IDS - Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) for the Airport Industry

IDS has been helping customers in the air navigation sector to realise tangible benefits for 30 years. Its distinctive approach delivers results through partnerships with clients, the application of engineering expertise, and a determination to deliver reliability, cost-effectiveness and quality.

Standard-setting ANSPs and specialist service providers

IDS has the largest installed base of any supplier in the field, including four of the five most influential operators in air navigation. Customers range from large standard-setting ANSPs on four continents to specialist service providers.

Local offices across the world provide expertise, services and 24/7 support for industries with time, quality and cost-critical requirements. The IDS network is proud to have highly-trained agents and distributors worldwide.

Aeronautical information management (AIM) database

At the heart of the integrated solution is the aeronautical database, AeroDB, which is common to all modules and projects. It receives information in a variety of formats, from internal and external sources, including Eurocontrol EAD, which then stores, validates, translates and manages it.

Data is input, checked and validated once before becoming available to all users and AeroDB enables the efficient management and monitoring of time-related information. This temporality feature allows users to schedule changes for future use so that large, complex AIM products can be prepared in advance for forthcoming regulations.

Information and workflow management

Information can be managed and distributed throughout the organisation in a controlled and consistent way. An integrated subsystem enables operational workflow to be defined and managed, providing task management, centralised traceability, logging, legal archiving and reporting functionality.

Operational testing and training room

The operational testing and training room is a unique 150m² facility completely designed by IDS and assembled in its premises in Rome. The sophisticated architecture of the backbone hardware configuration, together with the flexibility and scalability of IDS solutions, allows the complete replication of any customer system to:

• Test with clients the technology to be implemented prior to it being delivered to the operational sites
• Test newly designed solutions and products releases and verify possible impacts on customer organisation
• Verify the human factors related to new airspace structures (or flight procedures) through extensive simulation, including full-scale aircraft cockpit and airport environment simulators

AIM system development and consultancy services

IDS solutions for air navigation customers comply fully with the relevant standards and regulations set by international industry bodies, including ICAO, Eurocontrol and the FAA.

The company also contributes to the evolution of international standards and criteria by participating in specialist panels with these organisations. IDS ensures that quality is built-in to both system development and consultancy services through its dedicated quality office, and applies international quality standards including ISO9001:2008.

Industry challenges for air navigation

Air navigation is advancing and transforming rapidly on many fronts. As well as complying with continual updates to international standards and regulations, air operators are facing new challenges and pressures, including:

• Technological advances such as AIXM5
• Dynamic digital data distribution and new generations of GIS-based systems
• The creation of integrated AIM operations combining air traffic management
• AIS and other functions moves toward more common airspace through open sky initiatives
• Environmental pressures for energy savings
• Greener air travel operations

IDS continues to work in partnership with its clients through industry organisations and committees, its own user groups and planned developments to find the most manageable and successful way forward. In the face of such change, IDS maintains a development policy that provides a good level of backward compatibility, allowing customers to plan smooth, low risk and low-cost migration to new or upgraded solutions.