AIRBORNE INFORMATION INITIATIVES: CAPITALIZING ON A MULTI-PURPOSE BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECT

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental broadcast data link system architecture to identify and validate requirements for a broadcast data link and associated applications. Three key broadcast applications, including: Automatic Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast (ADS-B), Flight Information ServicesBroadcast (FIS-B), and Traffic Information ServiceBroadcast (TIS-B), are being investigated. The experimental system comprises three prototype components. The components are the Universal Access Transceiver (UAT), the Airborne Research Prototype (ARP), and the Ground Broadcast Server (GBS). Simplicity, affordability, and beneficial capabilities are the driving considerations for this work. The operational objectives are: to provide capabilities that are simple, affordable, and provide immediate benefit and utility to the aircraft operator; to enhance the user's ability to maintain separation from other aircraft; and to enable simplifications to the Air Traffic Management (Am) process.