SUCCESS STORIES IN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TRAINING SYSTEMS

ADACEL INCORPORATED
United States Air Force (USAF) Tower Simulation
System (TSS) Program

Around the world, military and civilian aviation authorities have recognized the importance of providing initial and recurring training for Air Traffic Control (ATC) personnel, employing superior quality synthetic environments to familiarize and prepare ATC personnel for standard, high stress, and emergency situations. The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center and the University of North Dakota were among the first to deploy Quantum3D’s AAlchemy® Open-Architecture Image Generators (IG) and OpenGVS™ Realtime Scene Management Software to create high fidelity and photorealistic synthetic training environments in their training centers. The USAF is also acting on this trend with a significant commitment to this effort, awarding the largest, high-performance ATC training and simulation contract to date to Adacel, the leading provider of simulation and air traffic solutions. Over the course of the next five years, the USAF will deploy up to 94 ATC training and simulation systems at USAF sites throughout the world, with each including AAlchemy-based systems integrated by Adacel. During the life of the program, Quantum3D will provide Adacel with over 600 high fidelity, out-the-window (OTW) AAlchemy channels that include OpenGVS run time licenses.

With a long history of partnering in the ATC market, Adacel once again turned to Quantum3D. The TSS program puts into effect the stringent USAF requirements for visual acuity, a crucial aspect for aircraft recognition and identification at FAA and USAF specified ranges. This need, coupled with demanding image quality, performance and total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) aspects of the program, led Quantum3D to propose the combination of its AAlchemy open-architecture IGs and OpenGVS software — the only PC-based IG solution able to meet the USAF TSS list of requirements. This powerful visual computing solution enables Adacel’s MaxSim Tower and MaxSim Radar tools to perform at the highest levels, resulting in a high fidelity, photorealistic synthetic training environment, which includes radar tasks and varied scenarios for weather conditions (e.g. storms, snow, fog); aircraft types and conditions (e.g. landing, spiral climbs, flame outs); and visual effects (e.g. fire, explosions, parachutes) to name a few.

AAlchemy Image Generator with 8 Visual Channels

Quantum3D’s AAlchemy IG provides high-resolution graphics with up to 1600 x 1200 pixels per channel. Adacel achieved superior graphics resolution for the TSS program at 1360 x 1024 pixels per channel and rotated grid antialiasing, either 4 or 8 sub-pixel samples. Optimized for high performance visual simulation applications, Quantum3D’s OpenGVS software enables Adacel’s ATC applications to achieve optimal pixel fill rate and polygon performance on the AAlchemy systems, achieving the sustained 30 Hz frame rates mandated by the TSS program. The result is high-precision image quality and multi-channel synchronization that enables an artifact-free 270° wide-field-of-view display. AAlchemy delivers high fidelity and photorealistic image quality on geo-specific, high-resolution airport databases, with tens to hundreds of moving models and sustained frame rates of 30+ Hz—all with minimal distracting visual artifacts.

Total cost of ownership (TCO) was a significant decision factor for Adacel in choosing Quantum3D as the IG provider for TSS. Quantum3D’s AAlchemy is the only, low-cost, open-architecture, PC-based IG that meets the image quality, high performance, and cost targets suitable for widespread use by the ATC community. Prior to AAlchemy, the only systems capable of providing image quality sufficient for aircraft recognition and identification at FAA specified ranges were high-end, proprietary image generators and software. The use of such systems on a large-scale basis is precluded by their high acquisition and maintenance costs. AAlchemy provides equivalent image quality and visual acuity of proprietary systems, while outperforming them at a fraction of the initial and ongoing cost. As a COTS-based product, AAlchemy’s price and performance value helps system integrators and prime contractors drive down the overall cost of a program, thus enabling the installation and use of more training and simulation systems. While at the low-end of the cost spectrum, standard merchant-class PCs are not an option for ATC since they cannot meet the rigorous demands of superior image quality, visual acuity, high fidelity, and high performance, which are critical to the ATC environment.

Quantum3D’s full scene antialiasing enables unparalleled visual acuity

High-quality photo textured airport visual scene

“The USAF TSS is one of the most advanced training systems on the market today. The program sets a high bar for image quality, high fidelity, and high performance in a synthetic training environment for its ATC personnel, yet with the requirement for low cost of ownership and obsolescence management. A valued technology partner, Quantum3D enabled Adacel to meet this demanding challenge with its superior and highly reliable visual computing solutions. Quantum3D demonstrates a dedicated commitment to provide not only superior IGs and realtime scene management software, but also the immediate service and support that is needed to keep these systems running at high performance rates.”
Lionel Léveillé, President and CEO of Adacel

During its long-standing business relationship, Quantum 3D has supported Adacel in several ATC programs with its combined AAlchemy and OpenGVS solution. Other key programs include the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center, the U.S. Army’s Fort Rucker ATC Training Facility, the Canadian Department of National Defense, and the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Learn more about how Quantum3D realtime visual computing solutions can optimize your synthetic environment for training and simulation applications. Visit our website at www.quantum3d.com; email us at salesinfo@quantum3d.com; or call us at 1-800-827-1980.

For more information about Adacel, please visit www.adacelinc.com.