NASA Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports

s WINCOMM Project has used the CRABS tool, shown in Figure 1, to provide a platform for data recording, display, and
analysis of the Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) information in a bench test environment.
Using a laptop computer the CRABS software was able connect to an ADS-B avionics suite and graphically display reported
position data and TAMDAR information passed over the ADS-B data link, as well as display graphical Next Generation
Weather RADAR (NEXRAD) data and selected text weather products. In the future the CRABS software will be used to
provide an easily configured display for prototypes of additional weather products that may be transmitted on the ADS-B data
link.
Derived from text
Computer Systems Programs; Broadcasting; Real Time Operation; Meteorological Radar; Meteorological Parameters; Radar
Data; Data Recording; Data Links; Avionics; Transmitter Receivers
20060002313 George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA, USA
A 4D Flight Profile Server and Probability-Based 4D Weather Objects: Toward a Common-Core Toolset for the NAS
Klein, Alexander; Proceedings of the Fifth Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (ICNS) Conference and
Workshop; November 2005; 23 pp.; In English; See also 20060002231; Original contains color illustrations; No Copyright;
Avail.: CASI: A03, Hardcopy; Available from CASI on CD-ROM only as part of the entire parent document
We present a concept for a NAS-wide high-performance server providing up-to-the-minute information on predicted 4D
flight profiles (4DFP s) for all aircraft in the NAS, both airborne and those still on ground. The 4D information on significant
weather objects, such as convective weather cells, is also provided by the server and is ‘fuzzy’ (probability based). The server
facilitates instantaneous traffic forecasting, combined with weather forecasting, for predictive management of traffic flows both
NAS-wide and at major local facilities. The data on the server is shared and used by both traffic flow management and airline
operations centers. This common, rapid-access database features asynchronous operation: a variety of authorized tools and
applications are able to access the data, update or add 4D flight and weather information, calculate reroutes etc at any time.
Each time, the updated information becomes immediately available to all users. One possible way of using this capability is
fast-forwarding, or ‘nowcasting’, whereby the user can project the traffic and weather situation ahead, perhaps up to two hours
ahead, in seconds, and can view the traffic/weather animation on the screen. These tools would be parts of a Common Core
data- and toolset shared by air navigation service providers and NAS users. Potential benefits include improved productivity,
reduced delays and less extra miles flown.
Author
Air Navigation; Flight Paths; Probability Theory; Predictions; Flow Distribution; Data Bases; Forecasting
20060002319 Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis, MN, USA
Adjustable Range Broadcast for Desired Airborne Network Connectivity
Zhao, Yiyuan J.; Wang, Yang; Proceedings of the Fifth Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (ICNS)
Conference and Workshop; November 2005; 18 pp.; In English; See also 20060002231; Original contains color illustrations;
No Copyright; Avail.: CASI: A03, Hardcopy; Available from CASI on CD-ROM only as part of the entire parent document
Airborne networks are special types of ad hoc wireless networks that can be used on air vehicles, moving platforms, and
ground stations to enhance situational awareness, coordination, and efficiency. This is achieved through the exchange of state
information among individual vehicles in a timely, reliable, and secure fashion. In commercial aircraft operation, for example,
it is essential for pilots and/or ground controllers to maintain a high level of situational awareness of neighboring traffic. The
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) concept has emerged as a feasible and low-cost system for such
purposes. In ADS-B, an aircraft automatically broadcasts its position, velocity, and other information on a regular basis (every
one second or so) via a digital data link. All properly equipped aircraft within a certain range can receive this information.
Because an aircraft only broadcasts its own state information periodically, however, the current ADS-B concept is essentially
a single-node operation scheme and its range is limited to the direct transmission range of the airborne antenna. In order to
increase the transmission range, a network extension of the ADS-B concept was proposed, in which individual aircraft not only
broadcast their own state information, but also relay received information of other aircraft; thus forming a multi-hop
broadcasting system. This airborne network is shown to be able to greatly enhance the range of reach-ability of aircraft state
information transmission. The current paper extends the multi-hop airborne network concept to allow for individual vehicles
to adjust their broadcast ranges in order to establish network connectivity over a specified safety region needed for
airborne-based self separation. In this concept, a desired safety region is first defined for a given cluster of aircraft. Each
17