Abstract: A system and technique is described which has the capability to track and identify, in real time, various aircraft and objects including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), and Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). The system uses a combination of techniques including conventional automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B), transponder multilateration, broadband emitter multilateration, primary and secondary radar, and passive coherent location. A series of enhancement to conventional passive coherent location are described.

Abstract: In a first, preferred embodiment of the present invention, integrated tracking is provided using passive broadband. The invention takes the system for deployable passive broadband detection and extends it by incorporating the capability to decode position for ADS-B, SSR multilateration, and broadband multilateration. In a second embodiment, validation of a self-reported position is provided. The invention takes the system for deployable passive broadband detection and extends it by incorporating the capability to decode self-reported position for ADS-B, and compare it to line of calculated position, or line of precision, derived from multilateration techniques applied to various signals received from the aircraft. In a third embodiment, validation of a self-reported ADS-B position using independent surveillance is provided by the system.

Abstract: A solution is described which provides an airport with the tools to accurately manage all sources of airside revenues, including operational revenues and capital programs. The system of the present invention relies on the acquisition of any and all data related to the operations, property, lease, and revenue management of an airport, including aircraft tracking data. This data is then stored in a central database where it is processed, sorted, and stored for later retrieval. The data may exist in a number of forms including real-time streams, tabular, or in the form of a database. From this data, airport revenue information can be accurately managed.

Abstract: At most airports, responsibility of air traffic control starts and stops at the entrance or exit to the runway movement areas, which are taxiways and runways. In the non-movement areas, such as hangers, ramps, and aprons, aircraft movements and separation are no longer the responsibility of air traffic control, but is the responsibility of other parties such as the airport itself, airlines, or other parties. The use of tracking technologies for air traffic control is therefore focused on the movement areas, not the non-movement areas, where there are limitations in aircraft tracking. Furthermore, many of the aircraft transmitting devices are switched off in non-movement areas exacerbating tracking problems in these areas. The present invention includes several methods including broadband multilateration, to extend aircraft tracking from the movement areas into non-movement areas without the need to extend special air traffic control equipment into those areas.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing live display of aircraft flight information obtains aircraft data from at least two data sources selected from aircraft position and flight information from an ASDI (aircraft situational awareness display to industry) data source, aircraft location and identification from multilateration of an aircraft transponder data source, flight information from an ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) data source, and flight information from an airline flight information system data source. The data is then fused together to integrate aircraft information from at least two of the data sources to produce integrated aircraft information, and providing a real-time display of the integrated aircraft flight information over a network, a physically connected display, a cockpit display, or an airport ground vehicle display.

Abstract: Multilateration techniques are used to provide accurate aircraft tracking data for aircraft on the ground and in the vicinity of an airport. From this data, aircraft noise and operations management may be enhanced. Aircraft noise may be calculated virtually using track data in real-time and provided to a user to determine noise violations. Tracking data may be used to control noise monitoring stations to gate out ambient noise. Aircraft emissions, both on the ground and in the air may be determined using tracking data. This and other data may be displayed in real time or generated in reports, and/or may be displayed on a website for viewing by airport operators and/or members of the public. The system may be readily installed in a compact package using a plurality of receivers and sensor packages located at shared wireless communication towers near an airport, and a central processing station located in or near the airport.

Abstract: Security of ADS-B transmissions is improved in a first embodiment to detect position spoofing. The annunciated position source may then be compared with the derived source and a determination is made regarding the difference between the results. Any position difference greater than an amount significantly greater than the combination of the error sources is then a cause for concern and can be used to generate an alert. In a second embodiment, alerting may be based on identification spoofing. From these sources a correlated ID is available which will have an associated confidence based on the number of sources and the level of agreement on the information. Aircraft dynamics may be correlated with the announced ID for consistency. A priori information on the aircraft and location, such as schedule information, and normal operations, may be used to assist in the confidence of aircraft identity. In a third embodiment, alerting may be based on spoofing of identity and position.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for performing elliptical-based and hybrid surveillance, performing false target detection and resolution, and performing integrity monitoring using one or more receiving and transmitting elements time synchronized to a common precision time reference, and a central workstation. Antennas for transmitting and receiving elements are located at known positions separated from one another. At a given time, one of the transmitting elements transmits an interrogation signal to one or more targets, which respond to the interrogation with a reply transmission, received by one or more receiving elements.

Abstract: The AirScene™ Pavement Management System of the present invention automatically tracks data required to determine various factors in an assessment of current and future pavement maintenance needs and utilizes this data to quantify the pavement damage caused by each individual aircraft movement and thus compute pavement condition based on an initial survey and the calculations of accrued damage over time. This information can be displayed through AirScene™ in the form of tables, graphs, or graphically represented on an airport diagram showing present conditions, rates of accruing damage, and future wear rates and areas. The system draws on the data from the AirScene™ Data Warehouse (ADW), a single repository for all the information acquired from a number of different sources.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for measuring and monitoring performance metrics of a non-ADS-B tracking system and generating performance metrics for the non-ADS-B tracking system in terms of ADS-B equivalent performance metrics. An aircraft transmits various transponder-based or other signals which are received at multiple ground stations, some of which may be ADS-B stations or both ADS-B and multilateration stations. ADS-B signals may contain performance metrics which are passed on from ADS-B station to an ADS-B processor, which outputs aircraft-derived metrics. ADS-B signals and all other transponder signals are also received at all ground stations, time-stamped, and sent to a multilateration processor, which generates multilateration metrics. Therefore two streams of information are passed onto ATC system processor containing the ADS-B aircraft-derived metrics and multilateration-derived metrics.

Abstract: Security of ADS-B transmissions is improved in a first embodiment to detect position spoofing. The annunciated position source may then be compared with the derived source and a determination is made regarding the difference between the results. Any position difference greater than an amount significantly greater than the combination of the error sources is then a cause for concern and can be used to generate an alert. In a second embodiment, alerting may be based on identification spoofing. From these sources a correlated ID is available which will have an associated confidence based on the number of sources and the level of agreement on the information. Aircraft dynamics may be correlated with the announced ID for consistency. A priori information on the aircraft and location, such as schedule information, and normal operations, may be used to assist in the confidence of aircraft identity. In a third embodiment, alerting may be based on spoofing of identity and position.

Abstract: The present invention improves WAMLAT Timing Availability by using timing from one or more of a variety of sources. These sources include unaugmented SATNAV timing, from GPS or/and GALILEO, GEO timing from pseudo SATNAV signals, additional GEO timing for non SATNAV applications, timing derived from both terrestrial and satellite television and radio transmissions, and stable on board oscillators to withstand short term interruptions in satellite timing. The use of one or more of these multiple sources of timing improves accuracy and reliability of wide area multilateration systems.

Abstract: A method of triangulating aircraft transponder signals using a number of receivers connected to a central station over communication links includes applying at least one logic rule at each receiver to incoming transponder signals to filter redundant transponder signals, time-stamping filtered transponder signals, and transmitting time-stamped transponder signals to the central station. Logic rules include at least one of altitude filtering, Mode S, Mode A/C code filtering, and change filtering. Replies are accepted when a change in state is indicated, such that the only those replies indicating a change in state are time-stamped and sent to the central server.