operational display system

Operational Display Systems are systems used for tracking the status of multiple objects in

avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...

. Operational Display Systems are usually being developed by large countries' civil aviation authorities (such as the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

in the United States, or the main Service Providers in

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, such as DFS, NATS, DSNA, ENAIRE, MUAC, etc., coordinated by

Eurocontrol The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1963, Eur ...

in Europe), with inputs from technology companies and air traffic controllers associations.

Air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

systems gradually evolved from the old sweeping

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

to modern computer-driven systems showing maps, weather information, aircraft routes and digitized radar tracks on an ergonomically-designed console. Whereas in the past the information came only from a radar, current systems use inputs from a variety of sources. Radar is still used (multiple sources instead of just one), but is now complemented by

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

data (the aircraft sending out information regarding

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

and identifications) and soon

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

data (for more accurate positioning and overseas navigation). As most data is now digital, this opens the way for extra functionalities to be embedded in the modern Operational Display System, such as trajectory prediction, conflict warnings, traffic flow management, arrival optimisation, etc. Two separate competing systems are currently operating within the US,

Common ARTS Common ARTS (or Automated Radar Terminal System) is an air traffic control computer system that air traffic controllers use to track aircraft. The computer system is used to automate the air traffic controller's job by correlating the various rad ...

(Automated Radar Terminal System (

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

)) and STARS (

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

), with Common ARTS operating at the busiest facilities (

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Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area,

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Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

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area) within the US. On the display side, the round radar is being replaced by computer-driven

cathode-ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms on an oscilloscope, a ...

s, which now are being replaced by modern

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not em ...

flat screens in en route systems. However a great many US Air Traffic TRACON facilities and Towers still use the older cathode-ray tube technology. Most of the larger TRACONs employ a 20" x 20" Sony color tube display; Common ARTS uses the ARTS Color Display (ACD) and the Remote ARTS Color Display (R-ACD), while STARS uses the Terminal Control Workstation (TCW) and Tower Display Workstation (TDW). Towers are slowly replacing old DBrite (cathode ray type remote displays) with an LCD type manufactured by Barco. However these display replacements are currently installed only at the busiest facilities with lower density traffic facilities slated for retrofit later. Avionics {{Aviation-stub