Using Visualization Tools to Analyze Automated Flight Conflict Resolution Concepts

Air traffic is expected to increase in the coming years. Currently, air traffic controllers are responsible for maintaining a safe and efficient National Airspace System. However, it is unlikely that human cognitive abilities will be able to keep up with the continuous increase in traffic. In response, automated ground-based and airborne separation assurance algorithms have been developed. The safety of the NAS is of the utmost importance and therefore, meticulous evaluation of the algorithms is a crucial step in implementation of these concepts. Thus, it has become necessary to develop external visualization tools designed to verify, validate, and improve the existing algorithms by making them more robust. These visualization tools allow researchers perfecting the algorithms to run simulations without having to run entire programs or filter through vast amounts of data.