Airborne joint intentions network
Denny Rock, Paul Erway · Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference and Exhibit · 1998
Autonomous agent technology is being investigated for prototype development in Air Traffic Management. This research extends the helicopter pilot agent technology developed for DoD's Synthetic Theatre of War exercises, which involved persistent teams of mixed rotorcraft on planned missions. An ATM extension involves non-persistent teams that must dynamically organize, coordinate, and negotiate the use of airspace resources with entities of various intentions. Of near-term value is a capability to conduct emergency operations where an ATC Instrument Flight Rule infrastructure does not exist or has been destroyed as a result of a natural or man-made disaster. Helicopter and airplane pilots participating in the relief effort must be able to coordinate ATM, resource management, and mission priority, and to build own approaches in real-time. This paper lays groundwork for new ATM concepts including an active Flight Object agent, team-oriented Electronic Flight Rules, and rotorcraft-unique Free Right geometry. Whether agent technology can contribute to realization of longer-term goals of user-preferre d Free Flight and of limited, airborne responsibility for separation assurance in lower altitudes, is not determined. Project success depends upon extending knowledge-based STEAM to enable fluid teaming structures. Interest management algorithms and coalition formation mechanisms are under research for guaranteed, automated mediation. A simulation demonstration using aircraft data is being planned.