Innovative Noise Monitoring Solution for Southampton Airport

Roke Manor Research's multilateration solution, Vigilance, is to play a key role in a groundbreaking implementation of precision aircraft tracking technology at BAA Southampton Airport. Vigilance will generate critical surveillance data to feed into an environmental management system provided by leading airport environment management specialist, Lochard.

The joint Roke Manor Research/Lochard solution provides BAA Southampton Airport with cost-effective surveillance that overcomes existing coverage issues at the airport caused by difficult terrain. As a result, the airport will be able to determine the position of aircraft flying over the surrounding area more accurately.

Its deployment will allow comprehensive responses to be provided to community enquiries about aircraft operations, which is not possible with the existing radar-based approach.

"The adherence of aircraft to flight rules is of major concern to local residents around Southampton Airport", explains Tim Quilter, Head of ATM strategy for Roke Manor Research. "As a result, it is vital for the airport to have the capability to monitor flight tracks at low levels."

"Working with Lochard, we are providing a solution which will enhance Southampton Airport's environmental monitoring capabilities and keep local people informed of performance with respect to regulations," he added.

"At Southampton Airport we believe in being a 'good neighbour' and take the concerns of the local community very seriously. It is important for local people to know that aircraft arriving at and departing from Southampton Airport are using the correct procedures. We are pleased to be working with Lochard and Roke Manor Research to deliver the new MLAT system that will improve our capability to monitor aircraft operations," said Jan Halliday, director of communications, Southampton Airport.

The Southampton project is believed to represent the first time multilateration has been used for noise monitoring in the UK. Roke Manor Research and Lochard are in early discussions with several other airport authorities across the country about similar implementations.

Roke Manor Research has been pioneering multilateration solutions since 1989 and was the first company to deploy a wide area system in the field in 1993. Vigilance builds on robust technology provided by Roke Manor Research in the past 12 years. It is the latest generation of the multilateration technology platform, which has been tried and tested in a broad range of implementations delivered by air navigation service providers (ANSPs) over the past decade.

The technology is capable of measuring aircraft positions at accuracies of greater than 25 feet and covers over 57,000 square kilometres of airspace, more than any other supplier in the market.