Publications
Effect of interference on the performance of a minimum TCAS II
September 5, 1985
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-132
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Summary
Minimum TCAS II equipment is required to operate reliably in all aircraft densities up to the 0.3 transponder-equipped aircraft per square nautical mile anticipated in the Los Angeles Basin in the year 2000. Prototype TCAS equipment has been developed and shown to be capable of providing reliable surveillance in today's highest densities, which reach an average of about 0.1 aircraft per square nmi. Since there are no existing environments that reach the density of asynchronous interference anticipated for the Los Angeles Basin in the year 2000, it is necessary to generate simulated interference to determine the performance of the TCAS II design in that environment. A series of bench tests were conducted at Lincoln Laboratory for this purpose. Special sources were used to generate asynchronous ATCRBS and Mode S reply signals (Fruit) and TCAN/DME squitter and interrogation signals. Synchronous ATCRBS and Mode S reply sequences were also generated to simulate airborne encounters. The performance was evaluated by observing hoe the interference signals either degraded the ability of a TCAS II unit to receive, process, and track the desired synchronous reply sequences, or caused the TCAS II unit to generate false tracks.
Summary
Minimum TCAS II equipment is required to operate reliably in all aircraft densities up to the 0.3 transponder-equipped aircraft per square nautical mile anticipated in the Los Angeles Basin in the year 2000. Prototype TCAS equipment has been developed and shown to be capable of providing reliable surveillance in today's...
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Evaluation of the ASR-9 weather reflectivity product
June 21, 1985
Conference Paper
Published in:
Proc. Second Int. Conf. on the Aviation Weather System, 19-21 June 1985, pp. 196-202.
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The ASR-9 is a modern airport surveillance radar (ASR) under procurement by the United States Federal Aviation Agency. The radar operates at S-band, providing range-azimuth position information on aircraft targets within a 111-km radius. A fully-coherent klystron amplifier, large dynamic range and digital signal processing enable high integrity target processing and display under condition of ground clutter, weather, angel clutter, RF interference and ground vehicular traffic. To aid controllers in the identification of hazardous weather conditions, the processor will also generate two- or six-level weather reflectivity contours for display at the terminal radar control center and (potentially) remote sites. In this paper, we present an overview of the ASR-9 and its weather processor, emphasizing those features that raise issues with respect to the utility of the weather reflectivity product in an air-traffic control environment. We then describe a simulation procedure that utilizes pencil-beam Doppler weather radar data and ground clutter measurements to preview the ASR-9 product and assess the effects of the radar's configuration on the weather intensity reports. Examples of the simulated weather reports are used to illustrate" (a) partial beamfilling die to the fan-shaped surveillance antenna pattern; (b) attenuation of low velocity weather by the clutter filters' (c) the effects of the spatial filters used in weather processing.
Summary
The ASR-9 is a modern airport surveillance radar (ASR) under procurement by the United States Federal Aviation Agency. The radar operates at S-band, providing range-azimuth position information on aircraft targets within a 111-km radius. A fully-coherent klystron amplifier, large dynamic range and digital signal processing enable high integrity target processing...
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The FAA/MIT Lincoln Laboratory Doppler Weather Radar Program
June 21, 1985
Conference Paper
Published in:
Proc. Second Int. Conf. on the Aviation Weather Systems, 19-21 June 1985, pp. 76-79.
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Summary
Adverse weather is the leading cause of aircraft accidents in the United States. In order to improve hazardous weather detection and warning capability for aviation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is pursuing a two part Doppler weather radar program. The first part consists of a joint program with the National Weather Service (NWS) and United States Air Force Weather Service (AWS) is to develop and install the Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD). The NEXRAD Systems will meet the FAA enroutw hazardous weather detection requirements and will replace the existing obsolete NWS and AWS weather radars. The second part of the FAA program is the development of a Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR), which could be procured and installed at major airports to detect weather hazards to terminal aviation operations. The TDWR couls be either a derivative of NEXRAD or a separate radar system. In order to support both of these efforts, the FAA contracted with M.I.T. Lincoln Laboratory to develop and fabricate a NEXRAD-like transportable weather radar support facility. This facility along with a second Doppler radar and a network of meteorological measurement stations are installed near Memphis, Tennessee. These facilities will be used to validate and refine scanning strategies, data processing techniques, and weather detection algorithms. The utility of weather radar products for air traffic control (especially for pilots and controllers) will be evaluated.
