EOLIA Project: Enhancing ATC Datalink Services for Air and Ground Systems

1. European pre-Operational Datalink Applications EOLIA Project Overview and Summary Results Gary Colledge NATS Evaluation Results Mark Green ATN 2000 26th September 2000, IEE, London

2. Airbus Industrie Background • Sponsors • Lead Partner • Main Partners • Sub-Partners Project span 4.5 years, 4th Framework DGXIII 3 years for development & deployment 1.5 years for evaluation & flight trials Project completed in June 2000

3. Achievements • Defined, developed & integrated prototype datalink ATC services, selected by User Forum • Evaluated ATC Datalink Services, Procedures and Human Factors issues • Completed Studies; Safety and Cost Benefits • Demonstrated & evaluated datalink services using ‘enabling technology’ from ProATN • First implementation of ATN datalink on industry standard avionics equipment

4. ProATN • Prototype ATN (ProATN) - ‘sister’ project to EOLIA, providing enabling infrastructure; routers, communication software, trials networks etc,.

5. EOLIA life cycle Project Management WP1AMA Airborne End System Development WP4AMA User Reqs, Safety and Costs Benefits System Engineering Validation and Evaluation WP2NATS WP3NLR WP6Sof Ground End System Development WP5 A-ATM NATS, NLR, A-ATM, Sof developed ground systems,NLR, AMA developed airborne systems

6. The ‘Service Layer’ Philosophy • The datalink ‘service layer’ provides a set of common functions between the ATN application layer and local end user systems (air and ground). The EOLIA service layer provides: • a common implementation of the ODIAC services • error handling functionality • constraining the ATN applications for utilisation in specific airspace

7. EOLIA services • DLIC - Data Link Initiation Capability A mandatory service that is required to provide the underlying communications functionality for use by all other services • APR - Aircraft Position Reporting Enables the air situation to be displayed visually to the controller • ACM - ATC Communications Management Provides automated assistance in transferring communications between ATC sectors • ACL - ATC Clearances Allows the pilot and controller to exchange clearance and information messages

8. EOLIA Services (2) • FLIPCY - Flight Plan Consistency Provides automatic cross-checking of the flight plan information held by the ATC system on the ground and the Flight Management System on board the aircraft • DSC - Downstream Clearance Enables the aircrew to request and obtain clearances and information from air traffic units that will be responsible for control of the aircraft some time in the future Note: Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS ) functional definition/ studies. Not implemented. Dynamic Route Availability (DYNAV)not implemented.

9. WP highlights • Prioritisation of services, Definition for implementation (D21) • Benefits reports; Safety (D22) Costs (D24) • Functional definition, code development • Completion of EOLIA ground systems(SARPs v1.1 +PDRs) • AIRSYS ATM StandAlone System ‘SAS’ • SOFREAVIA (CENA & STNA) • NLR ‘NARSIM’ • NATS (Air Traffic Management Development Centre ‘PRELUDE’ & London ‘NATS-SAS’)

10. WP highlights (2) • Completion of EOLIA airborne systems(SARPs v1.1 +PDRs) • Development of Air Traffic Services Unit (ATSU) for Airbus simulator, NLR test bay & NLR Citation (FANS A compliant methodology) • Development of ground FLIPCY • Airsys-ATM: developed and tested with air-ground data generator / live trials • NATS: integrated and tested in NATS simulator / live trials

11. WP highlights (3) • Evaluation activities • Le Bourget air show • Ground simulations • CENA experiments • NLR NARSIM simulations • Airsys-ATM AGDG aircraft simulation • NATS simulations • Citation Flight trials • Evaluation report (D64)

12. Le Bourget Airshow ‘99 • EOLIA “Kernel” Functionality • Limited functionality DLIC, ACM & APR • Limited ACL message set • No FLICPY • Demonstrations at Airshow • “A340 simulator”  A-ATM SAS via video-link • NLR Cessna Citation II  A-ATM SAS (6 flights)

13. Deliverables

14. Services Evaluated

15. PHLAB \ 078 190 190 312 C550 Controller Working Position (CWP) HMI Commonality CENA • HMIs were developed for each partner’s individual ATM system • It is evident that common concepts have been used in the various partners’ HMIs • Underlying ATM systems require some fundamental differences to exist in partners’ HMIs NATS NLR

