Luftbilderfassung im Rahmen einer Katastrophenschutzübung

Im EU-Projekt „Driving Innovation in Crisis Management for European Resilience“ (DRIVER+) wurden im Jahr 2019 Versuche (Trials) durchgeführt, um neue Technologien im Krisenmanagement zu untersuchen. Ein Trial wurde in Partnerschaft mit der EU-Katastrophenschutzübung IRONORE in Österreich durchgeführt. Das Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) setzte sein Forschungsflugzeug D-CODE vom Typ Dornier 228 zur Demonstration eines unbemannten Luftfahrzeugs zur Erfassung von Luftbildern ein, um Rettungskräfte und Entscheidungsträger vor Ort zu unterstützen. Das Flugzeug wurde als Optionally Piloted Vehicle eingesetzt und vom Boden wegpunktbasiert geführt. Das Szenario eines Erdrutsches mit verschütteten und vermissten Personen wurde vom Österreichischen Roten Kreuz und weiteren internationalen Rettungsorganisationen entwickelt, vom DLR während der Vorbereitungen begutachtet und im September 2019 in der Stadt Eisenerz in der Steiermark realisiert. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Vorbereitungen und Durchführung aus Sicht der Flugführung und Luftbilderfassung und den Nutzen für Rettungskräfte vor Ort aus einer technischen Perspektive. Die Anwendungsfälle einer solchen Mission während einer Katastrophe werden aufgezeigt und auf den Kontext des Projekts überführt. Anschließend wird von den Versuchsvorbereitungen berichtet, die sich wegen lokaler Begebenheiten, wie umgebende Bergketten und wechselhaftes Wetter, als besonders aufwendig erwies. Dabei werden sowohl die notwendigen Vorbereitungen am Fluggerät und dem verwendeten Kamerasystem als auch der Bodeninfrastruktur, einem Datenlink vom Flugzeug zu einer auf einem Berg gelegenen Zwischenstation als Relais zum Kontrollzentrum im Tal, beleuchtet. Die geplante Verwendung der erfassten Kamerabilder, Einbettung in nahezu Echtzeit in der Kartenebene des Missionsplanungstools mittels Georeferenzierung, sowie die erforderliche Trajektorienplanung in der Vorbereitungsphase zur Erfüllung von Missionszielen des vorgegebenen Krisenszenarios werden beschrieben. Anschließend wird von dem eigentlichen Trial an drei aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen berichtet. Mit dem Roten Kreuz wurden drei grobe Missionsziele vereinbart, entsprechende Flugpläne erstellt und während des Trials auf Anweisung der Rettungskräfte dynamisch der aktuellen Situation angepasst. Damit war es möglich, auf aktuelle Ereignisse in der Katastrophenschutzübung oder Nebeneffekte wie Wettereinflüsse zu reagieren. Der Einsatz des Systems im Versuchskontext, flugplanerische Notwendigkeiten aufgrund der geographischen Gegebenheiten in der Berglandschaft und Anpassungen an das System vor Ort werden geschildert. Abschließend wird das System von den Nutzern qualitativ bewertet. Dabei werden vor allem die Qualität der Bilder und der automatische Flug positiv bewertet, während ein höherer Grad der Automatisierung bei der Analyse der Bilder und andere Aufnahmeperspektiven als wünschenswert erachtet werden. Der Nutzen des Systems im Krisenmanagement wird diskutiert, wobei der modulare Aufbau einen flexiblen Einsatz in allen möglichen Situationen erlaubt. Das Paper schließt mit einem Ausblick auf resultierende kommende Forschungsfragen im Kontext des Krisenmanagements ab

