SafeRoute™ is a set of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)
software applications designed to improve the safety and efficiency of flight
operations. SafeRoute’s unique capabilities include merging & spacing and surface
area movement management (SAMM), and are available individually or as a set.
SafeRoute’s SAMM application shows the aircraft's location on an airfield and its
proximity to other aircraft on the airfield. The software module leverages other
technologies already installed onboard the aircraft to display diagrams of runways,
taxiways, gates and airport infrastructure, and gives pilots position of other aircraft
and alerts them to potential runway incursions.
The merging & spacing function enables aircraft to display information that guides
merging maneuvers and spacing behind other aircraft during flight arrival. The
improved situational awareness allows pilots to maintain proper sequencing and the
data instructs pilots to speed up or slow down to keep a consistent interval between
their aircraft and others on approach. These improvements permit operators to keep
engines near idle during descent, which can save hundreds of pounds of fuel with
each approach. The system will also enable reductions in noise and emissions below
3,000 ft.
SafeRoute is platform-independent software (a DO-178B Level C system) that can be hosted on ACSS’s
Surveillance Processor. Its computing power and physical space allows for additional
software modules such as TCAS, TAWS, and Mode S Transponder.
SafeRoute builds on ACSS’s family of industry-leading products that have helped
set new standards in aviation safety.
Surface Area Movement Management
Over the last four years, nearly 1500 runway incursions have occurred at
controlled airports in the U.S. The SAMM application provides flight crews with
an airport surface map and tracks the movements of their aircraft and other ground
and airborne traffic in the terminal area, and alerts crews of potential conflicts. The
SAMM module within SafeRoute uses ADS-B and TIS-B (Traffic Information
Service-Broadcast) to track other vehicles on the airport grounds. This function
would have dramatically reduced or eliminate the number of incursions over the
past four years.
SafeRoute gives a yellow warning to this taxiing aircraft to make the pilot aware that the runway is active.
If the pilot ignores the yellow warning and continues onto an active runway, the runway and takeoff aircraft will turn red and an aural alert will be given.
Merging & Spacing
The Merging & Spacing function makes use of onboard aircraft surveillance to
provide flight deck spacing commands that allow aircraft to follow one another at
the safest, most efficient interval possible from cruise altitude to the runway. These
applications ensure more consistent aircraft spacing while increasing capacity and
efficiency within the terminal airspace.
Note the aircraft on the far left. It was given instructions to vector off course because it did not have the proper spacing from the lead aircraft for approach. This procedure wastes time and fuel. With the Merging & Spacing functions, aircraft will be spaced far from the destination aircraft so when the they come to the merge point, they will have the proper spacing.
