Christie MicroTiles Encourages NATS Air Traffic Operator Collaboration and Simulation

NATS, UK-based air navigation services company, has trusted the visualization possibilities, performance and collaboration offered by Christie Microtiles systems to improve work and collaboration in your Space innovation centers.

World leader in air traffic management, NATS is the company that provides navigation services to aircraft using the controlled airspace of the United Kingdom, as well as at various airports inside and outside the British Isles.

Formerly known as National Air Traffic Services Limited, the current NATS has developed three facilities, called Space, connecting its Fareham Business and Technology Center with the nearby Swanwick Air Traffic Control Center and the Prestwick Center in Scotland.

In each new Space, some visual walls formed by MicroTiles of Christie identical configuration allow NATS to dynamically prototype in real time to develop new solutions and tools for air traffic control before they go into operation.

This advanced technological and collaborative environment, as Mark Race emphasizes, head of Space innovation services (in the attached image), “responds in part to the need to demonstrate prototypes and generate visual impact, allowing our staff to get involved in a unique way”.

Performance, functionality and flexibility

The NATS project team discovered Christie MicroTiles when they were looking for a flexible system that was capable of projecting multiple sources in high definition, after which they contacted this manufacturer, which put on a demonstration at its EMEA HQ in Berks (Pennsylvania USA), where NATS representatives could see first-hand its performance, possible functionalities and options.

Rob Langan, one of the representatives of said team, points out some of the key requirements they identified during the research that preceded the purchase: "For example, It was crucial that the viewing experience had impeccable uniformity across the entire display., something that the reduced bezel of 1 mm of MicroTiles makes it easier”.

NATS also wanted to learn about other types of rear projection matrices and cubes on the market., although the best resolution, MicroTiles flexibility and software, with a uniform and division-free display, contributed to it becoming the chosen option. “The display is part of the wall panel, so we do not have to consider changes in the configuration - Langan points out -. Nevertheless, “What we have is very similar to a blank canvas inside which it is possible to reconfigure the windows and do whatever we want”.

This manager also affirms that video walls allow the multiple sources and data necessary to be professionally projected.. With video walls in configuration 8×6, that each center has installed in a similar way, 2Kx2K data can be projected onto the wall from air traffic control positions, as well as data sources at 1080p and 800×600.

Another advantage that Langan points out is that it is possible to share this data from the monitors through the MicroTiles canvas thanks to the deployment of a Christie Spyder X20-1608 image processor (with sixteen inputs and eight outputs) at each Space location. Interfaces switch signals for picture-in-picture presentation, and a series of 28x8 matrix switches increase input capability.

As Mark Race points out, “This elegant solution allows us to use our prototypes and easily redirect them to other destinations using Spyder”. In fact, This versatile video processor functions as a universal matrix switcher, with the ability to simultaneously monitor, in real time and at maximum frame rate, all entries.

Collaborative facilities

The three Space facilities facilitate the interaction of up to twenty people in a simulated air traffic control environment, connected to each other through a WAN network, so that each space can be viewed from the other two. At the same time, the ability to host WebEx meetings and video conferencing makes it possible to bring in external participants, not present in the room.

That collaboration, with people and companies interested in NAST services, now allows you to satisfy your needs more quickly, thereby reducing supplier costs. Besides, as Rob Langan points out, "It will also facilitate a 'plug and play' of new technology that makes it easier for suppliers to market their new tools".

Thanks to the possibility of holding videoconferences at any point in your facilities, NATS has also improved and expanded the collaboration capacity between its centers, thereby reducing the environmental impact of the trip. For Mark Race, “The possibility of sharing data on Space activities or hosting virtual meetings between the different venues presents enormous advantages. Now, PC, video, Data files or video conferences can be shared simultaneously, and each source will be displayed on the video wall”.

In these facilities it is possible to “live a simulation, see things that we couldn't see before in real environments, Simultaneously evaluate results in high definition and make decisions in real time. We have never had that capacity before.. Above any consideration, the speed with which we can now respond to what the controller sees and overlay fragments of data, showing its appearance even before its integration into the main simulation software, It is essential. And it has been achieved”, says Mark Race.

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