System Monitoring and Control - Teaching Material

Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a vital component of aviation safety, responsible for managing and guiding aircraft in the airspace. However, false targets in the context of processing errors pose a significant challenge to ATC operations. This article aims to explore the impact of false targets on ATC services, provide a definition, present examples, and discuss scenarios that highlight their consequences.

Processing errors in AI analytics within air traffic control can jeopardize system accuracy, safety, and efficiency. This article explores causes, impacts, and remedies, emphasizing the need for rigorous testing and human oversight to mitigate risks.

Data correlation errors can have a significant impact on Air Traffic Control (ATC) operations, leading to processing errors. Incorrectly correlated data can result in inaccurate aircraft position information, which may compromise safe separation and increase the risk of collisions or airspace congestion.

Receiver-related clutter errors can significantly impact Air Traffic Control (ATC) services, compromising safety and efficiency. This article delves into the definition of receiver-related clutter errors, examines their causes, illustrates their impact through pedagogical scenarios, discusses common types of such errors, outlines their consequences, highlights reported aviation incidents, provides rectification steps for Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEP), suggests prevention measures, presents general research highlights, and offers relevant references.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a crucial aspect of aviation that ensures safe and efficient movement of aircrafts in the airspace. The ATC service depends on a variety of equipment and systems including the electrical cabinets that house the power sources for the ATC systems. Electrical cabinet related errors can occur due to various factors which can result in power source errors that can impact the functioning of the ATC systems. In this article we will discuss the impact of power source errors due to electrical cabinet related errors on ATC and the steps that can be taken to prevent and rectify such errors.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) services play a critical role in ensuring safe and efficient movement of aircraft in the skies. However, the increasing demand for air travel and the growing complexity of aircraft systems have put a strain on the ATC infrastructure, resulting in various challenges. One of the most significant challenges faced by ATC services is processing errors due to Defruiting . This article aims to explore the impact of processing errors due to Defruiting on ATC services, the steps to rectify and prevent these errors, and the factors responsible for them.

A digital tower is a concept that allows the provision of aerodrome air traffic services (ATS) from any location using digital means. Instead of relying on visual control rooms and human eyesight, digital tower technologies utilize digital cameras and sensors to capture surveillance of the aerodrome and transmit the images over a digital network to operators who view them on screens. The goal is to provide ATS from a remote location, centralizing resources and enabling more flexible operations.

Voltage fluctuations due to power source errors can disrupt Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems, leading to operational failures, communication issues, and compromised safety. Proper power conditioning and backup systems are essential to mitigate such risks.

UPS-related power source errors have a significant impact on ATC, leading to potential disruptions in communication, radar systems, and critical equipment. See the details and learn how SkySMC can be used to train ATSEP on this use case.

In the context of remote air traffic control operations and service virtualization, legal considerations regarding data sovereignty and data regionality come into play.

Unlocking resilience, efficiency, and interoperability in ANSPs, airports, and airlines through virtualization. This article describes how to optimize resources, enhance security, and drive success.

The introduction of virtual towers, as defined in EUROCAE Standard ED-240A, and the remote working of Air Traffic Controllers and Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEPs) will bring a plethora of advantages for ATC. It also requires modern Remote Monitoring and Control Systems and a Specific Skill Set for ATSEP.

Four videos provide a deep insight into SkyRadar's SMC infrastructure and exercises for ATSEP qualification in compliance with EASA's Easy Access Rules for Air Traffic Management.

A waveguide is a structure designed to confine and guide electromagnetic waves, typically in the microwave frequency range. It can be considered a hollow metal tube that serves as a low-loss transmission line for high-frequency signals.

In air traffic control services, instrument misuse errors refer to errors made by air traffic controllers in using air traffic control equipment or systems, such as radars, communication systems, or flight data processing systems.

Missing command error refers to a situation where a required command is not found, causing a program or a system to be unable to execute properly. This article has the ATSEP-Strategies to be adopted to Mitigate the Risk of Software Related Missing Command Error.

Radar Interference due to ADS-B can create hindrances in normal operations of a radar system.

In air traffic control (ATC), instrument errors refer to inaccuracies or malfunctions in the equipment used to monitor and control aircraft. These errors can range from a simple misreading of instrument displays to more complex system failures that can impact the safe operation of aircraft.

A "transmitter-related power error" refers to a situation in which the power output from a transmitter is incorrect or not functioning as intended.

Transmission errors can be divided on the base of the media through which transmission is taking place. Coupler Errors produce disturbances in transmission.

A cable error refers to a malfunction or failure in a cable used for transmitting data or electrical power, which can impact the functioning of the connected devices or systems.

Defining rules for the identification & management of information security risks in aviation organizations & aviation competent authorities.

Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) error refers to a failure or malfunction in the system designed to prevent aircraft collisions in the airspace.

