Visualization of Airport Procedures in Time Critical Decision Support Systems

This paper reports on the development of two alternative visualizations of airport requirements for approach and departure trajectories. The work is undertaken within the FP6 SKY-Scanner project that develops a new lidar (laser radar, LIght Detection And Ranging) equipment. Radar and lidar data fusion provides the SKY-Scanner system with exact aircraft position within the aerodrome traffic zone (ATZ). We propose a new surveillance paradigm which enables the controller to estimate visually a current situation without mental calculations of altitude and distance. Two alternative prototypes are based on innovative ideas proposed in aeronautics. A demonstration of alternative designs supports the discussion, invites users to compare solutions and thus provides developers with informative user feedback. The paper proposes visualizations based on 2D and 3D view integration and on pure 3D photorealistic view. The paper explores how innovative visualizations create new opportunities for controlling air traffic in the ATZ.