The screenshot shows the essence of the Reroute Impact Assessment enhancement, which was operationally deployed in TFMS in January 2011. The upper panel illustrates a reroute that a FAA traffic manager has defined using the Traffic Situation Display. The middle panel gives a high level overview of how the reroute will affect the air traffic in the affected en route centers. The lower panel shows the detailed effect on the sectors, where each sector is the responsibility of one air traffic controller. Reroute Impact Assessment allows the effect of a reroute to be predicted and how the involved parties will be impacted. This allows negotiation among the parties to adjust the reroute so that all stakeholders are satisfied before the reroute is issued. The software was developed by the Volpe Center. (Volpe Center image)

Sponsor

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Project Highlights

• Formulating and analyzing potential enhancements to existing air traffic management systems and procedures
• Developing and deploying software that provide solutions to anticipated traffic flow management (TFM) issues
• Writing system requirements that enhance the operational efficiency of the National Airspace System's decision-support tools

Project Point of Contact

Rick Oiesen
TFM Project Engineer
617-494-2309
rick.oiesen@dot.gov

Project Overview

For the last quarter of a century, the Volpe Center has been a leader in developing aviation Traffic Flow Management (TFM) from its infancy to its current state in which it plays a major role in bringing about the efficient operation of the nation's aviation system. In the 1980s the Volpe Center's Traffic Flow Management Division invented the Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS), which proved to be the foundation for the development of modern TFM. For many years the Volpe Center conceived of the enhancements to ETMS, wrote the ETMS software, and operated the ETMS hubsite. In 2010, ETMS was replaced by the Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS). In January 2011, Volpe's Reroute Impact Assessment software was operationally deployed and the Execution of Flow Strategies and Corridor Integrated Weather System display software are scheduled to be installed in 2011, as well. The Volpe Center is currently focusing on the system engineering for TFMS and involved in writing the operational TFMS software. The system engineering work consists of formulating potential enhancements, analyzing the enhancements, developing software prototypes, writing system requirements, and generally doing whatever is needed to develop ideas and bring them to operational deployment.

To determine needed enhancements to TFMS and related systems, the Volpe Center collaborates with key stakeholders such as Federal Aviation Administration personnel (at headquarters and at operational facilities such as the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, en route centers, terminal facilities, and towers) and flight operators (airlines, general aviation, and military).