Aeronautical Ad Hoc Network for Civil Aviation

Aeronautical communication systems are constantly evolving in order to handle the always increasing flow of data generated by civil aviation. In this article we first present communication systems currently used for en-route aircraft. We then propose Aeronautical Ad hoc NETwork (AANET) as a complementary communication system and demonstrate its connectivity and assess the throughput by simulations based on real aircraft trajectories over the French sky and over the Atlantic ocean

Performance Assessment of a New Routing Protocol in AANET

Routing is a critical issue in mobile ad hoc networks. The routing algorithm must take into account the specific properties of the network such as its topology, the mobility of the nodes and their number. In this paper, we present a simulation-based study of the performances of our innovative routing protocol named NoDe-TBR (Node Density TBR) that takes into account the actual node density distribution. The considered ad hoc network is an Aeronautical Ad hoc NETwork (AANET), a future communication system enabling air↔air and air↔ground communications beyond the radio range of the sender. This context and the communication architecture have been modeled in a realistic way based on replayed aircraft trajectories, a realistic access layer, and application that should be deployed in the future

Degree Distribution of Arbitrary AANET

Taking the safe distance between two adjacent planes in the same airline into account, we give a model for the multiairline aeronautical ad hoc network (AANET). Based on our model, we analyze the plane’s degree distribution of any arbitrary AANET. Then, the expressions of the degree distributions of one single plane and the whole networks are both worked out and verified by the simulations, in which we generate several random AANETs. Since our model is a reasonable abstraction of the real situation, the theoretical result we get is very close to the result of the real networks, which is also shown in the simulations

Access and Routing in Aeronautical Ad-hoc Networks

National audienceAeronautical Ad hoc NETworks (AANET) have been proposed in previous studies as an alternative to cellular or satellite transmissions for “datalink” communications between commercial aviation aircraft in flight and air traffic services on the ground. After an introduction on the specificities of civil aviation communications, we present the channel access and routing challenges for AANETs. We finally propose an innovative communication architecture for AANETs

Assessment of real-time data transmission via ad-hoc communication networks in the North Atlantic oceanic airspace

Data link based real-time data transmission for air traffic services and aeronautical operational control provides for safe, efficient and timely exchange of information between aircraft and ground entities within the current air transportation system. This enables procedures and process optimization for air traffic service and airline operational control. Currently, the air transport system relies on direct line-of-sight data link in continental airspace and communication via satellite or high frequency data link in oceanic, remote or polar airspace. Future communication technology intends to additionally allow for indirect air-to-ground communication via aeronautical ad-hoc networks using aircraft as network nodes. This approach bears a high potential to increase airspace capacity and efficiency for congested airspaces with little ground infrastructure as it is the case e.g. for the North Atlantic oceanic airspace. While the assessment of operational benefits for conventional line-ofsight or satellite-based data link technologies can be based on the experience made with existing technologies, the assessment of aeronautical ad-hoc networks needs careful consideration of the particular air traffic situation as well as of the specific aeronautical communication demand. In our work we present a method to combine air traffic and connectivity simulations with an aeronautical data traffic demand model for the North Atlantic oceanic airspace. As a result, the coverage of aeronautical data traffic demand by an aeronautical adhoc network enabled by the new technology, will be estimated for various scenarios for the North Atlantic oceanic airspace. Dependencies on the equipage fraction and on the air-to-air radio range will be analyzed. Also, expected application data rates at aircraft exchanging the data communication of the airborne network with ground entities, will be assessed on a simplified basis. The results are suited to serve as a technical guidance for further scaling and definition of the underlying air-to-air data link technology