Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Published in:
Cover of the book

2022 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Introduction: Basics, History, and Overview

Authors : Norbert Fürstenau, Jörn Jakobi, Anne Papenfuss

Published in: Virtual and Remote Control Tower

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

Since more than fifteen years an increasing interest is observed worldwide in remote control of low traffic airports by means of some kind of virtual control tower. As outlined in the Foreword by Steve Ellis and in the Preface to the 1st ed. of this book, “Virtual Tower” depicts the idea of replacing the out-of-the-window (OTW) view from a conventional control tower on airports by a Remote Tower Control Center (RTC) relying on advanced video, image processing, and virtual reality technologies. It eliminates the need for direct visual observation and consequently the requirement for a costly tower building at an exposed location in visual distance from the runway. The virtual/remote tower idea is connected with a paradigm change in air transportation due to the growth of low-cost carriers and the corresponding increased usage of small airports which nevertheless require air traffic services (ATS). Cost constraints require new ideas and concepts to meet these requirements, and the control of one or more small airports from a remote location without the need of a direct visual observation from a local tower is one of these visions. After providing in Sect. 1 of this introduction some basics of air traffic control in the airport vicinity, we continue in Sect. 2 with a personal account of Virtual and Remote Control Tower research from the DLR perspective. The section covers the time frame from initial ideas around 2001 to 2014, including advanced video and VR technologies, addressing first operational shadow mode tests of the HMI prototype, and finishing with patent licensing to an industrial partner. In Sect. 3 the focus is on the development and implementation phase between 2010 and 2020, covering the important aspect of multiple remote tower (MRT) operation and standardization within the growing international context. The concluding Sect. 4 contains an overview on the twenty-two Chapters and four technical Appendices of this second edition of the Virtual and Remote Tower book.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
next chapter Visual Features Used by Airport Tower Controllers: Some Implications for the Design of Remote or Virtual Towers
Footnotes
1
ICAO Document 4444 “Procedures for Air Navigation Services - Air Traffic Management”, 16th Edition, 2016.
 
2
ICAO Working Paper, ATMOPSP/6-WP/6.
 
3
EASA, Terms of Reference for rulemaking task RMT.0624, Issue 2.
 
4
EASA, Annex I to ED Decision 2019/004/R, Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services, Issue 2, February 2019.
 
5
We are sad about the fact that Frans passed away during the writing of this 2nd edition. He joined the RTO research from the beginning with well recognized contributions and together with J.J. Roessingh was corresponding author for the Chapters from NLR with LFV and Saab.
 
