ATC Trajectory Reconstruction for Automated Evaluation of Sensor and Tracker Performance

Currently most air traffic controller decisions are based on the information provided by the ground support tools provided by automation systems, based on a network of surveillance sensors and the associated tracker. To guarantee surveillance integrity, it is clear that performance assessments of the different elements of the surveillance system are necessary. Due to the evolution suffered by the surveillance processing chain in the recent past, its complexity has been increased by the integration of new sensor types (e.g., automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast [ADS-B], Mode S radars, and wide area multilateration [WAM]), data link applications, and networking technologies. With new sensors, there is a need for system-level performance evaluations as well as methods for establishing assessment at each component of the tracking evaluation.This work was funded by contract EUROCONTROL’s TRES, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grants CICYT TEC2008-06732/TEC and CYCIT TEC2011-28626, and by the Government of Madrid under grant S2009/TIC-1485 (CONTEXTS).Publicad

Experimental analysis of using radar as an extrinsic sensor for human-robot collaboration

Collaborative robots are expected to be an integral part of driving the fourth industrial revolution that is soon expected to happen. In human-robot collaboration, the robot and a human share a common workspace and work on a common task. Here the safety of a human working with the robot is of utmost importance. A collaborative robot usually consists of various sensors to ensure the safety of a human working with the robot. This research mainly focuses on establishing a safe environment for a human working alongside a robot by mounting an FMCW radar as an extrinsic sensor, through which the workspace of the robot is monitored. A customized tracking algorithm is developed for the sensor used in this study by including a dynamically varying gating threshold, and information about consecutive missed detections to track and localize the human around the workspace of the robot. The performance of the proposed system in successfully establishing a safe human-robot collaboration is examined across a few scenarios that arise when a single human operator is working alongside a robot, with the radar operating in different modes. An OptiTrack Motion Capture System is used as ground truth to validate the efficacy of the proposed system

Air-to-Air Missile Vector Scoring

An air-to-air missile vector scoring system is proposed for test and evaluation applications. Three different linear missile dynamics models are considered: a six-state constant velocity model and nine-state constant acceleration and three-dimensional coordinated turn models. Frequency modulated continuous wave radar sensors, carefully located to provide spherical coverage around the target, provide updates of missile kinematic information relative to a drone aircraft. Data from the radar sensors is fused with predictions from one of the three missile models using either an extended Kalman filter, an unscented Kalman filter or a particle filter algorithm. The performance of all nine model/filter combinations are evaluated through high-fidelity, six-degree of freedom simulations yielding sub-meter end-game accuracy in a variety of scenarios. Simulations demonstrate the superior performance of the unscented Kalman filter incorporating the continuous velocity dynamics model. The scoring system is experimentally demonstrated through flight testing using commercial off the shelf radar sensors with a Beechcraft C-12 as a surrogate missile

Air Traffic Control

Improving air traffic control and air traffic management is currently one of the top priorities of the global research and development agenda. Massive, multi-billion euro programs like SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) in Europe and NextGen (Next Generation Air Transportation System) in the United States are on their way to create an air transportation system that meets the demands of the future. Air traffic control is a multi-disciplinary field that attracts the attention of many researchers, ranging from pure mathematicians to human factors specialists, and even in the legal and financial domains the optimization and control of air transport is extensively studied. This book, by no means intended to be a basic, formal introduction to the field, for which other textbooks are available, includes nine chapters that demonstrate the multi-disciplinary character of the air traffic control domain

Interacting multiple model filtering for aircraft guidance modes identification from surveillance data

Accurate and reliable trajectory prediction (TP) is required in several air traffic management systems. Estimating the aircraft trajectory in a vertical plane typically requires the knowledge of a pair of operational instructions. A sequence of operational instructions specifies the aircraft intent, information that is seldom available, besides for the ownship trajectory planning system. In the execution of the trajectory, the aircraft is directed by the (auto)pilot through a series of sequential guidance modes that might override some of the planning instructions of the aircraft intent. Therefore, having reliable guidance mode information is fundamental for the next generation of air- or ground-based TP. The main goal of this contribution is to develop a methodology able to identify in real-time the active guidance modes for both vertical climb and descent profiles, using only Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast and Enhanced Mode-S Surveillance data. The proposed solution is based on an interacting multiple model (IMM) filtering approach, which uses a bank of filters, each one matched to a possible guidance mode. The guidance mode identification performance of the IMM-based solution is validated with i) a set of simulated representative trajectories and ii) real flight data obtained from flight data recorders.This work has been partially supported by a EU ENGAGE KTN PhD Fellowship, and the DGA/AID project 2022.65.0082.Postprint (updated version

Improvement of detection and tracking techniques in multistatic passive radar systems. (Mejora de técnicas de detección y seguimiento en sistemas radar pasivos multiestáticos)

