Rannoch Gets Patent for Automatic Airport Data Correlation

The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Rannoch Corporation a patent for its new methods to fuse airport operational data.

The techniques involve automatically importing, integrating, and managing tower broadcast data, including ATIS and D-ATIS (analog and digital automatic terminal information service), weather data including AWOS (automated weather observing system), and LLWAS (low-level windshear alert system), as well as aircraft operational and situational data from TCAS (traffic alert and collision avoidance system) and ACARS (aircraft communications addressing and reporting system).

According to Rannoch, the ability to provide this data stream into an airport management system in real time, where it can be recorded, correlated, and queried is unique in the industry, and can offer substantial value.

Rannoch has been offering the integration and fusion of these operations data streams along with multilateration and ADS-B (broadcast automatic dependent surveillance) aircraft tracking information in its AirScene airport management system for over two years at airports such as Indianapolis, and at Louisville where it is used in the airport's environmental programs.  It will be installed later this year in Boston, Rannoch says.

Thomas Breen, who manages Rannoch's aviation information systems, says having this type of data available allows airport managers to accurately document history on such things as which runway was in use and why, and to run reports based on actual airfield conditions.

This capability hasn't been possible before, according to Alex Smith, Rannoch's president and CEO. "Traditional systems have attempted to fill in this essential data from a combination of non-integrated sensors... [But] no other system has been capable of importing this data automatically into the operational database."  01-31-2006.

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