RPAS PROCEDURES AND PHRASEOLOGY FOR DATA LINK LOSS AT AIRPORTS

Increasing demand for drones or remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and their applications, e.g. monitoring of infrastructure or transport of goods, likewise demands for a structured integration into the existing airspace used by conventional traffic. Integration and management of smaller drones in lower airspace is investigated by U-space, the initiative of SESAR Joint Undertaking to ensure safe and secure integration of drones in Europe. The non-segregated integration of RPAS traffic into the existing Air Traffic Management structure, especially at and around airports, is still an open task, which is investigated by the INVIRCAT project. The project aims at developing a concept of operations for RPAS in terminal manoeuvring areas and airports under instrument flight rules. Furthermore, the project assesses this concept through real-time simulations, and drafts a set of requirements and recommendations for rule-makers and standardization bodies. One part of the simulation activities of INVIRCAT has been performed at DLR premises in November 2021. The simulation at DLR focused on the arrival of instrument flights at an international airport, in this case Düsseldorf airport (EDDL). A baseline traffic scenario has been constructed based on recorded traffic at EDDL from 2019, with approximately 35 arrival movements per hour, combining unmanned and conventional aircraft. Up to three selected aircraft have then been replaced by remotely piloted aircraft systems, and RPAS-specific scenario events have been injected, such as data communication loss or high latency on the data communication link. This yielded a total of eight scenarios available for simulation purpose. The simulation assessed the impact of the integration of RPAS within terminal manoeuvring areas on air traffic control, and the adequacy of procedures and phraseology introduced by the developed concept. For this purpose, external air traffic controllers from the organisations IFATCA and ANACNA have been invited to the simulation exercises. The air traffic controllers have been trained at the controller working positions and then been confronted with arriving RPAS. Neither conventional nor RPAS traffic should have been given preference if not required. RPAS should have been treated like the other traffic as much as possible. In case of data communication loss, the RPAS were programmed to enter certain new determined emergency loiter areas separated from the regular arrival streams, known to the air traffic controllers. After regaining the data communication link, the RPAS remained in the emergency loiter area until instructed by air traffic control otherwise. Additionally, these loiter areas may have been used to separate RPAS from the other traffic in any case the air traffic controller sees the need for. Voice communication between RPAS pilot and air traffic controller remained available through all research scenarios. Both RPAS pilot and air traffic controller were provided with suggested phraseology for the case of data communication loss. During the trials, every five minutes each controller indicated his perceived workload on a scale from 1 to 5 (Instantaneous Self Assessment of workload - ISA). After each scenario, both air traffic controller and RPAS pilot have been provided with a questionnaire, asking for their feedback on the applied and available procedures as well as the adequacy of the used phraseology. The introduced procedures were welcomed and rated to be adequate and useful for the purpose of safe integration of RPAS into terminal manoeuvring areas and airports under instrument flight rules. The option to utilise the emergency loiter area during regular operation, i.e. other than automatic activation in case of data communication loss, was not used. However, it was deemed valuable as a “last resort” backup for RPAS. The introduced phraseology for data communication loss was welcomed and rated to be adequate. The full paper will give an insight to the recorded data. This includes a consolidated report of the answered questionnaires from controllers and pilots as well as a data analysis of the traffic flow and the instantaneous self-assessment of workload

Interaction between ATM and UAS operators in U-space operations and potential automation benefits

Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, are increasingly identified and applied in civil use cases, amongst them delivery of medical support systems, medicine, or hospital samples in urban areas. The rapid usage of drones in such context is enabled through advanced air mobility (AAM) and, in particular in Europe, the envisaged U-space ecosystem. When operating in U-space, airspace users are supported by numerous services, such as Flight Authorization or Conformance Monitoring. The level of automation and the number of available services is foreseen to increase in the coming years and decades, leveraging the U-space ecosystem from service level U1 with basic mandatory services only up to service level U4 with high automation. However, the U-space airspace may be in the vicinity of controlled airspace supervised by air traffic management (ATM) with conventional manned traffic managed and separated by air traffic control. In uncontrolled airspace, currently only non-binding Flight Information Services (FIS) are offered to crewed aircraft by Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP). Especially in controlled and also in uncontrolled airspace , the (automated) interaction between U-space airspace users and ATM may be required and can improve safety of both crewed and uncrewed airspace users. Such cases include contingencies or emergencies on either part of the airspace, or requests to use the respective other airspace for urgent flight operations. To that aim, the U-space ecosystem is foreseen to be enriched with procedural and collaborative interfaces between U-space and ATM on the one hand, and the dynamic airspace reconfiguration service on the other hand. Still, the interaction could start from direct communication using voice channels and would need to evolve to automated, service-driven requests and responses, in order to ensure effectiveness and scalability. This paper aims to shed light on the various scenarios and use cases in the scope of UAS operations in which the efficient interaction between U-space airspace users and traditional ATM users is most likely necessary. Ongoing and completed research projects as well as reference material issued by e.g. aviation authorities, such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or the Think Tank of the European Parliament, will be taken into account. The different applications of UAS in U-space are collected and investigated on the possibility or the requirement to interact with ATM. Focus will be given on specific scenarios necessitating close coordination and efficient interaction between U-space users and ATM services. Further, the roles and responsibilities of the actors in these scenarios, i.e. UAS operators, U-space service providers, and air traffic control, will be investigated. In addition, the level of automation and the interaction means is assessed against the current legislative requirements, and potential gaps are identified. The research is complemented with scenarios stemming from the SAFIR-Ready project, tasked by the European research program SESAR to develop advanced (U3) and full (U4) U-space services. The project is investigating requirements for medical transport tasks for drones in urban areas in order to ensure their operational readiness for short-term (emergency) flights. In a final step, the benefits that can be expected from increased automation, i.e. higher service levels of U-space that cover specific societal needs, are discussed. The findings of this paper can be a valuable input to both UAS operators and U-space service providers aiming to conduct AAM operations in effective collaboration with ATM

