Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking is an institutionalised European partnership between private and public sector partners set up to accelerate through research and innovation the delivery of the Digital European Sky.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The SESAR 3 JU has identified the following innovative research elements that could be used to achieve the expected outcomes. Proposals for work on areas other than those listed below are welcome, provided they include adequate background and justification to ensure clear traceability with the R&I needs set out in the SRIA for the AI for aviation flagship.
Detailed Call Description
- Management of abnormal situations. AI/ML have great potential for predictions/forecasts under normal circumstances, but research is needed to investigate the further evolution that will be needed if they are to be used in the management of abnormal situations: a prescriptive approach will be required to monitor the reality and specify precursors indicating possible deviations.
- Human-centric AI. Aviation will need to ensure a human-centric approach, as described in the EASA AI roadmap. Humans should understand what the systems are doing and also maintain the right level of situational awareness (i.e. to understand the situation well enough to enable human–machine cooperation).
- Air and ground synchronisation. AI-powered systems are expected to be integrated into ground and cockpit systems, enhancing communication for trajectory management and much more. The scope of this research includes the identification of innovative applications / AI-based solutions that could improve such synchronisation (R&I need: human–AI collaboration: digital assistants).
- AI for higher automation. This element covers the development of an AI-powered cloud-based infrastructure and services (supporting higher levels of automation). Τhe aim is to develop automation of ATM processes in which analysis and prediction are particularly likely to benefit from AI, and to develop AI-powered ATM environment requirements, infrastructure, and common regulation and certification guidelines (R&I need: AI improved datasets for better airborne operations).
- Datasets. Datasets are essential for the development of AI-based applications. Starting from an assessment of the state of the art, this element involves researching new ideas to generate and enable the automation of aviation-specific datasets from a large variety of on-board and ground communications across the network, which could then enable a broad range of AI-based applications for aviation.
- Interoperability of ATM systems with different levels of automation. Although there is consensus on increasing automation levels to improve the efficiency of ATM systems and reduce costs, it is clear that not all functions will be at the same level of automation, and collaborating control centres and other stakeholders may have different levels of implementation of highly automated systems, even for the same functions.
- Cyberthreat intelligence services in aviation/ATM. The use of techniques based on ML to support cyberthreat detection and mitigation is quite widespread in the state of the art of various industries (e.g. internet services, e-commerce, content delivery networks); observation of anomalous traffic patterns or transactions enables the detection of cyberattacks. The transfer of these methods to ATM is not straightforward and, given the current tendency in ATM to enhance information-sharing to implement machine-to-machine automated functions (e.g. through SWIM implementation, increased bandwidth air–ground communications) while maintaining legacy systems built without any proper security policy, research in this area is needed.
Call Total Budget
Thematic Categories
- Information Technology
- Other Thematic Category
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
Eligibility For Participation Notes
Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination obligations:
– Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to share on a royalty free basis, in a timely manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants awarded under the same call.
– Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make towards meeting them and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.