Continuous airport vehicle asset tracking system (CAVATS)

Airline passenger travel in the U.S. is forecast to increase an average annual rate of 5.1% between 2003 and 2015, as stated by the official Federal Aviation Administration forecast and acknowledged by industry experts. Economic uncertainties and National security concerns have delayed airport expansions requiring alternatives towards creating additional airport gate capacity. The Sensis Corporation is sponsoring the continuous airport vehicle asset tracking system (CAVATS) team to design an asset tracking system that may improve an airline's method of ground vehicle command, communication and control (C3) of an airport hub. (CAVATS) is a surveillance, information and communication system. We present the results of the design and parametric evaluation of a conceptual CAVATS system. Results of a stochastic simulation, using real data collected, is used in conjunction with preliminary system cost estimates to perform a business case evaluation.