This is the development version of a new Air Traffic Data Protocol.
As the UTM ecosystem evolves, capturing and recording real-time air traffic data becomes important. This protocol was developed after consultations with industry experts aims to standardize the way air traffic data is collected and transmitted in a way that suits the UTM ecosystem. The best way to engage with this is to review the protocol document, the goals and open issues in this repository. Eventually a version of this repository will be handed to the GUTMA board to be accepted as a "formal" GUTMA protocol and this repository will continue to function as a way to test and change it.
The concept of UTM as "Unified Traffic Management" expresses the vision that all users of the airspace can share data seamlessly. From a high-level perspective, the objective is simple. However, its implementation requires to take into consideration vastly different engineering practices. Aviation, telecommunication, hardware and IT engineers must cater to customers who are not interested in using unknown file formats for the sake of harmonization. Although a file format is only the abstraction layer of an underlying data structure, there is a risk that using different formats without coordination leads to a slow drift toward incompatible solutions within the industry.
GUTMA Air Traffic Data Protocol and Controller is an experiment in bringing together practices from aviation and sensor manufacturers. The project has two steps. First, it defines air traffic data in a JSON format based on a set of data sources widely used in drones and aviation. It will then publish a JSON to ASTERIX converter to exchange data between those formats. JSON is typically used in hardware and IT software development, whereas ASTERIX is a standard for the exchange of air traffic services information used in aviation. The JSON protocol can be used in isolation by IT developers or sensor manufacturers but it can also be used a bridge to communicate with aviation stakeholders through the converter.
Depending on interest, the project might be extended to other formats.