Evolved version of Advanced Weather Awareness System in the COAST Project: latest developments and validation

Abstract

In the framework of the COAST (Cost Optimized Avionics SysTem) project, the Integrated Mission Management System (IMMS) has been developed, a technology aimed to automatically optimize the trajectory of Small Air Transport (SAT) vehicles considering, among possible obstacles, weather conditions, air-traffic and terrain. It is based on the interaction of the evolved versions of three systems, realized within COAST, including the Advanced Weather Awareness System (AWAS), devoted to provide on-board data regarding weather hazards monitored and forecast. The Evolved-AWAS technology has been developed by introducing several enhancements to its baseline version, in order to generate additional information required by IMMS for trajectory optimization. The current work describes the latest developments of Evolved-AWAS and the tests carried out to validate the prototype. All the new functionalities were tested verifying the correct generation of output data needed by IMMS and their visualization into the HMI (Human Machine Interface). The positive results of the performed tests ensured the proper functioning of the software, allowing its integration in the IMMS technology. Finally, the paper reports the outcomes of the last COAST flight demonstration campaign held in June 2023, which revealed the correct behaviour of the Evolved-AWAS, as well as of the overall IMMS.