The ADS-B / TCAS / ATCRBS/Mode S
Transponders
Home Page.
About this site:
Welcome to the ADS-B / TCAS / ATCRBS/Mode
S Home Page. This site is provided by the personnel at the Federal Aviation Administration's William J. Hughes Technical
Center. This web site supports the
following FAA project
areas: ADS-B, TCAS and the ATCRBS/Mode S transponders.
For those that don’t already know, here is
a brief description of each of these project areas:
·
ADS-B
- Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast.
ADS-B is a surveillance concept whereby a
vehicle (airborne or ground) broadcasts its position, at regular time intervals,
for receipt by some application. ADS-B
is an enabling technology for many new applications. These applications are being developed to improve airborne
and airport safety and capacity. The
main benefit of this technology is that it provides an accurate, low cost way to
gather position information. Much of the work being done on ADS-B
standards and performance specifications is being done within Special Committee
186 of RTCA, Inc. Many of the working groups within SC-186 are supported
directly with web pages within this web site. (For more details about
ADS-B and brief descriptions of all of
the SC-186 working groups, jump to the ADS-B main
page.)
·
TCAS
- Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System.
TCAS is an airborne collision avoidance
system developed by the FAA in the 1980’s.
ACAS, an international standard, is the same as the latest TCAS II, which
is called Version 7.
(The Version 7 requirements were completed in 1997 and published in RTCA
document DO-185A.) ACAS has been mandated, based on varying criterion, throughout much of
the world. While there is no current development efforts for future
versions of TCAS, there is ongoing analysis work of TCAS performance using
recorded and simulated data.
·
ATCRBS/Mode S
Transponders
-
RTCA established Special Committee 209 for
the purpose of maintaining revisions to DO-181() -
Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Air Traffic Control Radar
Beacon System / Mode Select (ATCRBS/Mode S) Airborne Equipment
, and to DO-144() -
Minimum Operational Characteristics for Airborne ATC Transponder Systems
.
This site supports the current industry/government cooperative efforts
(through RTCA Incorporated) in developing standards for ADS-B and associated
avionics and applications, revisions to
ATCRBS/Mode S transponder MOPS documents, as well as the FAA Technical Center's
continuing TCAS analysis work.
Jump to the ADS-B
or TCAS
or ATCRBS/Mode S
pages for information on these systems and efforts, as well as specific
information about working groups and sub-groups.
For information on upcoming RTCA meetings
and locations, jump to the
RTCA calendar, or to the SC-186 working group pages found within this site.
Want more information about the Federal
Aviation Administration or the William
J. Hughes Technical Center?
