Satisficing game theory for distributed conflict resolution and traffic optimisation: A simulation tool and experimental results

In the current, centralized approach to Air Traffic Control (ATC) air traffic controllers are responsible for the safe and efficient flow of aircraft. This situation would change with the introduction of Airborne Self-Separation as a distributed and scalable approach to ATC. The major technological challenge that must be tackled to make Airborne Self-Separation a viable alternative to the traditional controller-based approach is to devise a safe and reliable technology to solve conflicts and improve global performances in an uncontrolled environment. In this paper we introduce an algorithm that applies Satisficing Game Theory (SGT) to solve conflicts in the framework of an overall optimisation of the traffic flow. This algorithm is inspired by the work presented in [1]. The paper presents the first results we collected by running a software tool which simulates the behavior of the SGT algorithm in a 3D environment, using air traffic samples provided by the Italian air traffic service provider (ENAV). These results are the starting point of a further enquiry to explore the actual impact of the introduction of such a technology in a realistic ATC environment.