Realtime Runway Braking Action measurement

[PEI_3721]

ross, I cannot recall any aircraft/system having a light indicating operation (anti-skid activity). Anti-skid can cycle the brake pressure very rapidly on wet and dry runways; see http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_do...airAC25_7C.pdf page 55 onwards. Thus an activity indication may be meaningless or not even feasible.
I suspect you are thinking of an indication of the anti-skid system being available or not.

The problem with aircraft-based detection / analysis systems is that their output is historical – someone has to experience the conditions before a computation can be made; and even then the conditions can change quickly.
The ICAO guidance (thanks tribo), seeks to gather the highest quality of information to pass to a pilot before landing. Even at best, this information is only an estimate of ‘braking action’ (estimated surface friction).

It is interesting to note from the accident report (post #1) that the preceding aircraft (CRJ) reported having no braking problems. This could have been due to rapidly changing conditions or perhaps the CRJ’s use of reverse thrust. Reverse and auto-brake, can mask the actual braking condition (dependent on the source of decelerating force) because full brake effectiveness may not be demanded.
Any automatic assessment system would have to take account of this, but even so the result may only be an estimate for a particular aircraft type.
An automated system may reduce many of the risks arising from the use of PIREPS for guidance (highly subjective and type / operation specific), but in all instances where advanced information is not available, good judgement must be used – knowledge, awareness, risk assessment; how are these to be computed.