Southampton airport in the UK is to use a mix of radar and transponder receivers to track nearby aircraft to an accuracy of 1.52m (5ft) for noise monitoring. A mix of secondary surveillance radar and ATC transponder receivers will enable a computer to triangulate aircraft location and match their positions to noise detected by microphones.
Southampton airport will use the data to study operations to limit noise pollution for the local community. Triangulation is achieved by measuring the signal arrival time difference between pairs of synchronised transponder receivers. Four receivers will provide enough data to calculate a three-dimensional location, but more receivers will be needed to avoid interference from terrain.
Technology company Siemens Roke Manor is providing its Vigilance system, which detects transponder signals. “The more receivers that are synchronised, the more accurate the triangulation. The two nanosecond synchronisation provides the 5ft accuracy,” says Siemens Roke Manor’s head of product management Stuart Daly. The technology can measure aircraft positions within 57,000km2 (30,800 miles2).
Siemens Roke Manor and project partner, airport environment management firm Lochard, are talking to other UK airports about the study.
Source: Flight International
