ADS-B and Multilateration Optimization Patent Awarded to Era

(Reston, VA., August 30, 2007) -- Era has been awarded a patent covering fundamental attributes of network-centric management of surveillance system-wide information, including distributed timing and surveillance data bandwidth management. The patent includes methods of ADS-B tracking and multilateration, where aircraft transponder signals are received over local, regional and wide-area networks using a number of receivers designed to filter redundant transponder signals, time-stamp filtered signals and forward surveillance information to air traffic control and other users.

Conventional triangulation techniques on an aircraft's transponder signal have required decoding real-time transponder replies at several locations, time-stamping them and sending them to a central location for processing. Because each sensor has to time-stamp individual transponder signals, a relatively high bandwidth communications medium was required between each remote sensor and the central server. This is generally viewed as a barrier to large-scale implementation of wide area surveillance networks, especially in more remote regions where there may be limited communications infrastructure.

Era's patented techniques alleviate this problem, allowing users to manage massive amounts of real-time aircraft transponder information and use a variety of existing datalink and network implementations with various bandwidth constraints. Furthermore, the technique accommodates both passive and active surveillance systems for air traffic control, military, homeland security and commercial airport applications.

Era's solutions include hardware, software and systems for correlating flight identification data with aircraft registration numbers, including correlation of flight identification data from aircraft communications with the data from Mode S and ADS-B transponder transmissions. For some applications, this creates the same data as an air traffic controller would see, without the need for any active interrogation or connection to any Air Traffic Control equipment.

"Once again, Era has introduced truly ground-breaking solutions to facilitate the practical and early implementation of proven innovative surveillance solutions that will provide all users with tangible benefits," said Dave Ellison, President and CEO of Era Corporation. "This new technology allows for a myriad of opportunities, ranging from improving air traffic control efficiency and homeland security applications to aircraft noise mitigation and will help better serve all of our customers."

Source : Era Corporation

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