DLR Blueprint – Initial ConOps of U-Space Flight Rules (UFR)

This Blueprint proposes an initial Concept of Operations (ConOps) of new flight rules for crewed and uncrewed airspace users in U-space airspaces, called U-space Flight Rules (UFR). Based on current European U-space architectures, UFR are intended to enable high-density Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) operations while harmonising with today’s flight rules and Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. This ConOps suggests that all airspace users in U-space airspaces follow a uniform framework of flight rules. The proposed UFR architecture is based on U-space levels, respective U-space services, and aircraft automation capabilities. UFR shall complement existing flight rules and leverage airspace access and flexibility of flight operations of all airspace users

INVIRCAT - A concept of operations to efficiently integrate IFR RPAS into the TMA

INVIRCAT is a European project co-funded by SESAR Joint Undertaking under European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (GA No. 893375), which is dedicated to developing means for a safe and efficient integration of RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) into the existing Air Traffic Control (ATC) procedures and infrastructures within Terminal Manoeuvring Areas (TMA) under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). The 30 months project (01.07.2020 – 31.12.2022) has produced an initial concept of operations for remotely piloted aircraft systems in the TMA of airports, which will be assessed and validated through a set of human-in-the-loop simulations. INVIRCAT focusses on the influence of RPAS specific challenges, such as latency and failure of the voice and command and control links, on human factor aspects of air traffic controllers and remote pilots and investigates possible mitigations, such as the use of automatic take-off and landing systems and predetermined contingency procedures. Thereby, INVIRCAT considers different RPAS types, from MALE/HALE configurations to retrofitted airliners used for cargo operations and an operational environment in which multiple RPAS at a time share the airspace of the TMA with manned aircraft

Application of Unified Departure Operation Spacing to a Large Hub Airport

On large airports with numerous departures per hour, controllers need to organize departing aircraft in such a way that maximum throughput is achieved. The demanded initial spacing of departures from the same runway, or dependent runways, poses a limiting factor. On most airports, an aircraft that follows the same departure pattern as its predecessor, a so called “in-trail departure”, requires radar separation of 3 nautical miles (NM). If the departure direction diverges more than 15 degrees, controllers may apply reduced initial spacing of 2,400 meters (approx. 1.3 NM) according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), or 6000 feet (ft) according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which allows earlier take-off clearance for following traffic, and thus higher throughput of the airport. The Unified Departure Operation Spacing (UDOS) concept allows the controller to apply reduced initial spacing, even for in-trail departures, if certain conditions are met. Those conditions include non-increasing distance to the preceding aircraft until radar separation is established, a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) with a target speed, established separation after at most 10 NM along track, and the presence of jet engines on the according aircraft. This paper investigates the departure situation on a large German airport hub and determines the potential of the UDOS concept on this particular airport. The current separation standards, including definitions of both ICAO and FAA, as well as the UDOS concept are reviewed. Prerequisites for the application of UDOS on that airport hub are presented and evaluated. Real data of departure operations on the airport in focus is available for multiple days of operation, including detailed information on the aircraft type, the actual take-off time (ATOT), and the assigned SID. By using this information, a baseline scenario for each available day of operations is constructed and investigated on presumably applied separation. Subsequently, an optimized departure scenario is established, allowing reduced initial spacing, and thus faster take-off clearance, whenever a flight qualifies for reduced separation. The qualification is determined by the evaluation of anticipated trajectories, based on the given SID route, the aircraft type, and a fuel weight estimation considering the designated arrival airport. A theoretical gain in departures per hour, when using the UDOS concept, is determined. Simulation of these scenarios is performed by operating the simulation environment of DLR's Institute of Flight Guidance. Departure trajectories are created with the air traffic simulator TrafficSim, which has been designed to support development of air traffic scenarios. It uses EUROCONTROL's Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) in order to generate precise trajectories for many different aircraft types, and is capable of simulating up to 30,000 aircraft in real time. All aircraft in the investigated scenarios are equipped with a flight management system (FMS) that can satisfy altitude constraints as well as time constraints and speed constraints. Conflict-freeness of the optimized scenario is ensured by using highly precise and fast conflict detection algorithms available in DLR's FATS

