The final link in the ATC surveillance chain is the presentation of accurate information to the controllers, giving them situational awareness of both air and ground traffic. The display component of any surveillance solution naturally plays a vital role in the safe and efficient management of aircraft both in the vicinity of aerodromes and en-route to their destinations.
As ANSPs face up to the challenges of achieving efficient gate-to-gate operations, they are increasingly required to integrate information from multiple sources, and to present different views of this data to enable seamless switching between each phase of a flight. At the same time, ANSPs are under pressure to reduce costs and enable greater flexibility in working practices, while reducing complexity at controller working positions. ATC must also cope with new potential safety threats arising from uncoordinated drone operations.
The Air Situation Display (ASD) product from Frequentis Comsoft provides a configurable, high-performance user interface for air traffic controllers and aerodrome flight information service officers. Designed by controllers, for controllers, ASD features an optimised, heads-up display that reduces workload and prioritises the most important information. Multiple ancillary windows complement and enrich the information shown in the main traffic window, keeping controllers focused on core tasks but also aware of supporting data – for example, weather conditions.
Built-in support for flight data handling enables controllers to create, edit and save flight plans, then match data against current aircraft tracks by callsign, Mode S address or Mode 3/A code. ASD features a highly adaptable functional model, enabling users to configure the system to meet their operational requirements and display preferences in tower, approach and en-route settings.
Plug-and-play installation and integration with both legacy and web-based environments helps ensure rapid, cost-effective deployment, and ASD’s modular architecture makes it easy to add functionality – for example SafetyNets features such as Short Term Conflict Alerts (STCA), Area Proximity Warnings (APW) and Minimum Safe Altitude Warnings (MSAW).
ASD can be used within a unified solution spanning multiple remote sites, and can scale from a single working position up to a distributed control and monitoring system with multiple data-acquisition and control-centre sites. Open interfaces and conformity to industry standards help future-proof the system, and there are no single points of failure across hardware, software or networking components.
Frequentis Comsoft also offers a range of tools to support surveillance, including R2D2-V2: a state-of-the-art system for the legal recording and replay of surveillance data, audio data, and screen content. Combined with the RMD‑V2 product, R2D2-V2 enables comprehensive post-event analysis and investigation.
To help ensure conformity to ASTERIX standards, Frequentis Comsoft offers its EUROCONTROL-qualified RAPS (radar analysis and playback system) product. RAPS – now in its third iteration – is a highly versatile tool that enables organisations to generate, test, analyse, filter, convert and validate surveillance data. System and radar engineers can use RAPS for system testing, fault analysis, quality monitoring and trouble shooting.
Portfolio of ATM modules:
- ASD: Air Situation Display
- MDAS: Military Display Automation System
- SafetyNets: Short term conflict alert system
- R2D2-V2: Recording & replay of digital data
- RMD-V2: Radar Monitoring Display