On the effect of uncompensated latencies on trajectory reconstruction for surveillance performance monitoring

In this paper we present the outcomes of the validation of a new error model for ADS-B data that could be used to improve the Opportunity traffic reconstructor (OTR) module of the EUROCONTROL SASS-C suite. The new error model simplifies former models considering just a time bias due to uncompensated latencies, thus neglecting space bias terms representing the drift caused by inertial navigation systems. Moreover, the error model computes the ADS-B error covariance matrix from the reported positions, leading to a more accurate estimation of the measurement noise. Several numerical experiments have been conducted using a test bench implemented in Matlab® to showcase the potential improvement provided by the proposed new error model.