Studying NextGen Concepts with the Multi-Aircraft Control System  (2008)

This paper describes new functionality recently added to the Multi Aircraft Control System (MACS) software. MACS is a comprehensive research platform used in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) at NASA Ames Research Center that has been developed to increase the overall realism and flexibility of controller- and pilot-in-the loop air traffic simulations. The research focus in the AOL is on examining distributed air traffic operations in complex air/ground environments. MACS was originally developed to rapidly prototype new interfaces, displays, tools and operational concepts for managing air traffic and evaluating them from different perspectives. New capabilities have been added to MACS to better investigate NextGen concepts, including the capability to simulate airspaces that span multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs), and powerful tools for creating and editing custom traffic and weather scenarios.

+ Palmer, Everett

+ Mercer, Joey

+ Prevot, Thomas

+ Jacoby, Richard

+ Globus, Al

+ Homola, Jeffrey

+ Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL)

ATC, Concepts, Control, MACS, Multi-Aircraft, NextGen, Studying, System

AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference and Exhibit, 18 - 21 August 2008, Honolulu, Hawaii.

  MercerAiaaMst20087026.pdf (Download Acrobat Reader )
  (829KB) (application/pdf)