This article will discuss 2023 technology trends and their possible impact on Air Traffic Control as the European Airspace evolves.

This video illustrates how the SMC software, the distributed control system and the 3D virtual reality provide a perfect learning experience to ATSEP.

SkyRadar’s Radar reference architecture is a framework that describes the different components that make up a radar system, and how they interact with each other.

It is the basic configuration to provide use cases in system monitoring and control training.

Interoperability refers to the ability of different systems or components to work together seamlessly.

With SkySMC SkyRadar created an environment for ATSEP to learn System Monitoring & Control, while working with SMC software, training hardware, virtualized and simulated infrastructure as well as virtual reality.

State-of-the-art qualification of ATSEP cannot limit itself on scenario-based animations. There are too many error-options. To reach higher levels in the learning taxonomy, real or virtualized infrastructures are the solution.

In software-based systems, invalid input can create hindrances in the identification process resulting in the generation of an error message.

Sometimes a single plot or a track gets split into two targets appearing at different positions. This split of targets is termed double targeting. This article explains the reasons and suggests countermeasures.

In this video we present SkySMC's DCS view. DCS stands for distributed monitoring and control. It adds another modern visualisation of controlled systems.

The source of radar interference can be natural as well as artificial. Whether it is an increased unintentional interference due to wireless communications or intentional interference it reduces the effectiveness of radar operations.

Software-related functional errors can impact the safety of air traffic control services. The complexity of functional errors is related to the uncertainty attached to their appearance.

Some weeks ago I had an inspiring and thrilling meeting with Renata Zlopasa and Jan Brutsaert from EUROCONTROL. Renata stated an intriguing track of thought that stuck in my head. In essence she said, the ATCO and ATSEP job profiles will be progressively converging.

An important ATSEP task is detecting errors and degraded performance rapidly, and in an ideal case switch over remotely from the defect subsystem to a fallback solution.

ATSEP is confronted with multiple errors. A categorization of these errors will help them in understanding the situation in a better way with least possible delay.

This article shows how online training of system monitoring and control can be brought to the cognitive level of "application" and beyond, with SkyRadar's SkySMC suite.

The SkyRadar product family embraces primary and secondary training radars, simulators, jammers, system monitoring and control solutions, and a complete tower and radar simulator. All systems are based on service-oriented architecture and can be interconnected via plug and play.

On Sunday 09.10.2022, the commander of the German Bundeswehr's Territorial Command General Breuer has warned of increasing attacks on the infrastructure in Germany. According to Breuer "every substation, every power plant, every pipeline can be attacked, can be a possible target" of these hybrid threats.

Ground-to-Ground and Ground-to-Air interoperability make perimeter-orientation in cybersecurity obsolete. Cyber-security needs to be data-centric. Identity for systems and humans is a keystone in interconnected ATM.

SkyRadar's System Monitoring and Control is an open system. It lives of all the components that can be connected. In this video we present the multi-sensor box, a device which can help to include virtually anything into the overall monitored surface.

SkyRadar's modules can be interconnected as easy as Lego. But its architecture is service-oriented like the Single European Sky in the ATM-Masterplan and interconnected ATM like in ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan.

EU’s aviation strategy is documented in the European Air Traffic Master Plan.

In this video, we present SkyRack ATM, the training infrastructure for system monitoring and control.

Increased aviation capacity, cost savings and a continuously reducing CO2 impact build on reliable interoperability and information exchanged within and between various ANSPs and connected players. This impacts SMC and Cybersecurity requirements.

SkyMon - SkyRadar’s System Monitoring and Control Suite is a pedagogically enhanced, fully operational monitoring tool. We have optimized it to cater for the ATSEP-SMC training compliant to EASA's Easy Access Rules for ATM-ANS (Regulation (EU) 2017/373) and to ICAO doc 10057.

EU Regulation 2017/313 brought clarity and specified 21st century requirements to technology as well as precisely described the requirements for service providers in terms of ATSEP training and competence assessment. This article examines the wider context and summarises the implications for ATSEP qualification.

RCC efficiency can be enhanced through the inclusion of radar monitoring services.

SkyRadar has developed a pedagogically enhanced monitoring environment. The system trains ATSEP on monitoring system health, but also on rapidly locating errors or points of system degradation, on rapidly fixing them and keeping downtimes short.

This article explains how rigorous and effective monitoring of ATC infrastructure helps detecting early warning signs of a problem.

This article describes the challenges of down-times in Air Traffic Control.

ATC keeps on getting more challenging. ATSEP & ATCO have to perform in normal times and to excel in times of incidents and system degradation. In this article and video we give a short insight into SkyRadar's modular qualification solutions.

This article introduces SkyRadar's Monitoring Training System for ATSEP. It trains ATSEP on rapidly locating errors or points of system degradation, on rapidly fixing them and keeping downtimes short.