the evolving European Air Traffic Management (ATM) requirements. Research will also be made into higher bandwidth services, systems and airborne equipment to efficiently meet long term future aircraft communication requirements, including both ATM and passenger needs. The future needs of Surveillance will be consolidated with the requirements and key technology tests from Communications and Navigation. Expected results: The main goal of ANASTASIA is to pave the way for the introduction of new satellite-based technologies into aircraft operations in both Navigation and Communications. The main outcome of ANASTASIA will be recommendations for future civil aircraft operation and a set of evaluated technologies and avionics architectures achievable from 2010 that will enable more autonomous, satellite-based aircraft operation. Paper focus: After a general description of the rationale of the project and of its global CNS objectives, the focus is made in this paper on the communication side where more detailed objectives and initial results are presented.

NEWSKY - Concept for NEtWorking the SKY for Civil Aeronautical Communications

In this paper, an overview of the NEWSKY project is given. This project is funded by the European Commission within the 6th framework program and is scheduled to start in early 2007. The NEWSKY project is a feasibility study to clarify if it is possible to establish a heterogeneous network for aeronautical communications which is capable of integrating different communications systems as well as different applications into a single global aeronautical network. The envisaged applications comprise not only air traffic control and management but also airline and passenger communications

VDL mode E receiver performance measurments

VDL Mode E is a digital communications system proposed as a worldwide standard for replacement of the existing analog AM voice system used for VHF aeronautical communications. It provides a needed increase in voice channel capacity as well as offering a digital data link for CPDLC with the high integrity and low latency needed for time-critical ATC messages. This report summarizes results of measurements of proposed minimum requirements for an aeronautical receiver for VDL Mode E. A software defined radio (SDR) currently used in Commercial Air Transport communications was used for the tests.

On the Characterization of Cochannel Interference in an Aeronautical Mobile Environment

In this paper, complex cochannel interference of an aeronautical communication system operating in a heavy-traffic environment of 3000 aircraft is modeled and analyzed using a visualization method. This method transforms the cochannel interference, which is specified in terms of message overlaps, from a visual representation to a matrix representation of message overlaps for further statistical analysis. We show that the statistical Poisson distribution provides the best estimates for the message-overlap statistics results. In addition, its cumulative distribution is found to provide useful information regarding the multimessage-decoding capability of a special type of receiver. The results demonstrate that message-overlap statistics could aid in determining the best approach for mitigating cochannel interference

QoS Support in ARINC 664 P8 Data Networks: ATN Applications Over TCP/IP Ground-to-Ground Subnetworks

Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) has been developed by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to integrate air-ground and ground-ground data communications for aeronautical applications into a single network serving air traffic control and aeronautical operational communications. The current ICAO ATN model specifies a standalone network with its own protocols, which requires building an expensive separate network for air-ground and ground-ground communications. However, the cost of building ATN can be reduced if it can use existing networks wherever possible, such as the Internet.ARINC 664 Part 8 committee has been developing an approach for inter-operation of ATN applications over the commercial TCP/IP networks. To carry time critical information required for aeronautical applications,ATN provides different Quality of Services (QoS) to applications. Although the current Internet does not provide QoS, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) developed the Differentiated Services (DiffServ) network to provide differential QoS to users of next generation data networks. The objective of this paper is to investigate the possibility and conduct a proof-of-concept evaluation of providing QoS to ATN applications over the DiffServ network in the next generation Internet. Our results show that the QoS requirements ofATN applications for ground-to-ground communications can be successfully satisfied when ATN is run over a DiffServ backbone.

VDL mode 3 digital voice operation

VHF data link (VDL) mode 3 is a digital TDMA communications system developed by the FAA and industry partners as a replacement for the existing 25 kHz analog AM systems currently used for VHF aeronautical communications. VDL mode 3 provides increased channel capacity and security for both voice and data link communications. This paper provides a report on the first Supplemental Type Certification recently issued for production-ready and FAA Technical Standard Order (TSO) approved VDL Mode 3 avionics

Performance and Capacity of Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum Overlay in the Microwave Landing System Band

We examine the performance of a direct-sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system used in a spectral overlay mode in the Microwave Landing System (MLS) band, from 5091–5150 MHz. The purpose of the overlay system is to enable increased spectral efficiency (higher data throughput), for future potential aeronautical datalink communications, particularly for short-range systems such as for airport surface, and terminal areas. We estimate the performance degradation incurred by both systems for a range of relative transmit powers, several DS-SS bandwidths and data rates, and example MLS and DS-SS system parameters, including the number of DS-SS users. We also briefly examine the use of multicarrier (MC) DS-SS signaling techniques. Our study uses both analysis and computer simulations, and complements prior work done for the use of DS-SS in the Instrument Landing System Glideslope band, where the ILS signal is an analog signal, in contrast to the (analog and) digital MLS signal. We provide examples that explore both MLS and DS-SS system parameter values appropriate for the successful application of overlay.

Characteristics and Capacity of VDL Mode 2, 3, and 4 Subnetworks

In the current National Airspace System (NAS), voice communications for Air Traffic Services (ATS) are transmitted by analog VHF radios. Aeronautical Operational Communications (AOC) use a character-oriented system operating in the VHF band known as Aircraft CommunicationsAddressing and Reporting System (ACARS). These radios are neither capable of supporting the growth in air traffic expected in the near future, nor are they capable of enabling new services under development. Three bit-oriented digital VHF radios, VDL Modes 2, 3, and 4, have been proposed as solutions to frequency congestion in the aeronautical VHF band. In this paper each mode is investigated through simulations which explore their individual characteristics under variable loads. The three modes are also tested in realistic terminal and en route domain scenarios. The capacity of each mode is estimated based on the subnetwork delays specified in the standards. The results indicate that VDL Mode 2 can support the highest traffic load, but cannot provide deterministic delays for critical applications. Mode 3 supports the least load due to large downlink delays, but provides the required mechanisms for critical information transfer. Mode 4 has a marginally higher capacity than Mode 3 with similar prioritization capabilities.

Convergence and technology acceleration in non-safety aeronautical mobile-satellite communications: Policy for the 21st century

Abstract Commercial activities from outer space have largely consisted of satellite communications. Whilst the maritime and land-mobile services can now be regarded as mature, the next growth area is anticipated in the provision of non-safety aeronautical mobile-satellite services, a service which is now poised to expand significantly in an era marked by competition and convergence of communications technologies. This article highlights and analyses pertinent institutional, legal and regulatory issues, describing what the law is, while making recommendations relating to what the current law should become if the rules were changed to accord with good policy.

Forward Link Performance of Data Packet Transmission in an Aeronautical CDMA Cellular System

Since the interference is quite related to the performance of CDMA cellular systems, it is necessary to estimate Other-Cell-Interference Factor (OCIF). Here, starting from OCIF calculation for an aeronautical communication system, we investigate the forward link performance of data packet transmission in which the capacity, throughput and delay of the system are measured. To the numerical results, one can see that the performance of the aeronautical communication system is worse than that for terrestrial cellular systems and also depends logarithmically on both the cell radius and height.