A computer-based system, and a method built around the use of the system, have been developed to automate the acquisition, integration, and management of data that have been generated at different rates by multiple, heterogeneous, incompatible sources. The system [hereafter denoted the "TMS" (for "traffic-management system")] in its original form is intended for use in improving the management of ground traffic at a large, busy airport in order to reduce delays. The TMS could also be adapted to scheduling the movements of multiple vehicles in other settings — for example, vessels in harbors, trucks or railroad cars in shipping yards, and railroad cars in switching yards. Still other uses for the TMS could include managing containers at a shipping dock, managing stock on a factory floor or in a warehouse, and training of a variety of airline, airport, and government personnel in the management of airport ground traffic.

The TMS is a Client/Server System that helps various user groups to increase the level of coordination of airport operations and thereby reduce ground-traffic delays.
The basic TMS concept admits of variations. In a preferred representative version, the TMS is a client/server computer system that shares real-time aircraft-operations data among the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airlines, airport managers, and ramp controllers. The TMS (see figure) includes executive, information, input-management, prediction, and client-interface subsystems that are interconnected to participate in the interchange of real-time aircraft-operations data among the aforementioned groups. In addition to raising the level of coordination among these groups, the TMS generates its value-added data products for their use. These data products include estimated times of arrival of airplanes at gates and estimated airplane-departure times. The TMS uses expert-system software to fuse data in order to establish and update reference data values for every aircraft surface operation.

The executive subsystem is responsible for controlling the other subsystems, starting and shutting down processes at scheduled times, monitoring system components for error and warning conditions, notifying system-support personnel of detected system errors, and, when possible, recovering from system failures. Additional duties of the executive subsystem include facilitating diagnoses of faults in subsystems, providing remote access for monitoring and control, maintaining system statistics, and managing user accounts. The executive subsystem can issue commands to reset various hardware components of the TMS.

The input-management subsystem is a collection of computer programs that handle the data coming in from various sources via network or serial links. In turn, the input-management subsystem feeds the data to the information subsystem.

The prediction subsystem is responsible for integrating all the input data in order to monitor the progress of arriving and departing flights, and to predict key events, including pushbacks (departures from gates), takeoffs, touchdowns, and arrivals at gates. The integrated monitoring information and predicted values are fed back to the information subsystem for display by the client-interface subsystem.

The client-interface subsystem is a collection of computer programs. In a preferred version of the TMS, the client-interface system distributes flight, TMS-status, and schedule data from the information subsystem to various clients, including the aforementioned sources of data and user groups and possibly other clients at remote locations. It also provides a graphical user interface for continuously displaying flight data on a bit-mapped display, and for executing various commands to change the data or the method of display.

This work was done by Brian J. Glass, Liljana Spirkovska, William J. McDermott, Ronald J. Reisman, James Gibson, and David L. Iverson of Ames Research Center. For further information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp  under the Electronic Components & Systems category.

This invention has been patented by NASA (U.S. Patent No. 6,161,097). Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for its commercial development should be addressed to the Patent Counsel, Ames Research Center, (650) 604-5104. Refer to ARC-14268.

Topics:
Aircraft Airports Electronics & Computers Marine vehicles and equipment Public transportation systems Vehicles
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NASA Tech Briefs Magazine

This article first appeared in the February, 2002 issue of NASA Tech Briefs Magazine (Vol. 26 No. 2).

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