A stochastic control approach to flight path monitoring

Abstract

In the Programme for Harmonised Air Traffic management Research in Eurocontrol (PHARE) Medium Term Scenario, a number of Advanced Tools are described which must be developed in order to increase Air Traffic Control capacity and the flight efficiency of aircraft while keeping at least the same level of safety. One of these Tools is the Flight Path Monitoring Tool. To get some grip on qualitative aspects of Flight Path Monitoring, a stochastic control approach is considered. The approach itself and the first results achieved with it are described in this report. Two kinds of stochastic control are dealt with, viz. stochastic impulse control and stochastic continuous control. For the latter one, a LQG problem formulation (a Linear model under Gaussian noise with a Quadratic cost function) is considered. For this type of problem formulation, the optimal control is known. A number of experiments are executed to illustrate the optimal control for a simple Flight Path Monitoring problem. The results of these experiments, in combination with the analytical results from impulse control theory, provide a sound basis for the design of a Flight Path Monitoring Tool.