Literature
Barfield, W., & Caudell, T. (2001). Fundamentals of wearable computers and augmented reality. (W. Barfield, & T. Caudell, Hrsg.) Lawrence Erlbaum.
Brinton, & Atkins. (2006). Remote airport traffic services concept. In Proceedings, I-CNS conference, Baltimore 5/2006. Baltimore.
Ellis, S. R. (1991). Pictorial communication in virtual and real environments. Taylor & Francis.CrossRef
Ellis, S. R., Fürstenau, N., & Mittendorf, M. (2011). Determination of frame rate requirements of video-panorama-based virtual towers using visual discrimination of landing aircraft deceleration during simulated aircraft landing. Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, 22(33), 519–524.
Ellis, S. R., & Liston, D. B. (2011). Visual features used by airport tower controllers: some implications for the design of remote or virtual towers. In Proceedings of the 11th IFAC/IFIP/IFORS/IEA symposium on analysis,design.and evaluation of human machine systems, France, 31/8/2010–3/9/2010. IFAC.
Ellis, S. R., Fürstenau, N., & Mittendorf, M. (2011). Frame rate effects on visual discrimination of landing aircraft deceleration: implications for virtual tower design and speed perception. In A. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (Hrsg.)., (S. 71–75). Las Vegas/USA.
Fürstenau, N., Rudolph, M., Schmidt, M., & Lorenz, B. (2004). On the use of transparent rear projection screens to reduce head-down time in the air-traffic control tower. In Proceedings of the human performance, situation awareness and automation technology (HAPSA II) (S. 195–200). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Fürstenau, N., Rudolph, M., Schmidt, M., Werther, B., Hetzheim, H., Halle, W., & Tuchscheerer, W. (2008). Flugverkehr-Leiteinrichtung (Virtueller Tower). Europäisches Patent EP1791364.
Fürstenau, N., Schmidt, M., Rudolph, M., Möhlenbrink, C., & Halle, W. (2008). Augmented vision videopano-rama system for remote airport tower operation. In I. Grant (Hrsg.), Proceedings of the ICAS, 26th international congress of the aeronautical sciences. Anchorage, Sept. 14–19 2008: ICAS.
Fürstenau, N., Mittendorf, M., & Friedrich, M. (2014). Discriminability of flight maneuvers and risk of false decisions derived from dual choice decision errors in a videopanorama-based remote tower work position. Lecture Notes Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) 8020, 105–114.
Fürstenau, N. (1996). From sensors to situation awareness. DLR Mitteilung 96–02. DLR.
Fürstenau, N. (2004). Virtual Tower. Wettbewerb der Visionen 2001–2004 (pp. 16–19). DLR.
Fürstenau, N. (2011). Steps towards the remote tower center—special sessions 3a, 3b. In BWMMS 2011. Published: Fortschritt-Berichte VDI (vol. 22, no. 33). VDI.
Fürstenau, N. (2013). Remote airport traffic control center (RAiCe). DLR IB-112–2013/20. DLR.
Hannon, D., Lee, J., Geyer, M., Mackey, S., Sheridan, T., Francis, M., . . . Malonson, M. (2008). Feasibility evaluation of a staffed virtual tower. The Journal of Air Traffic Control, 27–39.
ICAO. (2012). Twelfth air navigation conference, working paper: Procedures at remote towers. ICAO Int. Civil Aviation Organisation.
ICAO Int. Civil Aviation Organization. (2001). Document 444 ATM/501; Procedures for air navigation services. ICAO.
Kraiss, K., & Kuhlen, T. (1996). Virtual reality—principles and applications. In N. Fürstenau (Ed.), From sensors to situation awareness. DLR-Mitteilung 112–96–02, S. 187–208.
Lange, M., Möhlenbrink, C., & Papenfuss, A. (2011). Analyse des Zusammenhangs zwischen dem Workload von Towerlotsen und objektiven Arbeitsparametern. Internal Report IB 112 2011/46, 45. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Inst. of Flight Guidance.
LFV. (2014). LFV first in the world to have an operating licence for remote towers. LFV Press release.
Papasin, R., Gawdiak, Y., Maluf, D., Leidich, C., & Tran, P. B. (2001). Airport remote tower sensor system. In Proceedings of the conference advances in aviation safety.
Peterson, S., & Pinska, E. (2006). Human performance with simulated collimation in transparent projection screens. In Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on research in air transportation (S. 231–237). Eurocontrol.
Pinska, E. (2006). An investigation of the head-up time at tower and ground control positions. In Proceedings of the 5th eurocontrol innovative research workshop (S. 81–86). Eurocontrol.
Schmidt, M., Rudolph, M., Werther, B., & Fürstenau, N. (2006). Remote airport tower operation with augmented vision video panorama HMI. In Proceedings 2nd international conference in air transportation (S. 221–230). Eurocontrol.
Tavanti, M. (2006). Control tower operations: a literature review of task analysis studies. Eurocontrol Experimental Center EEC Note 05.
Tavanti, M. (2007). Augmented reality for tower: using scenarios for describing tower activities. In Proceedings of the 28th digital avionics systems conference (DASC'07) (S. 5.A.4–1 - 5.A.4–12). IEEE.
Werther, B., & Uhlmann, H. (2005). Ansatz zur modellbasierten Entwicklung eines Lotsenarbeitsplatzes. VDI-Fortschrittberichte: Zustandserkennung und Systemgestaltung (vol. 22, pp. 291–294). VDI.
Werther, B. (2005). Kognitive Modellierung mit farbigen Petrinetzen zue Analyse menschlichen Verhaltens. DLR FB 2005–26.
Werther, B. (2007). Airport control model for simulation and analysis of airport control processes. In Proceedings of the HCII2007: Lecture notes computer science (vol. 4558). Springer.
Wickens, C. D., Mavor, A. S., Parasuraman, R., & McGee, J. P. (1998). The future of air traffic control—human operators and automation. National Academy Press.
Metadata
Title
Introduction: Basics, History, and Overview
Authors
Norbert Fürstenau
Jörn Jakobi
Anne Papenfuss
Copyright Year
2022
Book
Virtual and Remote Control Tower

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-93649-5

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-93650-1

Copyright Year: 2022

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93650-1_1

Premium Partner

    Image Credits