Conflict detection and alerting for separation assurance systems

Many of the nation's airspace users desire an increase in efficiency in the air traffic control system. Some feel that an increase in efficiency can be achieved by moving away from a centralized control paradigm towards a distributed control paradigm. In a distributed control paradigm, the cockpit crew would have more freedom in selecting and modifying their routes. This new paradigm is part of the Free Flight concept. Increased autonomy of operations will require increases in cockpit information, pilot responsibility, and avionics capability. One of the key enabling capabilities will be the detection and resolution of air traffic conflicts. CD&R systems will serve in a separation assurance role for the flight deck. Conflict detection is the first step. This paper contains the following: background information on airborne conflict detection and alerting; a baseline conflict detection algorithm based on instantaneous state vectors; and an analysis of the algorithm's performance for flight data from the ADS-B Operational Evaluation.