NAS-wide simulation of air traffic with ATC behavior model

The US National Airspace System (NAS) is incredibly complex, and consists of many specific functions. Given predicted increases in air traffic, enhancement of the current system and development of the NextGEN system are critical to maintain safe and efficient operation. Each feature of the system needs to be carefully designed, developed, tested and validated. Real-time human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations represent one of the most powerful and realistic testing tools. HITL simulations can provide valuable feedback on how new features influence the behavior of human operators. The drawbacks of HITL simulations include limited flexibility and scalability, and high cost. Fast-time simulation is alternative option to HITL simulation, especially during research and initial development phases. Fast-time simulation provides reasonable detail of the simulation together with scalability and fast implementation of new tools. AgentFly system is presented as fast-time simulation suitable for NAS-wide simulation. It features cognitive behavioral model of Air Traffic Controller (ATC). AgentFly is used to perform several experiments with increasing air traffic to demonstrate suitability of fast-time simulation as a efficient tool for what-if analyses.