Sky-scanner: an innovative LIDAR technology for air traffic management

Laser detection and tracking of aircrafts based systems (LIDARs, LIgth Detection And Ranging systems) are emerging as a critical design trend in development of new generation ATM (Air Traffic Management) paradigms, of which they are the main innovations. The realization of laser sensors as rotating laser range-finder arrays and their combination to versatile systems lead to major advantages for the application such as Air Traffic Control within Aerodrome Traffic Zone (ATZ), airport surveillance and ground to air laser communications, and last but not least to save cost usually at the same time with getting an improved ATC (Air Traffic Control) performance. These laser systems that today can be developed without particular difficulties are challenging classical ATM paradigms in many aspects. Nevertheless, it is commonly recognized that the effectiveness of these systems strictly relies on the capability to reliably perform a track data fusion with airport radars and to manage a new generation ATM paradigm. In particular, driving and control a data fusion between laser tracking data and radar tracking data a very high computation power is required. The main goal of the presented project is therefore to develop a novel laser tracking technology (SKY-Scanner System) capable to detect and track of aircrafts up to at least 6 nautical miles from the ATZ barycenter, namely a facility of enabling techniques, protocols, numerical prediction tools and devices specifically designed for the analysis of the laser systems performances in ATC applications, with the final target of defining a new generation ATM paradigm based on radar and laser tracking data fusion, and ground to air laser communications. The proposed methodology is considered at the frontier of technological research but it represents the only realistic way to put solid basis for the fabrication of effective radar and lidar integrated systems for incorporation in new generation ATM paradigms.