Global time-based conflict solution: Towards the overall optimum

The goal of future Air Traffic Management (ATM) is simple: every airborne vehicle shall fly as efficient as possible. 4D-Trajectory-Based Operations promise improved efficiency, safety benefits, and high predictability in advance. Highly accurate 4D-trajectories allow early conflict detection and efficient conflict resolution. Independently predicted 4D-trajectories ensuring highest efficiency for everyone create conflicts already with low traffic densities. These conflicts are usually solved by lateral, vertical, or time-based avoidance. However, time-based conflict solution is avoided nowadays because increase/decrease of speed needs to be done well in advance in order to reach the initial conflict point at another, conflict-free time. Besides worsening passengers’ comfort, this procedure also changes estimated time of arrival and thus possibly affects the already planned arrival sequence. The idea under investigation in this paper is to perform time-based conflict avoidance by shifting whole flights from departure to arrival in time. Since this procedure preserves original route, altitude and speed profile, it does not decrease operational efficiency of flights. A time shift of a trajectory is performed only when the overall number of conflicts in the scenario decreases with implementation of that time shift. The algorithm does not distinguish between departure, en-route, and arrival conflicts. Therefore, en-route and airport related conflicts are solved at the same time. Conflicts are solved in chronological order. The results can be used for high accuracy flow management. By solving all conflicts of a scenario it can be proven that the traffic amount can be handled on an aircraft-by-aircraft base when implementing calculated advance and delay times. In a more advanced ATM environment where predicted trajectories can be followed with high accuracy, results can be used directly as reference input for real traffic. Since the only operation done on trajectories is moving them in time by few minutes, the initial nominal trajectories only need to be calculated once per flight. Thus, prediction of trajectories could be done outside the optimization tool in a flexible way by airline operation centers or very precisely aboard of aircraft. The scenario used for de-confliction trials is based on one real day of European traffic containing 33 thousand flights. All flights are assumed to fly as direct as possible while respecting some local waypoints for departure and arrival procedures. The corresponding 4D-trajectories produce 28 thousand conflicts based on the underlying conflict metrics. The big majority of these conflicts can be solved by shifting whole flights in time by five minutes at maximum. The paper presents details about the implemented algorithm and results from above described traffic sample. Analysis is done with different maximum time shifts, results are discussed for different phases of flight. Limitations of the procedure are described, and solutions are proposed to solve remaining conflicts

Global Time-Based Conflict Solution: Towards the Overall Optimum

The goal of future Air Traffic Management (ATM) is simple: every airborne vehicle shall fly as efficient as possible. 4D-Trajectory-Based Operations promise improved efficiency, safety benefits, and high predictability in advance. Highly accurate 4D-trajectories allow early conflict detection and efficient conflict resolution. Independently predicted 4D-trajectories ensuring highest efficiency for everyone create conflicts already with low traffic densities. These conflicts are usually solved by lateral, vertical, or time-based avoidance. However, time-based conflict solution is avoided nowadays because increase/decrease of speed needs to be done well in advance in order to reach the initial conflict point at another, conflict-free time. Besides worsening passengers’ comfort, this procedure also changes estimated time of arrival and thus possibly affects the already planned arrival sequence. The idea under investigation in this paper is to perform time-based conflict avoidance by shifting whole flights from departure to arrival in time. Since this procedure preserves original route, altitude and speed profile, it does not decrease operational efficiency of flights. A time shift of a trajectory is performed only when the overall number of conflicts in the scenario decreases with implementation of that time shift. The algorithm does not distinguish between departure, en-route, and arrival conflicts. Therefore, en-route and airport related conflicts are solved at the same time. Conflicts are solved in chronological order. The results can be used for high accuracy flow management. By solving all conflicts of a scenario it can be proven that the traffic amount can be handled on an aircraft-by-aircraft base when implementing calculated advance and delay times. In a more advanced ATM environment where predicted trajectories can be followed with high accuracy, results can be used directly as reference input for real traffic. Since the only operation done on trajectories is moving them in time by few minutes, the initial nominal trajectories only need to be calculated once per flight. Thus, prediction of trajectories could be done outside the optimization tool in a flexible way by airline operation centers or very precisely aboard of aircraft. The scenario used for de-confliction trials is based on one real day of European traffic containing 33 thousand flights. All flights are assumed to fly as direct as possible while respecting some local waypoints for departure and arrival procedures. The corresponding 4D-trajectories produce 28 thousand conflicts based on the underlying conflict metrics. The big majority of these conflicts can be solved by shifting whole flights in time by five minutes at maximum. The paper presents details about the implemented algorithm and results from above described traffic sample. Analysis is done with different maximum time shifts, results are discussed for different phases of flight. Limitations of the procedure are described, and solutions are proposed to solve remaining conflicts