Voice communications systems for virtual and remote towers
As large airports and international hubs continue to grow, providing optimized air traffic control services from the existing tower facility may be a challenge, since it might be too small for the number of controllers needed or no longer provide the best overview of all runways and aprons due to the airport's expansion. On the other hand, at small airports it may prove difficult to remain cost efficient, since their low flight volumes usually do not justify running full air traffic control services from the on-site tower.
A solution to these challenges is digitizing air traffic control functions, such as optical, voice and data communications, and providing it either from a digital/virtual tower somewhere else in the airport or from a remote tower/center at a completely different location via a high-speed IP network. High-resolution cameras installed at masts along the runway or apron provide instant visuals of the situation and the IP based CERTIUM voice communications system (VCS) dynamically connects to air-to-ground and ground-to-ground communications resources at the airport.
For ATC remote towers, Rohde & Schwarz provides a future-proof, IP-ready solution that enables the creation of flexible and scalable virtual tower environments. Our CERTIUM components, built on EUROCAE ED-136 and ED-137 standards, harness the benefits of IP technology, including high flexibility and network resilience, to support the remote control of multiple airports from a single location. To ensure the reliability and performance of these complex systems, our R&S®AVQA analysis system provides real-time monitoring and analysis, utilizing passive mid-point data flow analysis to detect and report any issues, ensuring that every link is fully functional and operational, and air traffic controllers can safely and efficiently manage air traffic from a remote location.
Thanks to its fully IP based system architecture, scalability and distributed infrastructure, CERTIUM VCS is ideal for remote air traffic control tower applications and integrates seamlessly with CERTIUM Radios. Synergy effects for procurement, operation and maintenance can be achieved because the same IP infrastructure can be used simultaneously for a large number of applications, including voice, video and weather.
