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Remote Tower Experimental System with Augmented Vision Videopanorama

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Virtual and Remote Control Tower

Part of the book series: Research Topics in Aerospace ((RTA))

Abstract

The goal of the research described in this chapter was the development and setup of an initial experimental version of the “virtual tower” with focus on replacement of the direct view out-of-windows. Specifically, the intermediate step of a remote tower operation (RTO) work environment for remote surveillance and control of small airports is described which served for verifying the main functionalities. A structured work and task analysis detailed the requirements on the new human-machine interface (HMI) and emphasized the “far view” out of the tower windows as important information source. Consequently, a digital high-resolution videopanorama system was implemented as central HMI component to replace the airport tower out-of-window view. Field tests using this reconstructed panorama indicated the effective visual resolution for object detection to show reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions under ideal conditions. As addition to the panorama, an integrated zoom function provided an enlarged narrow-angle “foveal” component by means of a remotely controlled pan-tilt-zoom camera with tracking functionality. The digital reconstruction of the far view allowed for integration of “video see-through” augmented vision features by integration and superposition of, e.g., weather and electronic surveillance data, and it allowed for video replay of stored surveillance information.

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Acknowledgment

We are indebted to several colleagues who contributed to this research. First of all, we acknowledge the contributions of Michael Rudolph who designed and wrote the software for the diverse RTO components like image compression/decompression, stitching of the panorama elements, and augmenting the raw image. We have to thank Christoph Möhlenbrink who helped with the design, setup, and analysis of the field tests. We acknowledge contributions by Monika Mittendorf for the help with preparation and analysis of the flight test data. Many thanks are due also to the DLR flight experiment department for excellent cooperation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. German Aerospace Center, Institute of Flight Guidance (DLR), Lilienthalplatz 7, 38104, Braunschweig, Germany

    Norbert Fürstenau Dipl Phys, Dr. phil. nat. & Markus Schmidt Dipl-Ing

Authors
  1. Norbert Fürstenau Dipl Phys, Dr. phil. nat.
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  2. Markus Schmidt Dipl-Ing
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Correspondence to Norbert Fürstenau Dipl Phys, Dr. phil. nat. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Flight Guidance, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Braunschweig, Germany

    Norbert Fürstenau

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Fürstenau, N., Schmidt, M. (2016). Remote Tower Experimental System with Augmented Vision Videopanorama. In: Fürstenau, N. (eds) Virtual and Remote Control Tower. Research Topics in Aerospace. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28719-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28719-5_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28717-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28719-5

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