Runway Incursion Software
 

Just out of interest do any airports have any kind of runway incursion detection/ alert systems in place and how do they work? Sensors? Cameras?

Many thanks.

VCR ATCO's eyeballs?

Very common. Required for CAT II and III ILS operations. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and soon Perth use the SAAB / Sensis A-SMGCS. Uses aircraft Mode S transponder along with MLAT ground stations and primary SMR.

Where is it stated as a requirement for CAT II/III?

Australia.

HA. Was looking for something a bit more high-tech.

Fujii- How does it work then? Detect that the aircraft has passed the hold position and alert the controller?

A couple of ways. It compares the aircraft position calculated using MLAT and the SMR with an electronic map. It is also linked with the stop bars. If a stop bar is off and an aircraft crosses the holding point, no alert.

It also operates target to target. Imagine an aircraft on final. A-SMGCS builds a number of predictive "boxes" ahead of the aircraft. The size depends on speed. If the leading box touches another target on the runway, an alert is produced. The boxes rapidly diminish when an aircraft lands so there is a possibility that if there were a vehicle at the upwind end of a runway, the boxes may not touch it. In that case there would be an incursion but no alert.

For departing aircraft, if there is another target on the RWY, an alert is produced when the departure exceeds a system speed where it changes from being a taxiing target to a departure.

Fujii,

Interesting. Is it required for CAT II/III approaches? Or ops below RVR 550m? What about departures?

Gonzo,

It is required for <550 metres and LVP. For LVTO you're already well and truly in within LVP minima. Our transmissometers are approved for fog and most only. If visibility is reduced due to rain or dust, the ILS is CAT I only.

As LVP applies are implemented over the entire airfield, there are times when some taxiways will be obscured but the runways visible to the tower. In this case there are local procedures to handle vehicles.

future atc, check your PM. I can send you a screenshot of A-SMGCS.

Safegate provides runway incursion detection & alerting on their airport ighting control & A-SMGCS systems. They have it installed in Singapore and other airports.

From their website:

Safegate - Success Stories - Singapore Changi Airport

http://www.safegate.com/data/safegat...Binder1new.pdf

It uses induction loops / microwave barrier detection systems in addition to SMR / MLAT

fujii
At YSSY it is not linked to stop bar system

Missy, one day you'll get INTAS.

future_ATC If you need any info regarding RIMCAS or other Incursion monitoring I can give you what info I can. I'm a Tels man... (Engineering)

Thanks for all the responses.

Just curious - are runway incursions now a big problem? During 20 years in Heathrow Tower I can only recall two.

HD, Yes, although the definition has changed to increase the scope of what is covered by the term, and I'd imagine that all of them are reported on now. I remember even back in my 'old days' (late 90s/early 2000s) that if someone just crossed over a stop bar/holding point in error, it probably wouldn't have been reported if it caused no issue.

It may have been quiet at Heathrow, however, there have been some big ones in the rest of the world. Tenerife being the worst. Others at Milan a few years ago and in the U.S. It is not just aircraft to aircraft/vehicle but departures/landings on closed runways. A-SMGCS also allow a runway to be configured as closed so an alert is produced when an aircraft enters or approaches.

Rimcas is Indra product name - but other manufacturers have an equivalent safetynet. Varying degrees of "performance"

In general though all old school and not that great - future is safety nets that are intention based.

Take the example of a departure against a vehicle or aircraft that on the runway ahead of it, missed by the ATCO, an alert would only be generated once the aircraft reaches a specific speed(so less or no time to react) the newer safety nets would activate from the controllers input of a take off clearance, which would generate the alert at that point even before the aircraft moved.

See systems like ATRiCs which equally demonstrate the follow the greens concept - and just one of many additional safety nets including stop bar control - and a system designed for ATCOs not engineers.