Exploring opportunities for an evolutionary integration of level 3 conflict awareness support into ATC/C2 systems

Results from research into conflict probe displays have demonstrated that for a self-separation task, both pilots of manned aircraft and UAS operators are better able to distinguish between situations in which, if the current state is not altered, a future loss of separation will occur, and situations where separation will be maintained. These findings confirm the expected level 3 conflict awareness that is provided through the explicit depiction of the predicted conflict space. To explore whether the depiction of the predicted conflict space also has merit for supporting ATC during phases of initial UAS integration into the NAS, the feasibility of an integration of a conflict probe function into an existing ATC system has been addressed. The near-term feasibility for such an integration on the Multi-Aegis Site Emulator ATC/C2 system has been demonstrated using actual surveillance data and actual hardware.