Seminar: Challenges and Opportunities in Air Traffic Management

Abstract

Air Traffic Management (ATM) is an essential enabler of aviation. This was evidenced by the rapid growth in aviation following the introduction of ‘all weather operations,’ i.e. when aircraft could first be operated in degraded meteorological conditions because they could utilize ground-based electronic systems for navigation, and air traffic controllers could surveil aircraft using radar. This has also been evidenced in recent years, albeit in a negative way, by the congestion and delay that have resulted because the technologies on the ground (i.e. ground-based communication, navigation and surveillance systems) have not kept pace with the technologies in the air (i.e. the avionics on-board aircraft).

ATM modernization is arguably the greatest challenge to the continued grown of aviation. If aviation is to continue to grow without even greater increases in congestion and delay, and negative consequences on the environment, then both the capacity and efficiency of the air transportation system must be increased. Improved ATM is key to achieving these necessary increases in system capacity and efficiency.  In the United States, the most recent ATM modernization effort began in earnest in 2003 when the U.S. Congress established the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) to plan and coordinate the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Since 2014, the modernization effort in the United States has continued under the auspices of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NextGen Office. The parallel ATM modernization effort in Europe is SESAR, the Single European Skies ATM Research. Other nations and regions throughout the world are also pursuing ATM modernization efforts.

Over the past two decades, my research team and I have developed several methodologies and technologies that are of critical importance to ATM modernization by leveraging our expertize in aircraft trajectory prediction and optimization, especially as it pertains to the development of flight procedures that reduce the environmental impact of aviation. For example, we developed a novel analytical framework and simulation-based methodology for the development of flight procedures that reduce the environmental impact of aircraft operations during descent, approach, and landing. We utilized this framework and methodology to develop the first fully autopilot-coupled Continuous Descent Arrival/Optimized Profile Descent (CDA/OPD) procedure to be used in daily operation, which the FAA estimates has saved over 13.7 million pounds (2 million gallons) of jet fuel and 41 million pounds of CO2 emissions per year since its introduction on 20 December 2007. 

We have also developed stochastic models and optimization algorithms for improving the efficiency and robustness of airline, airport, and air traffic operations. With regards to airline operations, we have pioneered many different approaches to robust airline scheduling. Two such approaches, designed to minimize passenger disruptions and achieve robust airline schedule plans, have been shown to jointly reduce the number of passenger misconnections by approximate 40% without significantly increasing operational costs. With regards to airport and air traffic operations, we have developed a solution methodology based on the stochastic branch and bound algorithm to find optimal, or close to optimal, solutions to the stochastic airport runway scheduling problem; as well as the first-ever framework for computing the stochastic capacity of a volume of airspace. 

In this presentation, I will outline what I consider to be the most significant challenges to ATM modernization, and present the results of my most recent research efforts to address these challenges. I will also present my vision for the future of ATM, and discuss how the methodologies and technologies that I and others have developed, and could develop in the near future, provide realistic opportunities to achieve this vision.

About the Speaker

John-Paul Clarke is a Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where he has appointments in Aerospace Engineering and Industrial and Systems Engineering, and serves as Director of the Air Transportation Laboratory.

Dr. Clarke is a leading expert in aircraft trajectory prediction and optimization, especially as it pertains to the development of flight procedures that reduce the environmental impact of aviation.  His research has been instrumental in changing both the theory and the practice of flight procedure design, and has spurred the global effort to reduce the environmental impact of aviation via changes in operational procedures. He is also an expert in the development and use of stochastic models and optimization algorithms to improve the efficiency and robustness of airline, airport, and air traffic operations.

Professor Clarke is co-Chair of the Joint Planning Committee for the AIAA-AAAF Aviation Noise and Emissions Reduction Symposium (ANERS) and a member of the US Army Science Board and the NASA Advisory Council Aeronautics Committee. He was co-Chair of the National Academies Committee that developed the US National Agenda for Autonomy Research related to Civil Aviation, and a member of the National Academies Committee that reviewed the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Over the years, he has chaired or served on advisory and technical committees chartered by the AIAA, EU, FAA, ICAO, NASA, the National Academies, and the US DOT.

Dr. Clarke received the S.B., S.M., and Sc.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1991, 1992, and 1997, respectively. His many prior honors include the 1999 AIAA/AAAE/ACC Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award, the 2003 FAA Excellence in Aviation Award, the 2006 National Academy of Engineering Gilbreth Lectureship, and the 2012 AIAA/SAE William Littlewood Lectureship. He was recently elected AIAA Fellow, and is a member of AGIFORS, INFORMS, and Sigma Xi.