A, Networked Facilities – Integration, Development and Operations Analysis Capability,
G03M.02-01
Program Description
The NextGen Integration and Evaluation Capability (NIEC) supports the development, reconfiguration, and sustainment of a laboratory environment to assess NextGen technologies and concepts in an integrated and rapid prototyping environment. The NextGen concepts of operation and supporting technologies are not only sophisticated, but very complex. This laboratory allows early evaluations, concept development, and/or demonstrations in a real-time environment without being encumbered by the present structure of the NAS.
The primary goal of NextGen is to address and meet the rapidly changing needs of the United States aviation industry. For example, NextGen breaks down the geographical boundaries that characterize air traffic control and leads to a more seamless view of traffic, organized not by geographically oriented sectors, but by aircraft trajectories. New infrastructure, automation, aircraft equipage, procedures, and regulations are designed to support this seamless operational concept which must evolve from a geographical focus to a broader air traffic management concept. It will be necessary to test the integration, development, and operations functions in a real-time and flexible environment to validate the broad framework of concepts, technologies, and systems introduced by NextGen.
The NIEC has been designed with the intent to support the development, refinement and validation of NextGen from concept definition, to requirements maturity, to integration of NAS capabilities across the various NAS domains. As such, the NIEC infrastructure provides a flexible (e.g., researchers can select features to include in a project), extensible (e.g., additional hardware can be added as well as software/functionality), and reconfigurable environment (e.g., capabilities may reside in the NIEC or be networked in) to implement existing and new ATM systems, as well as to implement prototypes and capabilities, for the purpose of evaluating and demonstrating NextGen concepts. The requirements in this area will continue to grow as NextGen matures.
Key characteristics of the laboratory capability include:
A collocated display area to support Human-in-the-Loop simulations;
A real-time rapid prototyping and simulation environment that simulates the NAS while integrating NextGen enabling components;
A low-to-medium fidelity simulation environment; and
An integrated federal laboratory capability to support high fidelity simulations.
Alignment of Program to FAA Strategic Goal, Outcome, and Performance Metric
FAA Strategic Goal 3 – Delivering Aviation Access through Innovation. FAA Outcome 3 – Air navigation infrastructure and associate systems are flexible, reliable, cost effective and secure.
FAA Performance Metric 3 – Organizations throughout the agency will continue to implement cost efficiency initiatives. FY 2013 Target: 90 percent of targeted savings.
Relationship to Performance Metric
The integration, development, and operational analysis capability provides the support services, and software and hardware required to enhance and sustain the NextGen Integration and Evaluation Capability (NIEC) to conduct early proof of concept studies, rapid prototyping, validate and mature concepts, reduce risks, and improve operational performance across all NextGen solution sets. With the collocation of NIEC and the William J. Hughes Technical Center laboratories, each NextGen program need not establish and maintain separate laboratory facilities. It enables the FAA to evaluate concepts and programs that span more than one domain of the NAS and integrate NextGen solutions into the NAS.
Research activities in the NIEC do not require a NAS change proposal and does not fund the acquisition program office when changes are required of the NAS system that is simulated in the NIEC. The NIEC has on staff computer programmers that can modify the FAA owned source code to add in the new functionality (i.e., increase DataComm messages, display new weather information or enhance data blocks). The researcher can conduct their research in the NIEC and get the results needed in a timelier and cheaper manner than using the FAA fielded system. The programming staff can often add new capabilities in days or weeks rather than the months or years it would take to get a NAS change proposal, contract modification, and have code written and tested by the vendor. It should be noted that the NIEC offers to the NextGen researcher a laboratory that is available and flexible when compared to scheduling other FAA laboratories that is mainly used for 2nd level maintenance support. Utilizing the NIEC for research purposes reduces the impact to the FAA’s operational milestones in the areas of test, implementation, and 2nd level maintenance. This reduces the overall risks and cost to the FAA and helps critical NextGen programs maintain cost and schedule targets. This results in overall operational efficiency and cost savings to the FAA. Program Plans FY 2014 – Performance Output Goals
The NIEC facility will maintain a minimum of 80% up-time for customer availability.
Identify and install upgrades and enhancements to NIEC required to support NextGen research and development human-in-the-loop simulations, and proof of concept demonstrations for FY 2014.
Integrate Traffic Flow Management (TFM) Auxiliary Platform into the NIEC to support the NextGen studies such as the Mini Global Study. This will include the ability to manipulate information on the Traffic Situation Displays (TSDs) and to drive data to the Florida Test Bed.
Complete the Reconfigurable Cockpit Simulator technology refresh. Program Plans FY 2015 – Performance Output Goals
The NIEC facility will maintain a minimum of 80% up-time for customer availability.
Identify and install upgrades and enhancements to NIEC required to support NextGen research and development human-in-the-loop simulations, and proof of concept demonstrations for FY 2015.
Integration of the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) Evaluation System (EES) into the NIEC and the ability to use the EES for NIEC projects.
Program Plans FY 2016 – Performance Output Goals
The NIEC facility will maintain a minimum of 80% up-time for customer availability.
Identify and install upgrades and enhancements to NIEC required to support NextGen research and development human-in-the-loop simulations, and proof of concept demonstrations for FY 2016.
Enhance NIEC System Wide Information Management (SWIM) Segment 1 services to support emulated SWIM Implementation Programs in the NIEC.
Add a new aircraft model to the Reconfigurable Cockpit Simulator. Program Plans FY 2017 – Performance Output Goals
The NIEC facility will maintain a minimum of 80% up-time for customer availability.
Identify and install upgrades and enhancements to NIEC required to support NextGen research and development human-in-the-loop simulations, and proof of concept demonstrations for FY 2017. Augment the Terminal capability in the NIEC with an Automated Safety Alerting Tool. Program Plans FY 2018 – Performance Output Goals
The NIEC facility will maintain a minimum of 80% up-time for customer availability.
Identify and install upgrades and enhancements to NIEC required to support NextGen research and development human-in-the-loop simulations, and proof of concept demonstrations for FY 2018. Add a new aircraft model to the Reconfigurable Cockpit Simulator.