Story ID: 
Collins Debuts Surface Air Traffic Management System
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The new product tracks the movements of aircraft and ground equipment in real time
Word Count: 196
Collins Aerospace has launched an airport ground monitoring system that provides real-time tracking and recording for aircraft and ground equipment movement. According to the RTX subsidiary, the Airport Surface Awareness System (ASAS) will provide a holistic view of on-field operations that can enhance efficiency and help reduce the risk of ground incursions.
Fully integrated with FlightAware’s Firehose and Foresight services, the ASAS system augments flight and route information including arrival time and runway taxi predictions.
It uses three components to generate an accurate picture of the airport operations: aircraft tracking with ADS-B and radar feeds both for arriving aircraft, as well as those on the ground; real-time tracking of motorized and non-motorized ground equipment; and an interactive map application with geofencing to allow operators to set location and speed restrictions for different assets with alerts for any violations.
“Lack of situational awareness consistently contributes to critical issues at airports, including incidents on the airfield, inefficient aircraft turn management, and improper use of ground support equipment,” said Collins general manager of airport solutions Rakan Khaled. “This system provides real-time data to airports to solve for those issues.”