16. EOLIA airborne HMI Multifunction Control and Display Unit (MCDU) Datalink Control and Display Unit (DCDU)

17. 2 new DCDUs 2 new Attention Getters 1 ‘ATC COM’ key on MCDU Airbus Datalink HMI

18. NATS - NLR Live Trials • Two flights were flown with the NLR Citation/Satcom equipped. • 13/04/2000: Amsterdam through Dutch Temporary Reserved Airspace (TRA) and return • 14/04/2000: Amsterdam to Teeside (UK) and return • A scripted sequence of tests was prepared to cover; • DLIC, APR, FLIPCY, ACM, ACL • ACL messages were sent to a full cockpit implementation of the datalink system in the cabin of the aircraft. (The instructions were then passed to the pilots who then made the appropriate flight inputs.) • During the Amsterdam-Teeside flights, ACL exchanges were conducted purely for engineering test purposes and had no effect on the course of the flight.

19. Message Transfer Delays - Summary • Application - Application layer timing via Satcom, 2 ground routers in comms chain • Uplink (252 messages) • Min.1.4s, Mean 6.71s, 95% 20.08s, Max. 36s • Downlink (343 messages) • Min.3.5s, Mean 11.35s, 95% 23.98s, Max. 39.9s

20. CPDLC Transfer Delays

21. CPDLC Message Lengths

22. ADS Transfer Delays

23. ADS Message Lengths

24. EOLIAEuropean pre-Operational DataLInk ApplicationsFindings ofNATS January 2000 Simulation

25. NATS EOLIA Simulations The object of the simulation was to obtain initial controller feedback regarding the HMI and datalink procedures December 1998 The object of the simulation was to obtain further feedback on the enhanced HMI and ATC procedures for datalink. Initial exposure / opinion of the DSC service April 1999 January 2000 The object of the simulation was to measure controller workload in a controlled environment.

26. Objectives • To measure and assess controller workload • To run enhanced simulations of selected EOLIA services • To enable controller assessment of the simulated EOLIA services How: • Real-time simulations were conducted using a Swanwick representative platform. Data was collected and subsequently analysed. The results from the R/T baseline exercises were compared with the results from the Datalink exercises.

27. Services simulated • Data Link Initiation Capability Service (DLIC) • ATC Communications Management Service (ACM) • Partial ACM: Voice in / VCI out • Full ACM: MRT in / VCI out • Downstream Clearance Service (DSC) • DSC STAR Fully automatic • Flight Plan Consistency Checking Service (FLIPCY)

28. D A N D I S K A T E U W 5 3 4 N E W U W 5 3 8 G O R A M U W 5 3 2 G A Z A R U R 4 F A M B O G I G G S U L 7 R O L L S U L 7 4 S I L V A R O Y C E L O N A M U L 6 0 2 O T R U R 4 B 1 / U B 1 D O G G A G O L E S T O P P A B E E N O K I P P A U L 6 0 3 E L D I N S I T K O K O M I K B L U F A S P Y U W 5 5 0 U A 3 7 U W 5 5 1 P A M S P R A T Airspace simulated

29. Traffic Samples Four traffic samples were used for the simulation runs. The percentage ratio of datalink equipped aircraft was set to 70% for the datalink exercises. Sample A1_60 • 80 aircraft sample • 120 minute duration • 90 minutes effective traffic • training sample / light traffic loading • 41 aircraft per hour per sector Sample B2_75 • 98 aircraft sample • 110 minute duration • 90 minutes effective traffic • 20% above average 1999 traffic loading • 53 aircraft per hour per sector

30. Simulation Participants A total of six operational Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) were utilised during the January simulations. The controllers were trained in the use of datalink HMI prior to measured exercises being conducted. The timetable was designed so as to permit the datalink services to be run in isolation, in pairs and with all three in combination. The results obtained from the datalink exercises were compared against results obtained during the baseline exercises (R/T only).

31. Datalink HMI Components

32. DLIC Log-on

33. DSC Indicates that a Downstream CPDLC Link Exists between the Aircraft and the London Ground System

34. DSC STAR Request The system automatically generates a response, based upon data previously input into the system, and uplinks the information to the aircraft.

