AI and innovation experts, Jose Manuel Rísquez and Raúl Sevilla, will participate in the launch of the ORCI project at the SESAR headquarters.; and Rita Bañón
Over the next 30 months, Ineco will carry out two new innovation projects as part of the new SESAR 3 call for proposals, the R&D technological programme of the Single European Sky, which aims to modernise and harmonise traffic control.
ORCI (Optimised Runway Centreline Interception) aims to investigate the development of a tool based on different artificial intelligence models to provide support in situations of high traffic load in the approach phase. "This project arose during my curricular internship, in which I was proposed to carry out a first approach to the project using very simple machine learning models as a final degree project", says Rita Bañón, a finalist in the 2nd Distinctions for Excellence in Internships Competition at Ineco, and adds: "This tool will provide information to controllers about the distance that two consecutive aircraft would have in the sequence of arrivals at an airport, with the aim of facilitating the management of this space and reducing their workload". During the project, the use of surveillance data and voice communications will be explored on the approaches to Barcelona and Lisbon, and ORCI is expected to increase capacity, efficiency and environmental impact at these airports and their associated airspaces by putting AI at the service of the controller. For Rita Bañón: "Artificial intelligence can provide various forms of significant support to air traffic controllers, including route optimisation, prediction and prevention of conflicts, assistance in decision-making or automation of repetitive tasks. But it must always be at the service of the human being and not the other way around. And that is exactly what we are looking for in this project". In addition to being a member of the project, Rita Bañón is part of the Airspace team and is another example of the company's commitment to the permanence and promotion of the professional careers of its professionals.
The company has been using artificial intelligence for nearly ten years, both in client´s projects and developing its own solutions such as DiGAV, a device for automated inspection of railway tracks and data processing with artificial intelligence. Also, TWINECO, a digital twin for transport infrastructure maintenance or CHARLI, an intelligent application for the layout of linear infrastructure alternatives, such as railways, roads or motorways. At ORCI, Ineco will be in charge of developing both the operational concepts and the Artificial Intelligence models, as well as leading the communication and exploitation of results. In addition to Ineco, ORCI involves ISA Software (which acts as coordinator) and two Air Navigation service providers: Enaire and Nav Portugal, which will act as validators of the results obtained.
Furthermore, ten organisations from six European countries form the consortium that will develop U-AGREE (U-space Air and Ground Risk modEls Enhancement). A project that focuses on improving the risk assessment of drone operations and aims to develop an integrated risk model that accurately assesses the potential negative impacts of drone operations on safety, security, privacy and the environment. U-AGREE has the ambition to support risk assessments in U-Space and lead to faster and more robust approval processes. Innovative Aerial Mobility will provide great advantages to society and, for this reason, Ineco is working to discover its full potential and has incorporated the use of drones as another tool for the development of our projects. The company participates in its regulation in Spain and in the development of the U-Space system in Europe, which has led it to become one of the founding members of SIAM, the first national cluster dedicated to promoting and boosting this sector.