Summary
Adverse weather is the leading cause of aircraft accidents in the United States. In order to improve hazardous weather detection and warning capability for aviation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is pursuing a two part Doppler weather radar program. The first part consists of a joint program with the National...
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Collision avoidance for Naval training aircraft
March 8, 1985
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-125
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Lincoln Laboratory was tasked by the FAA to assist the Naval Air Training Command in evaluating the feasibility of using the FAA's TCAS I concept as the document summarizes the results of a brief study and flight test activity conducted to that end. It begins with a review of Lincoln Laboratory's understanding of the nature of the mid-air collision problem at the Naval Air Training Center. This is followed by a brief analysis of a set of documented collisions and near-miss encounters involving aircraft of Navy Training Air Wing 5 at Whiting Naval Air Station in Florida in 1982 and 1983. Experience gained from FAA and Lincoln Laboratory flight tests of similar encounters is reviewed and applied to the Navy encounter data base. This is followed by a review of the results obtained when a Lincoln Laboratory aircraft equipped with a TCAS Experimental Unit (TEU) was flown to Whiting Field to evaluate the ability of TCAS I equipment to perform reliable surveillance in the Naval training environment. Flight test results show that the environment is quite unlike typical civil environments, but that the TCAS surveillance design would be capable of providing a significant degree of protection to Naval trainers.
Summary
Lincoln Laboratory was tasked by the FAA to assist the Naval Air Training Command in evaluating the feasibility of using the FAA's TCAS I concept as the document summarizes the results of a brief study and flight test activity conducted to that end. It begins with a review of Lincoln...
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TCAS-II: design and validation of the high-traffic-density surveillance subsystem
February 12, 1985
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-126
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Lincoln Laboratory, under FAA sponsorship, is developing an airborne collision avoidance system (TCAS II), concentrating primarily on the air-to-air surveillance subsystem. The surveillance functions required are to detect the presence of nearby transponder equipped aircraft, and then generate a surveillance track on each aircraft, issuing range and altitude reports once per second. The development effort from mid-1981 to the present has focused on the surveillance problems associated with high aircraft density. A number of surveillance techniques to deal with the high density environment have been identified and evaluated mainly through airborne measurements. A TCAS II design was synthesized, and this design was subjected to in-flight testing in the Los Angeles Basin using a Boeing 727. Results indicate that the performance objectives have been met.
Summary
Lincoln Laboratory, under FAA sponsorship, is developing an airborne collision avoidance system (TCAS II), concentrating primarily on the air-to-air surveillance subsystem. The surveillance functions required are to detect the presence of nearby transponder equipped aircraft, and then generate a surveillance track on each aircraft, issuing range and altitude reports once...
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TCAS II ATCRBS surveillance algorithms
January 28, 1985
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-131
Summary
The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) has been developed to reduce mid air collisions between transponder equipped aircraft. The TCAS concept encompasses a range of capabilities. TCAS I is a low-cost version which provides traffic advisories only. TCAS II adds vertical resolution advisories and is intended to provide a comprehensive level of separation assurance in all current and predicted airspace environments through the end of this century. Enhanced TCAS II uses more accurate intruder bearing data to allow it to generate horizontal resolution advisories. All three forms of TCAS equipment track aircraft equipped with both the existing Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) transponders and with the new Mode S transponders. A TCAS equipped aircraft makes ATCRBS or Mode S range measurements on nearby aircraft. The ATCRBS or Mode S replies contain the altitude of the aircraft if it has an encoding altimeter. TCAS II uses range rate and altitude rate to decide if a collision is imminent. Therefore the replies from a given aircraft must be tracked and correlated in range and altitude. This report documents surveillance techniques developed by Lincoln Laboratory for use by TCAS II equipment in tracking aircraft equipped with ATCRBS transponders. Specifically, it describes the two tracking algorithms used for ATCRBS replies. One algorithm is for aircraft that report altitude, and the other is for those that do not.
Summary
The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) has been developed to reduce mid air collisions between transponder equipped aircraft. The TCAS concept encompasses a range of capabilities. TCAS I is a low-cost version which provides traffic advisories only. TCAS II adds vertical resolution advisories and is intended to provide...
