Tern Systems receives a SESAR grant

Tern Systems Aware project has been awarded a 637.000 EUR SESAR grant from the European Union Horizon fund. The grant is awarded to Tern Systems to conduct research and development on human-machine collaboration with artificial situational awareness to provide appropriate supportive actions to the air traffic control officers (ATCOs).

About the Aware project

The research project has been named AWARE and its goal is to enable human-machine collaboration by using an artificial situational awareness system which is enabling AI to anticipate and respond to human needs by understanding human intent and goals. 

While humans are extensively trained to understand the capabilities, limitations, and functionality of the machines they are using, further improvements in human-machine collaboration are currently hindered by the machines lack of awareness of the intent of humans.

The research project will develop and test an AI Assistant Application providing adaptable human-centric support to enhance air traffic controller's (ATCO) performance and to reduce ATCO’s workload despite high task complexity. This will be achieved by development of a human-machine collaboration environment that relies on recognition of ATCO’s intent, the ATCO’s situational awareness (compared to a machine’s situational awareness) and the ATCO’s mental load.

ATCO's intent will be analysed by tracking their attention and human-machine interactions and comparing them to the tasks that need solving as assessed by the artificial situational awareness system. Adaptable support will then be provided either in solving the task they are currently focused on or solving an unrelated task autonomously.

This will allow ATCOs to maintain their skills and expertise while preventing a shift towards supervisory control that has been demonstrated to undermine human capability to take-over in situations with degraded automation. A goal of the adaptable and human-aware system is to maintain ATCOs in an active role, to train their skills and expertise on the job while selectively using higher levels of automation to augment capacity. ATCOs are supported in their tasks rather than substituted by automation. It is expected that ATCOs can handle high-complexity scenarios when assisted by an attention-aware support system. ATCO workload is expected to decrease with the use of support functions.

Research partners

Tern Systems will provide its expertise in leading work in development activities, focusing on defining and developing the platform of AWARE for ATCOs and integrating into Tern's Polaris ATM system and Orion ATM simulator. Creating modern HMI and robust backend services for simulation and operation in ATM has been the focus for Tern Systems and it will be contributing its technical experts to the project.

Tern Systems research partners are the University of Zagreb, International Federation Of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA), The Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (LFV), SLOT Consulting, Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universitat Linz and Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

The photos included with the text are from the kick-off meeting of the research project at EUROCONTROL's headquarters in Brussels, which was held this June. Representing Tern Systems at the meeting were Urszula Kasperska, Hólmfríður Elvarsdóttir, and Gunnar Magnússon.

The Name Tern Systems: A Tribute to the Arctic Tern ✨

At Tern Systems, our name is inspired by the remarkable arctic tern, a bird known for its extraordinary resilience and navigational prowess. The arctic tern nests in Iceland and other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions across Europe, Asia, and North America. It holds the record for the longest known migration route in the animal kingdom, travelling from Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back each year.

Research shows that arctic terns can fly up to an astounding 81.600 kilometres annually. Over a single lifetime, this tenacious bird can travel up to 2,4 million kilometres, equivalent to more than three round trips from the Earth to the Moon!

Arctic terns are also known for their fierce protection of their breeding colonies. They are one of the most aggressive tern species, fearlessly defending their nests by striking at the heads or backs of predators, often causing serious injury to much larger animals.

Originally, the name Tern Systems also stood for Terminal and En-Route Navigation Systems, reflecting our foundational focus on providing advanced navigation solutions. Just as the arctic tern navigates vast distances with precision and determination, Tern Systems is dedicated to delivering innovative and reliable Air Traffic Management solutions worldwide.

Our award winning logo from 2018, features a beautifully drawn arctic tern. The logo symbolises the strength, agility, and resilience that the Arctic tern embodies.

Meet the Polaris ICE team

Jón Ingi Jónsson

Tern Systems and Isavia ANS have been collaborating closely for almost 30 years now, developing ATM systems. The newest and most ambitious product being developed is the POLARIS ATM system. The POLARIS ICE team, comprised of members from both companies, is responsible for developing the feature set that will enable Isavia ANS to manage air traffic over the North Atlantic Ocean in the future. The area is more than 5 million square kilometres and is one of the largest control areas in the world.

Here we introduce the first team member: Jón Ingi Jónsson.

✨ Role within the Polaris ICE team

When asked about his role within the Polaris ICE team, Jón Ingi answers: "My knowledge is most useful for developing the approach phase and prioritising tasks for that phase. I also provide an overall view of the system and its integration into the operations of Isavia ANS, including connections to towers and the systems there. Additionally, I focus on needs and opportunities related to surveillance and interaction with flight data, as well as safety nets that need to be implemented. My daily work involves analysing these needs and ensuring they are met effectively and on time.”

✨ Professional experience

We asked Jón Ingi about his professional experience and he replied: “I have been an Air traffic controller since 2006 and worked in all controlled towers and approach controls in Iceland and Greenland. Since 2011, I have been involved in system development within the Development Department of Isavia ANS. I took part in implementing the TAS system from Tern Systems in BIKF TWR and FAXI in 2012. Also implemented MLAT in 2019 and STCA in 2022.

I participate in international cooperation for the Development Department and attend meetings abroad in specific fields, mainly related to surveillance. I worked for a time in the Training Department, teaching and managing, among other things, approach courses for FAXI.

I have been managing the operation of BGSF TWR/APP since 2022 and have extensive communication with airport authorities there as well as Danish regulatory authorities (Trafikstyrelsen).

I also served on the board of FÍF (Icelandic Air Traffic Controller Association) for 6 years, including as a vice-chairman, attending meetings with professional associations abroad, and had extensive cooperation with Isavia management in the context of collective agreements and related matters."

✨ Life outside of work

My wife and I have three children and an old cat. Most of my time is spent with the family, such as watching the children compete in soccer, going together to a summer house, or doing some carpentry. I enjoy going out for a run or a bike ride to clear my mind, but probably the best is going ptarmigan hunting."

✈ About Polaris ATM

POLARIS ATM is our flagship product, the next-generation Air Traffic Management System. Our vision is to advance Air Traffic Control by delivering new levels of usability, modernity and innovation. Moving beyond the legacy systems which dominate the industry, POLARIS ATM uses technologies which will support our partner's emerging needs in the next decade and beyond. ANSPs who select POLARIS as their future ATM system will benefit from new features developed with others within our user group, designed with scalability and adaptability in mind.