FR-AIS Technical Architecture Speaker: Thomas LUTZ Author: Hannes BRUNNER Washington, March 2008

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 2 About the speaker  Thomas Lutz is a Senior Software Designer of the FR-AIS software (FR-AIS – Frequentis Aeronautical Information Management System).  Mr. Lutz has 10 years experience in software design and development for information systems for air traffic management and Geographical Information systems.  He was instrumental in the development of the Eauropean Aeronautical Database (EAD) and the new AIXM compliant Canadian AIS system in  In his recent work on EAD and the Frequentis AIS using AIXM Mr. Lutz has hands on experience with the latest AIXM technologies.

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 3 AIXM 5 – a great step ahead  The introduction of AIXM 5 will be another great step ahead for air traffic safety. It will bring  Better efficiency and safety of aeronautical data interchange  Move away from message-centric to data-centry approach  Improved situational awareness  Great platform for integrating with non-AIS systems  Good basis for system implementations based on the underlying UML model (AICM)  Integration of static data with dynamic data (XNOTAM)  Adoption of open standards (e.g. ISO etc.)

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 4 AIXM 5 Key Improvements 1.Temporality -Baseline -Version -Permanent Delta -Temporary Delta 2.Extensibility -New features -New attributes -New domain values 3.Introduction of Metadata and Integrity 4.Geometry information in GML

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 5 What are the challenges? (technical)  Technical impact on existing systems: -Adaptation of underlying data model requires significant (costly) changes of the systems / software -Interface implementations have to be adapted -Techical / commercial: often a procurement has to take place to order system changes -Connected legacy systems may not support the new functionalities -Backwards-compatibility not always possible modifications

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 6 How to deal with the technical impacts?  Less complicated than the operational impacts  FR-AIS will try to hide the technical changes and will keep a compatibility layer  AIXM 5, AIXM 4.5, AIXM 3.3 and ARINC 424 and other exchange formats will be supported  Not all compatibility levels have the same level of functionality  Interface-level compatibility will be retained as far as possible  New domain values will be mapped to old ones  Incremental implementation of AIXM 5 features

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 7 What are the challenges? (operational)  Operational impacts: -End-users have very limited interest in the technical realisation – everything should stay as it is. -Considerable training effort involved in data model changes due to changing HMIs -Some changes in AIXM 5 like XNOTAM are philosophy changes and may require operational re-structuring -Significant impacts on operational procedures -Operational impact of system changes – every technical transition has an impact on operations

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 8 How to deal with the operational impacts?  Try to keep techical changes as far as possible transparent, new features are optional  Keep HMI and work flow as close as possible to existing implementation.  Perform technical upgrade incrementally to avoid resource impact  Perform philosophy-related changes later in the process

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 9 Incremental Upgrades Release 5 (e.g.)  Step 1a Implementation of Data compatibility Layer and flexible Rule Engine -Data compatibility layer allows different formats for data input and output -Supports different AIXM versions, ARINC 424, other formats, custom formats are possible (custom reports) -Rule management is enhanced to allow more flexible definition and modification of SDO rules  Step 1b: Implementation of temporality Model for PERM data and UP/download interfaces and Obstacle Model -As FR-AIS supports large parts of the temporality model already, this is not such a big change -Introduction of flexible “data states“ allowing flexible adaptation of workflow to current practice or intermediate strategy  Step 1c: De-coupling of HMI from underlying AICM version -Allow AIXM version of choice for each user / (sub)organisation  Step 1d: Extensibility -Flexible modification and addition of new entities and attributes

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 10 Current Status  Implementation is converging with AIXM 5  Several key features are available or will be available soon  Additional AIXM 5 features are constantly being added  Underlying implementation will be AIXM 5 long before exposure to end-users

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 11 Making AIXM 5 attractive to end-users

© FREQUENTIS 2007 Date: (c) Dec 2005Rev.1 File: fr-ais_architectureAuthor: H. BrunnerPage: 12 Making AIXM 5 attractive to end-users

Questions?