35. Current and Downstream Data Authorities CDA Link • DSC • (STAR Delivery) • ACM • ACL Voice R/T DDA Link Maastricht London

36. Current Data Authority

37. FLIPCY The Flight Plan Consistency (FLIPCY) Service detects discrepancies between a flight’s planned routing held in the local ATC system and the aircraft’s routing intention as held within the aircraft’s Flight Management System (FMS). Discrepancies are notified to both the Planner and Tactical controllers at appropriate stages of the flight.

38. The Evaluation Results

39. Measurements and Analyses • Questionnaires • Controller Workbooks • Software Useability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) Questionnaire • Debriefs - individual, group and brainstorming sessions • Summary Tables, e.g. ISA, R/T duration and quantity • Transfer of Communication point (QSY) analysis • Conflict Analysis • Datalink Message Analysis • Outcomm / Incomm interval • Safety Analysis

40. R/T Loading Findings • A reduction in the percentage of exercise time spent using R/T was observed for most of the datalink service conditions. • The most notable decreases in R/T utilisation (44.8% on Sector 11) occurred when all datalink services are combined. • The only increase (14%) in R/T on Sector 11 occurred for the exercise using the DSC service alone. • The mean of the total percentage time spent on R/T during all of the exercises was calculated as 21%. • The average duration of an R/T message was approximately constant at three to four seconds.

41. R/T Loading Findings (2) Percentage of exercise time using R/T

42. Controller Workload • Although not conclusive, the results from the ISA scores indicate that controller workload benefits may be realised through the introduction of datalink services • Exercises where datalink services were combined showed a consistent reduction in controller workload when compared with the baseline condition • When compared with the reduction due to individual datalink services, the findings are indicative that there is a greater workload saving when the services are used in combination, i.e. in pairs or in threes • When datalink services were simulated individually, the FLIPCY service produced the greatest workload reduction

43. Controller Workload (2)

44. Controller Workload (3)

45. Controller Workload (4) • From the subjective questionnaire data, five out of the six controllers thought that datalink did not impact upon the pace of their tasks. • All participating controllers thought that a fully automated DSC STAR service resulted in fewer repetitive tasks when compared with the R/T environment. • Feedback obtained during debriefs showed a clear controller preference for the fully automatic version of the DSC STAR service

46. Safety Benefits Overall, the participating controllers felt that the implemented datalink services offered the potential to enhance safety. • Four out of the six participants believed that datalink would reduce errors, e.g the elimination of aircraft taking the wrong call. • The controllers believed that the ACM service offered a significant safety benefit as it could eliminate the sending / receiving of incorrect R/T frequencies. • A safety benefit in avoiding aircrew mishearing / misunderstanding of STAR message, which tend to be long and complex, was reported. • The controllers stated that the FLIPCY service offered a safety benefit, resulting from the early detection and presentation of route discrepancies to the FIR entry sector controller.

47. Summary • Exercises where datalink services were combined generally resulted in a decrease in workload • The FLIPCY service produced a workload reduction when the selected services were simulated individually. • Decreases in R/T usage are likely to result from the introduction of the selected datalink services. • The largest reduction in time spent using R/T occurred when all the implemented datalink services were used in combination • Controllers expressed some concern over delays in response time for datalink when compared to R/T

48. Summary (2) • The participating controllers stated that the implemented datalink services offered potential safety benefits • The participating controllers expressed concern about the total transaction time to transfer communications via the datalink medium • Controller feedback suggested that the FLIPCY service definition should be enhanced to allow development of a controller tool that would enable route discrepancies not only to be detected, but also to be resolved • The services simulated were considered suitable for “housekeeping” tasks

49. Summary Airbus Industrie

50. ATC Benefits / Issues - Summary • R/T workload was reduced. In one trial, R/T reductions ranged from 7% to 13% for single services, from 15% to 19% for paired services and from 27% to 43% for services in triplet. • In terms of general workload, the results are not conclusive but indicate that workload benefits may accrue through the introduction of datalink. • Datalink was felt to enable increased task sharing between controllers.