Automatic determination of major taxi-paths from aircraft surveillance data

1. A method of using airport surveillance data to define common paths taken by vehicles on an airport surface movement area, the method comprising:

accessing a collected data set of position data points for a plurality of vehicles operating on the airport surface movement area, each of the plurality of vehicles having similar origins and similar destinations to one another;

creating a path for each of the plurality of vehicles between the origin and the destination using the position data points;

measuring an area between the path of each vehicle and the path of each of the other vehicles;

defining a minimum area criterion based on the airport surface area;

recursively performing a process comprising the steps of:

(a) defining a tentative group including N vehicles, an initial tentative group including all of the vehicles present in the collected data set, subsequent tentative groups being defined in step (j);

(b) creating a matrix including the areas measured between the path of each vehicle in the tentative group and each of the remaining vehicles in the tentative group, the matrix having N rows and N columns such that each of the vehicles in the tentative group has a respective row and a respective column;

(c) calculating a column-wise mean average for each of the columns in the matrix;

(d) determining which column has a lowest mean average of all of the columns in the matrix;

(e) creating a vector A(J) including the areas, along with their respective vehicle identifications, from the column having the lowest mean average, the vector A(J) having the areas arranged in a numerically ascending order;

(f) creating a difference vector δA(J) corresponding to the vector A(J), each of the values in the difference vector δA(J) being the difference between successive entries in the vector A(J);

(g) determining whether any of the values in the difference vector δA(J) are greater than the minimum area criterion;

(h) defining the tentative group as a confirmed group if none of the values in the difference vector δA(J) is greater than the minimum area criterion;

(i) removing the confirmed group from further processing;

(j) defining a number of new groups if one or more values in the difference vector SA(J) is greater than the minimum area variable, the number of new groups equaling (the number of values in the difference vector δA(J) being greater than the minimum area criterion) plus (one), the new groups including successive vehicles from the vector A(J), the groups being divided at the vehicle or vehicles having a value in the difference vector δA(J) being greater than the minimum area such that the vehicle or vehicles having a value in the difference vector δA(J) being greater than the minimum area is a first vehicle in a subsequent one of the new groups, and;

(k) recursively processing each of the number of new groups separately as a tentative group beginning with step (a); and

saving the vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups onto a computer readable medium for at least one of review by an individual, production of a graphical display on a computer terminal identifying the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups, and production of a presentation document identifying the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups.

2. The method of using airport surveillance data according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicles are aircraft.

3. The method of using airport surveillance data according to claim 2 , wherein the position data is surveillance data provided by an airport surveillance system.

4. The method of using airport surveillance data according to claim 3 , wherein the airport surveillance system is a multilateration or ADS-B system.

5. The method of using airport surveillance data according to claim 1 , wherein the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups are overlaid onto a map of the airport surface movement area.

6. The method of using airport surveillance data according to claim 1 , wherein the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups are identified in one of the graphical display and the presentation document by an average of each of the paths of the confirmed groups.

7. A computer readable medium that executes a computer program on a computer using airport surveillance data to define common paths taken by vehicles on an airport surface movement area, the computer program comprising:

means for accessing a collected data set of position data points for a plurality of vehicles operating on the airport surface movement area, each of the plurality of vehicles having similar origins and similar destinations to one another;

means for creating a path for each of the plurality of vehicles between the origin and the destination using the position data points;

means for measuring an area between the path of each vehicle and the path of each of the other vehicles;

means for recursively performing a process comprising:

(a) means for defining a tentative group including N vehicles, an initial tentative group including all of the vehicles present in the collected data set;

(b) means for creating a matrix including the areas measured between the path of each vehicle in the tentative group and each of the remaining vehicles in the tentative group, the matrix having N rows and N columns such that each of the vehicles in the tentative group has a respective row and a respective column;

(c) means for calculating a column-wise mean average for each of the columns in the matrix;

(d) means for determining which column has a lowest mean average of all of the columns in the matrix;

(e) means for creating a vector A(J) including the areas, along with their respective vehicle identifications, from the column having the lowest mean average, the vector A(J) having the areas arranged in a numerically ascending order;

(f) means for creating a difference vector δA(J) corresponding to the vector A(J), each of the values in the difference vector δA(J) being the difference between successive entries in the vector A(J);

(g) means for determining whether any of the values in the difference vector δA(J) are greater than a minimum area criterion;

(h) means for defining the tentative group as a confirmed group if none of the values in the difference vector δA(J) is greater than the minimum area criterion;

(i) means for removing the confirmed group from further processing;

(j) means for defining a number of new groups if one or more values in the difference vector δA(J) is greater than the minimum area variable, the number of new groups equaling (the number of values in the difference vector δA(J) being greater than the minimum area criterion) plus (one), the new groups including successive vehicles from the vector A(J), the groups being divided at the vehicle or vehicles having a value in the difference vector δA(J) being greater than the minimum area such that the vehicle or vehicles having a value in the difference vector δA(J) being greater than the minimum area is a first vehicle in a subsequent one of the new groups, and;

(k) means for recursively processing each of the number of new groups separately as a tentative group beginning with step (a); and

means for saving the vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups onto a computer readable medium for at least one of review by an individual, production of a graphical display on a computer terminal identifying the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups, and production of a presentation document identifying the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups.

8. The computer readable medium according to claim 7 , wherein the vehicles are aircraft.

9. The computer readable medium according to claim 7 , wherein the position data is surveillance data provided by an airport surveillance system.

10. The computer readable medium according to claim 9 , wherein the airport surveillance system is a multilateration or ADS-B system.

11. The computer readable medium according to claim 7 further comprising means for overlaying the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups onto a map of the airport surface movement area.

12. The computer readable medium according to claim 7 further comprising means for averaging the paths of vehicles included in each of the confirmed groups identified and means for providing the average in one of the graphical display and the presentation document.