Conflict resolution for air traffic management: a study in multiagent hybrid systems

TLDR

Future air traffic management may allow free flight, requiring safe resolution of trajectory conflicts between aircraft for distributed control. The paper proposes a method to synthesize provably safe conflict‑resolution manoeuvres. The method models aircraft and manoeuvres as a hybrid control system, computing the maximal set of safe initial conditions for each aircraft to guarantee separation amid uncertainties, and demonstrates speed and heading change manoeuvres.

Abstract

Air traffic management (ATM) of the future allows for the possibility of free flight, in which aircraft choose their own optimal routes, altitudes, and velocities. The safe resolution of trajectory conflicts between aircraft is necessary to the success of such a distributed control system. In this paper, we present a method to synthesize provably safe conflict resolution manoeuvres. The method models the aircraft and the manoeuvre as a hybrid control system and calculates the maximal set of safe initial conditions for each aircraft so that separation is assured in the presence of uncertainties in the actions of the other aircraft. Examples of manoeuvres using both speed and heading changes are worked out in detail.