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Miriam Speck, COMSOFT GmbH
With 20 years of experience in the development of ASTERIX tools, COMSOFT now intends to expand the functionality of its RAPS product line into further military implementations.
Numerous military organisations employ the well-established RAPS tool to test and validate their classified surveillance data. However the possibilities of transmitting specific military contents in ASTERIX are currently limited due to the firm format assignment to military categories.
There is the strong need for a self-contained military format able to cater for applications in this area and the specific requirements related to the transfer of classified data. This goes along with the need to support alternative surveillance technologies, including ADS-B and MLAT, not only in the civil but also in the military domain.
“With the forthcoming launch of this new format COMSOFT will, especially for this target group, provide a best adapted test tool featuring manifold individual configuration options. Furthermore an intuitive environment and a guided help system will support users in creating their own application-related categories,” said COMSOFT’s CEO, Manfred Schmid. Looking back
ASTERIX stands for All-purpose STructured Eurocontrol suRveillance Information eXchange and was born in the late eighties. The format was developed by a group of surveillance experts faced with the tedious and never-ending task of converting between multiple individually developed formats originating from surveillance sources of various types. Starting in 1984 these experts focused with diligent accuracy on the development of a common European transfer medium, or in other words a format that could be used as a standard. What happened after is the story of a successful progression leading to the establishment of ASTERIX.
ASTERIX is mature today and represents a well-known Eurocontrol standard that facilitates the transmission of harmonised information between any surveillance and automation system within and between countries.
“Today ASTERIX has become the de facto worldwide standard for the exchange of surveillance data,” says Sven Koch, team leader and product manager of the RAPS product line. And what about RAPS? “RAPS was developed in conjunction with ASTERIX. It is essential for validation and working with this standard. It is a service, support, test and evaluation tool running on a dedicated portable platform. The tool is mainly used for ASTERIX but is also applicable for other types of surveillance data.”One of the primary uses of RAPS is as a conformance test tool to verify that a particular implementation of an ASTERIX format complies to the standard. For instance the tool can support civil and military aviation administrations while integrating new systems into existing environments. Furthermore the RAPS tool traces and diagnoses occurring problems during acceptance tests and is equally effective in operational service. Its application pattern is simple: whenever the accuracy of surveillance data is crucial and its verification therefore essential, the tool is indispensable.
Since its creation in the early 1990s the system has undergone a steady evolution. From a DOS-based tool intended to support internal test procedures, RAPS has in 1996 matured to a unique commercial version called RAPS-II. Today it is available in its second reconditioned edition with overall enhanced application modules and is called RAPS-3.
Certification
The RAPS system has been sold to over 20 countries worldwide – and with good reason. In addition to its functional strengths, it is the only worldwide qualified ASTERIX reference system and test tool. Qualification certificates issued by various organisations endorse the trustworthiness of the product and therefore greatly increase its acceptance. The tool complies with IEEE standards and has fulfilled the strictest quality requirements by various CAAs, paired with the adherence to a precise test methodology. As a consequence COMSOFT obtained the world’s first certificate for fulfilling all technical and non-technical Eurocontrol requirements for an ASTERIX Reference Tool. As such it is eligible to be used for evaluation and certification of ASTERIX implementations against the standard.
After yet another successful requalification by Eurocontrol in 2003, conducted in accordance with the latest procedures, the new RAPS-3 was for the first time evaluated by the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FHG), a recognised research organisation for applied science in Germany. Within the context of the product upgrade from RAPS-II to RAPS-3, among other things, Red Hat Linux was chosen as the new operating system to ensure enhanced performance and system stability. In order to prove that the analysis of ASTERIX data was not influenced by this change, comprehensive procedures for a verification process were specified and applied to all categories. The FHG testified all aspects of compliance.
RAPS-3
The system officially entered into the market in 1996 as RAPS-II, being introduced at the ATC exhibition in Maastricht. In the meantime COMSOFT has continuously refined and upgraded the tool. Its latest RAPS-3 version comprises some major enhancements compared with RAPS-II:
- Powerful and open operating system (Red Hat Linux);
- Improved intuitive user interface;
- Easy-to-use ASTERIX editor;
- Improved surveillance data display (RMD);
- Support for multi-user environments;
- Multiversion support;
- New hardware platform (classic and compact);
- Remote control interface.
“A crucial development regarding future employment, especially from the Eurocontrol perspective, was definitely the implementation of RAPS-3 under Red Hat Linux. Opting for Linux has major benefits in terms of improved performance and compatibility,” says Koch about the new operating system. “Now we work with an even more reliable and widely applied system.”
The improved intuitive user interface replaces abstract script languages and further facilitates access into the world of ASTERIX. Complemented by the implementation of the optimised surveillance data monitoring display based on advanced RMD technology this gives the user a lead in terms of track support and configurable 3D view.
“A major milestone in the development was the integration of a multi-user environment,” says Koch, “All settings, reports and configurations are adjusted to each particular user environment and can be applied concurrently, even via remote control.”As a result of the constantly increasing number of ASTERIX categories and the frequent modifications, the capability to choose between different versions, or even work with them simultaneously, has been further improved. This feature is even applicable for independent sessions running on the same computer. In case of conversion, the transformation rules can be defined, dependent on use. Since its reconditioning, RAPS is also perfectly suited for automated test environments, capable of being externally driven to run extensive tests in batch mode. For administrations this saves a lot of money, time and diligence. And last but not least the system has received a facelift and is now available on two hardware platforms. Both variations are portable, but in addition to the classic version COMSOFT now also offers the compact RAPS – a ruggedised shock-resistant notebook weighing only 3.9kg.
Both versions are furnished with the same basic software package but based on the system’s individually configurable module composition, the customer chooses the scope of applications the personalised RAPS should host. In brief these packages enable, among other functions, additional advanced editing, plotting, recording and replay, converting and analysing.
MilASTERIX
The German Air Force is currently implementing the MilRADNET, a military equivalent of the European RADNET. The RADNET is an intelligent, service-orientated surveillance network for the distribution and the exchange of radar and radar-related data, including weather information and control and monitoring data.
The cornerstone and network node of the RADNET and the emerging MilRADNET is the powerful front-end processor RMCDE. Since the RADNET only processes pure ASTERIX, the RMCDEs are used as the interpreter and converter of any non-ASTERIX format derived from various distinct radars in this military domain. Noteworthy is that this scenario represents a typical application field for RAPS. As is often the case, however, military organisations have additional requirements and need to use their own specific solutions with increased reliability and confidentiality.
The creation of a military ASTERIX format, namely MilASTERIX, is a logical consequence. The new standard is still to complete its evolution and will presumably be finalised in 2009. As in the past with its civil ASTERIX counterparts, COMSOFT is again at the forefront of surveillance strategies and is closely involved in the development phase of MilASTERIX. Because of the similarity of the civil and the military standards – both are based on the same category scheme – the need to build the matching tool goes without saying. So why not create a MilRAPS derived from the RAPS-3 base system?
The future
According to Schmid the MilRAPS project is already well beyond the early stages. NATO has pushed for a surveillance data test tool applicable for classified data. For use in military environments, MilASTERIX is close to being accepted as a standard. Now the proper tool to process this format is discussion. Assuming that this project will be realised, its users will be given the opportunity to navigate through guided applications while creating their own categories. Due to the security level that military forces operate in, this will be the only possible solution in the long run. RAPS is again paving the way to provide support on the military front.
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