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A gust front case studies handbook
January 10, 1985
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-129
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Gust fronts produce low altitude wind shear that can be hazardous to aircraft operations, especially during takeoff and landing. Radar meteorologists have long been able to identify gust front signatures in Doppler radar data, but in order to use the radars efficiently, automatic detection of such hazards is essential. Eight gust front case studies are presented. The data include photographs of the Doppler weather radar displays, thermodynamic and wind measurements from a 440 m high tower, environmental soundings and tables of gust front characteristics. The tabulated characteristics are those thought to be most important in developing rules for automatic gust front detection such as length and height, maximum and minimum values of reflectivity, velocity and spectrum width, and estimates of radial shear. For the cases studied, outflows could be detected most reliably in the velocity field, but useful information also could be gleaned from the spectrum width and reflectivity fields. The signal-to-noise ratio threshold was found to be a major factor in the ability of an observer to discern the gust front signature in the Doppler radar displays. Detection within the spectrum width field required a higher SNR than did the radial velocity field.
Summary
Gust fronts produce low altitude wind shear that can be hazardous to aircraft operations, especially during takeoff and landing. Radar meteorologists have long been able to identify gust front signatures in Doppler radar data, but in order to use the radars efficiently, automatic detection of such hazards is essential. Eight...
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Air-to-air visual acquisition performance with TCAS II
November 7, 1984
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-130
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The ability of pilots to visually acquire aircraft approaching on collision cources is analyzed using a mathematical model of visual acquisition. The model is calibrated by reference to subject pilot flight test data resulting from testing of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Techniques are presented that allow the determination of the probability of visual acquisition for a range of intruder aircraft sizes and closing rates. The effect of visual range (atmospheric visibility) upon visual acquisition performance is analyzed.
Summary
The ability of pilots to visually acquire aircraft approaching on collision cources is analyzed using a mathematical model of visual acquisition. The model is calibrated by reference to subject pilot flight test data resulting from testing of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Techniques are presented that allow...
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An automatic weather station network for low-altitude wind shear investigations
September 18, 1984
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-128
Summary
During the summer of 1983 an experimental network of automatic weather stations (a mesonet) was operated in the vicinity of Hanscom Field, northwest of Boston, as part of a larger effort to collect Doppler radar and meteorological data on thunderstorms and other potentially hazardous weather events in this area. This report describes the mesonet system used and presents in detail the data collected on 21-22 July 1983. Conclusions about the limitations and the future use of the mesonet system are also included.
Summary
During the summer of 1983 an experimental network of automatic weather stations (a mesonet) was operated in the vicinity of Hanscom Field, northwest of Boston, as part of a larger effort to collect Doppler radar and meteorological data on thunderstorms and other potentially hazardous weather events in this area. This...
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A comparison of storm tracking and extrapolation algorithms
July 31, 1984
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-124
Summary
The FAA requires short-term forecasts of the development and motion of high reflectivity regions to plan for weather avoidance in the en route and terminal areas. Specific needs include choice of air routes and anticipating when to open or close approach/departure gates, descent corridors, and runways. This report compares storm-tracking algorithms for making short-term (0-30 minute) forecasts of high reflectivity areas, to serve these air traffic control needs. The area forecasts are made by moving the key features of the current reflectivity map according to the velocities derived from the storm trackers. The NEXRAD centroid, correlation, and Crane peak-cell trackers are compared against themselves, persistence, and a best-fit extrapolation. Two performance measures are used: (a) overlap of predicted versus actual areas (b) accuracy in flight-path choice. The second method is a new way of scoring the predictor performance and is particularly suited to aviation needs. Five storms are considered, three in Massachusetts and two in Oklahoma. The correlation and peak-cell trackers generally performed well in the Massachusetts storms, close to a best correlation fit extrapolator. The centroid tracker behaves erratically, due to contour merging and splitting. The centroid tracker performed well on compact, Oklahoma storms where the correlation and peak-cell trackers were misled by storm propagation, an effect to be expected when there is high vertical shear of the horizontal wind. It is recommended that either the correlation or centroid tracker be used, depending on the type of storm expected. The centroid tracker would be used on compact storms; the correlation tracker would be used on storms without substantial propagation. The forecasts appear to be skillful in predicting high-reflectivity areas; however, they are less skillful in anticipating flight-paths which do not intersect these areas. Inclusion of forecasts of storm growth and decay will probably be required to improve the performance; anticipating growth and decay will also be important for forecasts of greater than 30 minutes.
Summary
The FAA requires short-term forecasts of the development and motion of high reflectivity regions to plan for weather avoidance in the en route and terminal areas. Specific needs include choice of air routes and anticipating when to open or close approach/departure gates, descent corridors, and runways. This report compares storm-tracking...
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