No room for Rembrandt: combining WXR, TCAS, TAWS, FMS, VMS, and CNI on one display

This paper describes the System Integration and Cockpit Topology required for Enhanced Situational Awareness by an aircraft crew combining Mission Management (MMS), Flight Management (FMS), Vehicle Management (VMS), and Communication-Navigation-Identification Management (CNI). The inference to be drawn from the title is that this Topology should be specified in a “top down” manner so as to be the same all around the world, and not to be vendor or software specific. A principal problem treated is that all major aircraft systems such as Weather Radar (WXR), Traffic and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS), FMS, VMS, and CNI have been using the same display color schemes and different data bases which can provide confusion in an integrated system. A radical provision of this approach is that both the pilot and the ground controller can often see the same Situational Awareness display without extensive transmission of data from either location. Also treated are the integration of a millimeter wave radar or radiometer, a course predictor, and a certified database into the Topology