Airport Research and Innovation Facility Hamburg
Michael Penner
The Airport Research and Innovation Facility (ARIF) at Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel airport is a test and validation platform in an operational environment of an international airport. The facility is operated in cooperation between DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, Flughafen Hamburg GmbH (Hamburg Airport) and the German Aerospace Center.
The ARIF allows further research and development work to be performed on topics such as ground traffic management and optimisation of airport processes. The facility's infrastructure can be used for developing, testing, evaluating and presenting future concepts and support systems directly related to operations. In this connection, the Institute is working together with DFS and Hamburg airport. Based on joint international projects, the test infrastructure has been further developed since 2006 with the support of large investments funded by DLR and has been used in several projects. DLR coordinates the operation and use of the platform.
Operational and experimental traffic data of the airport can be processed in real-time, recorded and later played back. Consequently, the researchers can reproduce real data and test data for the benefit of further research and development work. By using an independent research network and unidirectional data traffic there is a direct connection to the operational systems at the airport while excluding any impairment of airport operations.
The ARIF has two work rooms. One is located in the DFS building and is used mainly for taxiway and apron monitoring (A-SMGCS). A second work room in the terminal area is used for action relating to Performance Based Airport Management (PBAM). This offers a variety of ways to examine collaborative management concepts for promoting efficient cooperation between the stakeholders involved (e.g. control centre actions).