A Framework for Resource Management in Air Traffic Systems

In this paper, we present a software framework for the air traffic system that includes and integrates several architectural components devoted to the dynamic allocation, exchange and self-adaptation of resources. Some of these components, namely the allocation and the adaptation of resources, are managed at a centralized level by a single authority, whereas the resource exchange component is envisioned as a decentralized decision process aiming to enlarge the participation of resources’ users in the decision process. Several variants of the resource exchange component can be proposed differing for the underlying mechanisms of resource exchange. By means of Petri net’s formalisms and results, we compare and validate the mechanisms underlying the resource exchange components. The architecture of the air traffic system herein proposed is consistent with the Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) philosophy and provides a solution towards a full implementation of CDM.