Flight Crew and Air Traffic Controller Interactions When Conducting Interval Management Utilizing Voice and Controller Pilot Data Link Communications

MITRE conducted this human-in-the-loop research project on Interval Management (IM) Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) to investigate the integration of two advanced Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) capabilities across both the air and ground domains to uncover any complications that could arise from two key capabilities that were developed separately. The simulation study included three levels of IM clearance complexity and looked at aircraft equipped only with voice communication capability and those with both voice and CPDLC. An en route air traffic environment was simulated with 50 percent of aircraft equipped with the IM capability. Results: Most pilots and controllers in the experiment deemed the IM and CPDLC to be compatible, although the controllers seemed to have more difficulty with mixed IM equipped aircraft than with mixed CPDLC equipped aircraft. Concerns were noted for use of IM with voice communications, since the data entry requirement for the flight crew was increased when CPDLC autoload into the FMS was unavailable. Not surprisingly, this was particularly the case with the most complex IM clearances. Application: The results are intended to be used by the FAA as well as EUROCAE and RTCA when developing the technical standards for the interface between the IM and CPDLC equipment. FAA Aviation Safety (AVS) sponsors who develop the regulatory and guidance material for CPDLC and ADS-B are expected to use the results in the development of Advisory Circulars (ACs) and Technical Standard Orders (TSOs) based on the international standards material. Recommendations for consideration by these groups are provided in the Conclusions and Recommendations section of the report

Interval Management: Development and Implementation of an Airborne Spacing Concept

Interval Management is a suite of ADS-B-enabled applications that allows the air traffic controller to instruct a flight crew to achieve and maintain a desired spacing relative to another aircraft. The flight crew, assisted by automation, manages the speed of their aircraft to deliver more precise inter-aircraft spacing than is otherwise possible, which increases traffic throughput at the same or higher levels of safety. Interval Management has evolved from a long history of research and is now seen as a core NextGen capability. With avionics standards recently published, completion of an Investment Analysis Readiness Decision by the FAA, and multiple flight tests planned, Interval Management will soon be part of everyday use in the National Airspace System. Second generation, Advanced Interval Management capabilities are being planned to provide a wider range of operations and improved performance and benefits. This paper briefly reviews the evolution of Interval Management and describes current development and deployment plans. It also reviews concepts under development as the next generation of applications

Does technology and Innovation Management improve Market Position? Empirical Evidence from Innovating Firms in South Africa

There is a growing recognition of the central role of technology and knowledge management for market success of organizations. Little is empirically know, however, about this relationship. Drawing on the South African Innovation Survey, a unique dataset on innovative behavior of South African firms in manufacturing and services, this paper investigates the question to what extent and in which ways do technology and innovation management activities affect firms’ market position. Findings show that conducting technology strategy activities pays out. Moreover, especially a combination of internal and external technology audits seems to be beneficial for organizational performance

Marine Biodiversity in the Caribbean: Regional Estimates and Distribution Patterns

This paper provides an analysis of the distribution patterns of marine biodiversity and summarizes the major activities of the Census of Marine Life program in the Caribbean region. The coastal Caribbean region is a large marine ecosystem (LME) characterized by coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses, but including other environments, such as sandy beaches and rocky shores. These tropical ecosystems incorporate a high diversity of associated flora and fauna, and the nations that border the Caribbean collectively encompass a major global marine biodiversity hot spot. We analyze the state of knowledge of marine biodiversity based on the geographic distribution of georeferenced species records and regional taxonomic lists. A total of 12,046 marine species are reported in this paper for the Caribbean region. These include representatives from 31 animal phyla, two plant phyla, one group of Chromista, and three groups of Protoctista. Sampling effort has been greatest in shallow, nearshore waters, where there is relatively good coverage of species records; offshore and deep environments have been less studied. Additionally, we found that the currently accepted classification of marine ecoregions of the Caribbean did not apply for the benthic distributions of five relatively well known taxonomic groups. Coastal species richness tends to concentrate along the Antillean arc (Cuba to the southernmost Antilles) and the northern coast of South America (Venezuela – Colombia), while no pattern can be observed in the deep sea with the available data. Several factors make it impossible to determine the extent to which these distribution patterns accurately reflect the true situation for marine biodiversity in general: (1) highly localized concentrations of collecting effort and a lack of collecting in many areas and ecosystems, (2) high variability among collecting methods, (3) limited taxonomic expertise for many groups, and (4) differing levels of activity in the study of different taxa

Use of a Traffic Display to Supplement Visual Separation During Visual Approaches

At many busy airports, maximum efficiency and minimum delay occur when visual approaches are being conducted by pilots using visual separation from traffic. Pilot willingness to accept responsibility for visual separation also affords controllers maximum flexibility in traffic management under conditions of high traffic load. It may be possible to extend that efficiency to lower weather conditions if pilots are able to perform the same separation tasks by reference to a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) in lieu of visual contact out-the-window (OTW). This study is the third in a series of four designed to examine whether a CDTI can be used for this task. This particular study documents the first simulation to examine the concept during visual approaches. Eight commercial airline pilots flew visual approaches in a flight deck simulator, while maintaining a self-determined separation from the traffic, using two airspeed control methods: autothrottle and manual throttle. The objective and subjective results indicate that pilots are willing and able to perform this procedure (named CDTI Assisted Visual Separation (CAVS)) during visual approaches, using either the autothrottle or the higher workload method of manual speed control