Esta tesis doctoral es el resultado de una intensa actividad investigadora centrada en los sensores radar pasivos para la mejora de las capacidades de detección y seguimiento en escenarios complejos con blancos terrestres y pequeños drones. El trabajo de investigación se ha llevado a cabo en el grupo de investigación coordinado por la Dra. María Pilar Jarabo Amores, dentro del marco diferentes proyectos: IDEPAR (“Improved DEtection techniques for PAssive Radars”), MASTERSAT (“MultichAnnel paSsive radar receiver exploiting TERrestrial and SATellite Illuminators”) y KRIPTON (“A Knowledge based appRoach to passIve radar detection using wideband sPace adapTive prOcessiNg”) financiados por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España; MAPIS (Multichannel passive ISAR imaging for military applications) y JAMPAR (“JAMmer-based PAssive Radar”), financiados por la Agencia Europea de Defensa (EDA) . El objetivo principal es la mejora de las técnicas de detección y seguimiento en radares pasivos con configuraciones biestáticas y multiestaticas. En el documento se desarrollan algoritmos para el aprovechamiento de señales procedentes de distintos iluminadores de oportunidad (transmisores DVB-T, satélites DVB-S y señales GPS). Las soluciones propuestas han sido integradas en el demostrador tecnológico IDEPAR, desarrollado y actualizado bajo los proyectos mencionados, y validadas en escenarios reales declarados de interés por potenciales usuarios finales (Direccion general de armamento y material, instituto nacional de tecnología aeroespacial y la armada española). Para el desarrollo y evaluación de cadenas de las cadenas de procesado, se plantean dos casos de estudio: blancos terrestres en escenarios semiurbanos edificios y pequeños blancos aéreos en escenarios rurales y costeros. Las principales contribuciones se pueden resumir en los siguientes puntos: • Diseño de técnicas de seguimiento 2D en el espacio de trabajo rango biestático-frecuencia Doppler: se desarrollan técnicas de seguimiento para los dos casos de estudio, localización de blancos terrestres y pequeños drones. Para es último se implementan técnicas capaces de seguir tanto el movimiento del dron como su firma Doppler, lo que permite implementar técnicas de clasificación de blancos. • Diseño de técnicas de seguimiento de blancos capaces de integrar información en el espacio 3D (rango, Doppler y acimut): se diseñan técnicas basadas en procesado en dos etapas, una primera con seguimiento en 2D para el filtrado de falsas alarmas y la segunda para el seguimiento en 3D y la conversión de coordenadas a un plano local cartesiano. Se comparan soluciones basadas en filtros de Kalman para sistemas tanto lineales como no lineales. • Diseño de cadenas de procesado para sistemas multiestáticos: la información estimada del blanco sobre múltiples geometrías biestáticas es utilizada para incremento de las capacidades de localización del blanco en el plano cartesiano local. Se presentan soluciones basadas en filtros de Kalman para sistemas no lineales explotando diferentes medidas biestáticas en el proceso de transformación de coordenadas, analizando las mejoras de precisión en la localización del blanco. • Diseño de etapas de procesado para radares pasivos basados en señales satelitales de las constelaciones GPS DVB-S. Se estudian las características de las señales satelitales identificando sus inconvenientes y proponiendo cadenas de procesado que permitan su utilización para la detección y seguimiento de blancos terrestres. • Estudio del uso de señales DVB-T multicanal con gaps de transmisión entre los diferentes canales en sistemas radares pasivos. Con ello se incrementa la resolución del sistema, y las capacidades de detección, seguimiento y localización. Se estudia el modelo de señal multicanal, sus efectos sobre el procesado coherente y se proponen cadenas de procesado para paliar los efectos adversos de este tipo de señales

Extended Object Tracking: Introduction, Overview and Applications

This article provides an elaborate overview of current research in extended object tracking. We provide a clear definition of the extended object tracking problem and discuss its delimitation to other types of object tracking. Next, different aspects of extended object modelling are extensively discussed. Subsequently, we give a tutorial introduction to two basic and well used extended object tracking approaches - the random matrix approach and the Kalman filter-based approach for star-convex shapes. The next part treats the tracking of multiple extended objects and elaborates how the large number of feasible association hypotheses can be tackled using both Random Finite Set (RFS) and Non-RFS multi-object trackers. The article concludes with a summary of current applications, where four example applications involving camera, X-band radar, light detection and ranging (lidar), red-green-blue-depth (RGB-D) sensors are highlighted.Comment: 30 pages, 19 figure

A New Wave in Robotics: Survey on Recent mmWave Radar Applications in Robotics

We survey the current state of millimeterwave (mmWave) radar applications in robotics with a focus on unique capabilities, and discuss future opportunities based on the state of the art. Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) mmWave radars operating in the 76--81GHz range are an appealing alternative to lidars, cameras and other sensors operating in the near visual spectrum. Radar has been made more widely available in new packaging classes, more convenient for robotics and its longer wavelengths have the ability to bypass visual clutter such as fog, dust, and smoke. We begin by covering radar principles as they relate to robotics. We then review the relevant new research across a broad spectrum of robotics applications beginning with motion estimation, localization, and mapping. We then cover object detection and classification, and then close with an analysis of current datasets and calibration techniques that provide entry points into radar research.Comment: 19 Pages, 11 Figures, 2 Tables, TRO Submission pendin

Aerospace guidance computer analysis and synthesis,

Bibliography: p. 38.AFAL-TR-68-69Contract AF-33(657)-11311 M.I.T. DSR Project no.79891by Robert W. Roig, John O. Silvey, John E. Ward et al