SkyGrid Concept of Operations (ConOps)

SkyGrid ConOps: Supporting Air Navigation Services Providers with AAM Airspace Integration

Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) manage the safe and efficient flow of aircraft in the airspace. They are responsible for providing services such as Air Traffic Management (ATM), Air Information Services (AIS), meteorological services, and conventional communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) infrastructure, as well as aerodrome information, navigation charts, Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs), and more.

With the introduction of AAM into existing airspaces, ANSPs may be required to reorganize some of the airspace so that existing aircraft and new AAM aircraft can operate efficiently and without conflicts. That’s where SkyGrid’s system, as a Third-Party Service Provider (TSP), comes into play.

 

AAM Integration Challenges

Airspace integration of AAM is likely to pose several challenges to ANSPs. For example, the introduction of AAM traffic can lead to an increase in Air Traffic Control (ATC) workload since controllers will have more aircraft to monitor and communicate with. New AAM flights will also need to be planned and executed in ways that are deconflicted from existing air traffic.

AAM operations will likely take place in operating environments that are already highly structured and constrained, given the AAM industry’s focus on urban and regional air mobility. SkyGrid believes that the capabilities it is developing can equip ANSPs with the airspace management tools needed to safely and efficiently integrate AAM operations in these settings at scale.

 

SkyGrid’s Solution

SkyGrid’s system will provide AAM operators with a single data endpoint for high-quality and high-integrity information about their operating environment, including data on traffic, vertiport and airport availability, weather, and airspace status. Equipped with this information, operators will have a greater ability to understand and navigate complex airspaces. For ANSPs, this will contribute to AAM flights that are easier to manage, since the SkyGrid system will highlight local constraints to operators, such as airspace closures and available routes. No two airspaces are the same, and our system will support operators in adapting their operations to local environments.

In the far term, SkyGrid is developing new tools to help ATC manage high-tempo AAM operations without incurring a significant increase in workload. For instance, SkyGrid’s Flight Plan Validation service may support controllers in the approval of routine AAM flights between urban vertiports, and SkyGrid’s Traffic Synchronization service may help controllers find ideal times to clear AAM aircraft to takeoff based on real-time traffic conditions. These capabilities may also allow controllers in the future to manage AAM operations with less need for voice communications with each individual aircraft, allowing for a greater maximum throughput of AAM aircraft in the airspace.

When operating using pre-planned routes, AAM aircraft will operate with high predictability to both operators and ATC. Adding to this predictability, SkyGrid’s Conformance Monitoring service will be capable of alerting controllers in the event that an AAM aircraft deviates from its assigned route, further reducing the controller’s monitoring workload and allowing them to mitigate deviations faster.

In the future, new interfaces with ANSP systems may be developed, but this is likely to occur under new flight rules and operational rules. To learn more about how SkyGrid’s system and third-party services will help ANSPs manage the integration of AAM aircraft under existing operational rules, read our Concept of Operations.

 

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