Laboratory for Air Traffic Control is located at the Department of Aeronautics. It is used for scientific research, teaching undergraduate and graduate students at the Department of Aeronautics and for training in courses provided by the Croatian Air Traffic Control Training Centre. In addition to enhancing competencies in software tools such as MicroNav BEST Radar Simulator, Eurocontrol ESCAPE, Network Strategic Tool (NEST) and Radar Skills Trainer (RST), students are also given a chance to obtain a certificate of completion of basic air traffic controller training. In order to obtain a certificate, it is necessary to successfully complete all the courses at the BEST simulator.
In addition to teaching, software packages are used for professional and scientific research in the field of air traffic management. Currently, the laboratory is being used for ATCOSIMA Erasmus+ project experiments, training of pseudo-pilots on H2020 PJ.01 and PJ.24 projects, study on Erasmus+ KAAT project, professional studies for SESAR PJ.24 – Network Collaborative Management – Sector Complexity Study, for the preparation of several doctoral dissertations etc.
MicroNav BEST Radar Simulator which is a part of the Laboratory for Air Traffic Control is certified by the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency through the plans and programs of basic air traffic controller training (Certificate of the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency No. HR.ATCOTO.01). The certificate was issued in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340. MICRONAV BEST air traffic control radar simulator BEST radar simulator is a PC-based simulator. It is used for simulation of air traffic control services. It contains the necessary hardware and a licensed application.Hardware includes 2 air traffic controller (ATCO) working positions (2 PCs with ancillary equipment), 2 pseudo-pilot working positions (2 PCs with ancillary equipment), one of which serves as a system manager working position, and 1 spare working position (1 PC with ancillary equipment). BEST simulator is used for air traffic controller training and for scientific research. It is used in the program of undergraduate study of Aeronautics, concentration Air Traffic Control (ATC) and in the modular basic ATC training courses. It enables creation of airspace, exercises of area and approach control services and meteorological data. ATC students are authorized to provide air traffic services (ATS) within the airspace of its jurisdiction and use specially designed electronic flight strips to note all clearances and instructions given to aircraft. Pseudo-pilots simulate the movement of aircraft in the air. Air traffic controllers and pseudo-pilots communicate via radiotelephony communication. Communication system is a part of the simulator. Exercises are conducted under the supervision of certified air traffic control instructors. The equipment is used for research related to air traffic controller training (to determine and analyse air traffic controller tasks and workload, error occurrence in radio-telephony communication, contingency, etc.). Simulator is also used for analysis and implementation of new technological solution in air traffic management (ATM) and air traffic control (ATS route design and implementation, airspace reorganization, sectorization analysis, safety studies etc.). Software is licensed according to the agreement with Micronav ltd. Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences owns a permanent license for BEST simulator. ESCAPE-Light real-time ATC simulation platform for academia ESCAPE is a real-time ATM simulation platform that supports small- and large-scale simulations in airspace design for en-route and TMA, evaluation of new operational concepts and controller tools, pre-operational validation, controller training, and research and development. Radar Skills Trainer (RST) RST is a PC-based simulator. Simulator is used in the program of undergraduate study of Aeronautics, concentration ATC and in the modular basic ATCO training courses. It enables the user to independently create and perform exercises to practice basic radar vectoring and other radar functions of area and approach control. It cannot simulate air traffic control service completely since it doesn’t provide the simulation of radiotelephony communication between pseudo-pilots and controllers. Students perform exercises under the supervision of certified tutors. Note: requires a LAN network and server when using more demanding modes (Distributed stand-alone and Full CMS). NEST – Network Strategic Tool airspace and air traffic flows simulation and modelling software
The program is used in the graduate and undergraduate study programs of Aeronautics, concentration ATC and in the modular basic ATCO training courses. It enables the research and analysis of traffic load on ATS routes, route segments, significant points, aerodromes, and airspace structure with different scenarios. It allows for visual presentation and animations of 3D traffic through certain airspace and traffic filtering according to the conditions set by the query function. It is used to compare ATS route distances, shortest route calculation in nautical miles, savings on fuel and environmental pollution. The program enables simulations of different scenarios with different airspace and network settings and their effects on traffic flow.