Last month we launched the Copperchase ADS-B Surveillance System: one real-time operational picture of air and ground traffic, built on open standards. This month, we’re lifting the lid.
In this issue we follow a single aircraft report from the moment it reaches a receiver to the moment an operator sees an alert. Along the way you’ll meet the engines that do the work, and see how they protect runways, towers and critical sites.
Four layers, One platform
The system is built in four layers, each with a clear job. Because the layers connect through defined interfaces, each one can be scaled or upgraded without disturbing the others.
- Acquisition: ADS-B receivers, ADS-B vehicle trackers and GPS vehicle trackers collect raw position data from aircraft and ground vehicles.
- Processing: The Data Fusion Engine, Tracking Engine and Event Processing Engine turn raw reports into clean tracks and actionable events.
- Application: The Traffic Situation Display, Control & Monitoring, Recording & Replay and the Mobile Client put that picture in front of operators.
- System management: User Management, the Configuration Database and the Interface Gateway support every layer and connect the platform to your existing systems.
One Picture: How Data Fusion works
When several receivers hear the same aircraft, you shouldn’t see the same aircraft several times. The Data Fusion Engine makes sure you don’t.
It takes in reports from every connected source; 1090 MHz ES, 978 MHz UAT, FLARM, Remote ID, ADS-B vehicle trackers and GPS vehicle trackers and correlates them into one de-duplicated picture. Precise, GNSS-synchronised timestamps from the receivers let it match overlapping reports accurately, and where sources disagree it resolves the conflict rather than passing it on to the operator.
The Tracking Engine then turns that fused stream into a smooth, continuous track for every aircraft and vehicle:
- Tracks update at least once per second.
- Brief signal gaps are bridged, so a track doesn’t flicker or vanish.
- Every track carries a quality indicator based on how many sources support it and how recent they are.
- Encrypted military and security-sensitive vehicle tracks remain visible only to authorised users.
Raw reports in, fused plots in the middle, continuous tracks out. Because fusion and tracking are separate stages, new sensors can be added at one end and new users or systems at the other without changing the core.
Safety Through Intelligence: The Event Processing Engine
Seeing traffic is only half the job. The Event Processing Engine, a proprietary Copperchase module, watches every live track continuously and raises an alert the moment a rule is matched typically within 1.5 seconds of the sensor report (indicative).
It checks each track against four kinds of rule:
- Zones and geofences: Protected zones, restricted areas, checkpoints and stop zones.
- Movement: Speed, direction, runway occupancy conflicts, and CPA/TCPA conflict prediction that flags a hazard before it happens.
- Identity and authorisation: Unauthorised aircraft, Remote ID drone detection and perimeter breaches.
- Your own scenarios: User-defined events built from the same rule set, with no software changes.
Every match is graded Advisory, Warning or Critical, then sent at the same time to the operator display, to the alarm history for later review and, where configured, to external systems such as obstacle lighting, CCTV, access control, SCADA or command and control.
Rules and thresholds live in a central configuration database, so you can tune them to your site without waiting for a software release.
In Action: Airport Operations
On the airfield, the platform gives operators a live picture of every ADS-B-equipped aircraft and ground vehicle and warns them when something is where it shouldn’t be.
- Runway occupancy monitoring: Detects an aircraft or vehicle on the runway and alerts operators when runway status conflicts with operational rules.
- Runway incursion detection: Flags unauthorised entry into an active runway or protected movement area.
- Taxiway and apron monitoring: Keeps movements visible in normal and low-visibility conditions.
- Ground vehicle tracking: Follows maintenance, rescue, firefighting and operational vehicles fitted with ADS-B transmitters.
- Military vehicle monitoring: Encrypted transmitters keep sensitive vehicle movements visible only to authorised users.
In Action: Airspace Protection
Tall and sensitive structures need to know when aircraft come close. The same engines that protect a runway can protect a tower, a wind farm or a port.
- Tower proximity monitoring: Detects aircraft approaching communication towers, control towers and other protected structures, with graded alerts based on distance, CPA and TCPA.
- Obstacle protection: Monitors aircraft operating near wind turbines, chimneys, cranes and other tall structures, and can switch on or adjust obstacle lighting automatically.
- Critical infrastructure protection: Watches aircraft activity around power plants, utilities, oil and gas facilities, telecoms sites and ports.
Built to Grow
Every module you’ve read about can be scaled on its own. Add receivers to extend coverage, add processing capacity as traffic grows, or add workstations and mobile users as your team expands. A deployment can start at a single runway and grow into a multi-site programme by adding modules, not replacing them.
