Situation awareness

About: Situation awareness is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7380 publications have been published within this topic receiving 108695 citations. The topic is also known as: SA & situational awareness.

Method and apparatus for collaborative aggregate situation awareness

Abstract: A surveillance method comprises the steps of: sending information requests to one or more of a plurality of unmanned airborne platforms, each carrying one or more sensors for gathering information; coordinating processing of the requests among the plurality of airborne platforms; and transmitting responses to the requests to one or more requesters. A surveillance system that can be used to perform the method is also provided.

Recent and prospective developments in power system control centers: Adapting the digital twin technology for application in power system control centers

Abstract: The development of power system control centers has always been linked to the evolving of new technologies and innovative concepts. Switching to IP/TCP-based communication was one mayor evolutionary step in the past. Now, new precise time-synchronized phasor measurement units (PMU) based monitoring tools are on the rise and enable dynamic system observation. Future control centers for power systems can profit from this development, enlarging the observability and rising operator situation awareness. The next evolutionary step in control center technology may be the utilization of the Digital Twin concept. Its abilities to depict the actual and possible future system state, makes it an inevitable solution for further improvement of power system monitoring and control systems. This paper discusses recent developments of control center technology and introduces a new concept of a Digital Twin centric control center architecture which is based on a dynamic simulation engine called dynamic digital mirror.

Millimeter-wave soldier-to-soldier communications for covert battlefield operations

Abstract: Mobile ad hoc networking of dismounted combat personnel is expected to play an important role in the future of network-centric operations. High-speed, short-range, soldier-to-soldier wireless communications will be required to relay information on situational awareness, tactical instructions, and covert surveillance related data during special operations reconnaissance and other missions. This article presents some of the work commissioned by the U.K. Ministry of Defence to assess the feasibility of using 60 GHz millimeter-wave smart antenna technology to provide covert communications capable of meeting these stringent networking needs. Recent advances in RF front-end technology, alongside physical layer transmission schemes that could be employed in millimeter-wave soldier- mounted radio, are discussed. The introduction of covert communications between soldiers will require the development of a bespoke directive medium access layer. A number of adjustments to the IEEE 802.11 distribution coordination function that will enable directional communications are suggested. The successful implementation of future smart antenna technologies and direction of arrival-based protocols will be highly dependent on thorough knowledge of transmission channel characteristics prior to deployment. A novel approach to simulating dynamic soldier-to-soldier signal propagation using state-of-the-art animation-based technology developed for computer game design is described, and important channel metrics such as root mean square angle and delay spread for a team of four networked infantry soldiers over a range of indoor and outdoor environments is reported.

Enabling Situational Awareness in Millimeter Wave Massive MIMO Systems

Abstract: Situational awareness in wireless networks refers to the availability of position information on transmitters and receivers as well as information on their propagation environments to aid wireless communications. In millimeter wave massive multiple-input multiple-output communication systems, situational awareness can significantly improve the quality and robustness of communications. In this paper, we establish a model that describes the statistical dependencies between channel state information and the position, orientation, and clock offset of a user equipment along with the locations of features in the propagation environment. Based on this model, we introduce COMPAS ( CO ncurrent M apping, P ositioning, A nd S ynchronization); an inference engine that can provide accurate and reliable situational awareness in millimeter wave massive multiple-input multiple-output communication systems. Numerical results show that COMPAS is able to infer the positions of an unknown and time-varying number of features in the propagation environment and, at the same time, estimate the position, orientation, and clock offset of a user equipment.

Pilot error versus sociotechnical systems failure: a distributed situation awareness analysis of Air France 447

Abstract: The Air France 447 crash occurred in 2009 when an Airbus A330 stalled and fell into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all on board. Following a major investigation, it was concluded that the incident resulted from a series of events that began when the autopilot disconnected after the aircraft's Pitot tubes froze in an adverse weather system. The findings place scrutiny on the aircrew's subsequent lack of awareness of what was going on and of what procedure was required, and their failure to control the aircraft. This article argues that this is inappropriate, instead offering a systems level view that can be used to demonstrate how systems, not individuals, lose situation awareness. This is demonstrated via a distributed situation awareness-based description of the events preceding the crash. The findings demonstrate that it was the sociotechnical system comprising aircrew, cockpit and aeroplane systems that lost situation awareness, rather than the aircrew alone.