Input Output Devices in Aviation

Controller-pilot Data Link Communications, CPDLC
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Controller-pilot Data Link Communications, CPDLC
Introduction
With increased urgency by both the Federal Aviation Administration and Eurocontrol to create a safer and more efficient airspace across Europe, the deployment of Controller-Pilot data link Communications service is the best remedy ever.
Over the years, the most commonly proven and frequently applied the mode of communication between the pilot, and the air traffic controller has been through the use of a voice radio. The voice radio uses either VHF bands for short distance communication of HF bands for long distance communication. Although this has been successfully practiced in the aviation industry across the major airlines in the world; it has always come with certain limitations.
This is the basis upon which this study is based. The failures of the conventional way of voice exchange pose a threat to the aviation industry and in order to make our airspace more safe and efficient, new ways are needed to address this challenge. This study seeks to recommend the use of controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC).To get more acquaintance with this mode of voice exchange and how it functions; I have decided to employ a field study at the Eurocontrol headquarters and to talk to the head d of airspace control unit (Morrow, Lee and Rodvold, 1993).
The major limitation associated with the use of Voice radio has been its inability to filter frequencies and direct them to the specific receiver.

This implies that all the pilots being handled by a single controller are bound to receive similar information even if it is meant for only one of them. This is further complicated by the increasing number of flights that Airlines across the world have had to handle, chances of pilots overriding one another due to this mode of signal exchange and cause signal saturation. On the other hand, each signal exchange between a controller and a pilot requires a specific period to be complete Thus, when saturation occurs, the controller is incapacitated to handle further aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration and Eurocontrol have tried various ways of countering this problem, but none has born any fruit. The conventional way of dealing with this challenge has been the increase of hand-over traffic to stimulate voice exchange between controllers. This has not been effective largely due to the rapid rise of voice channels. There is, therefore, need to come up with a new strategy to deal with the demands of air traffic control.
The CPDLC voice exchange system establishes a system of air-ground data (Helleberg, J. R and & Wickens,2003) communication base on the three core areas of operation that include the exchange of message, transfer of data and downstream clearance. Frequency congestion on sector frequencies can be best dealt with by the use of a complimentary communication system like CPDLC transmission microphones that filters and removes any ambiguities caused by the conventional way of voice signal exchange.
This study, in the end, will come up with the fundamental ways of incorporating the use of ATC systems to contribute to the overall safety of the airlines and enhance controller-pilot communications for a safer and more convenient airline (Bolczak and R., Gonda 2004).The impact of CPDLC is huge and extends beyond just communication. Other ways through which this study will enhance airspace co-ordination include reducing crew-input errors by auto-loading specific uplink messages into the Flight management systems. These can also be printed on-board when there’s urgency.

References
Morrow, D., Lee, A., & Rodvold, M. (1993). Analysis of problems in routine controller-pilot communication. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 3(4), 285-302.
Helleberg, J. R., & Wickens, C. D. (2003). Effects of data-link modality and display redundancy on pilot performance: An attentional perspective. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 13(3), 189-210.
Bolczak, R., Gonda III, J. C., Saumsiegle, W. J., & Tornese, R. A. (2004, October). Controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC) Build 1 value-added services. In Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 2004. DASC 04. The 23rd (Vol. 1, pp. 2-D). IEEE.