SESAR SWIM Master Class 2015 winners announced

System-wide information management (SWIM) solutions in the areas of civil-military collaborative decision-making and enhanced meteorological information provision have received top prizes at the 2015 SESAR SWIM Master Class Awards. The winners - which were announced during a Best-in-Class ceremony at Eurocontrol headquarters in Brussels - were among 30 SWIM-enabled air traffic management (ATM) information solutions that were submitted to the Master Class jury for nomination in three categories: services, applications and technical infrastructure. The ceremony also demonstrated live 18 services and applications, illustrating that SWIM is quickly becoming a reality within the global ATM system.
 
The ceremony brought to a close the fourth edition of the SESAR SWIM Master Class, which took place between June and November 2015 and welcomed 55 international teams increasing the awareness of SWIM and the practical uptake. Held annually, the Master Class is a chance for ATM stakeholders to network and to share their experiences and best practices in implementing SWIM. The event has also succeeded in accelerating and strengthening collaboration, generating an initial set of services and standards, and the SWIM registry for information exchange on services under development. In doing so, the Master Class has become an important global platform, through which to build a critical mass of knowledge and excellence about SWIM and to translate the concept into real solutions.
 
In the SWIM Information Services category, the Best-in-Class award went to the 4D WeatherCube, which was submitted by EUMETNET, a grouping of European national meteorological service providers. The solution provides tailored meteorological information, which is made available to ATM stakeholders via the SWIM-compliant MET-GATE information portal. Together these solutions mask the complexity of MET data standards, formats and multiple sources, and provide airspace users with user-ready data via a single access point. “Thanks to the Master Class, the range of users for this solution has expanded which is leading to continued innovation and new business opportunities,” said Kamel Rebaï, Head of IT development, Meteo France.
 
Runners up this services category was FlightAware for its live ADS-B flight positions data feed, a standalone flight tracking application that can be used as standalone or in combination with other regional and global data feeds. M-CLICK was also recognised in this category, picking up an ex-aequo second place for its aeronautical data validation platform, an application that validates the quality of any aeronautical data.
 
A Best-in-Class award was also awarded in the SWIM-enabled Applications category to Frequentis for its National Air Policing Centre (NAPC) application, which allows for the sharing of accurate civil and military information, and for timely and collaborative decision-making. “The SWIM Master Class spurs innovation and enables companies of all kinds to compete head to head. We are thrilled by the creativity from all entrants and are proud to take part in this unique event ourselves, underlining our commitment to SWIM,” said Markus Klopf, SWIM Product Management, Frequentis. “These new applications and services demonstrate the potential that comes from improved sharing of information amongst all aviation stakeholders.”
 
Taking second prize in this category was the Airport KPI Analyser & Optimiser, submitted by Airbus  Defence & Space, which provides airport operators with a dashboard of live information on flight delays, arrivals, passengers and environmental statistics allowing them to make informed decisions in the short- to medium term. Meanwhile, third prize was presented to Ingegneria Dei Sistemi (IDS) for its ATC SimulAtion enviRonment - sWim compAtible sYstem (STAIRWAY), which allows users to simulate new operational configurations and processes using the exchange of flight plan and meteorological data between the Network Manager and national meteo services.
 
Ultimately, the Master Class is about creating a community of interest. The strength of the Master Class participation is shaping this community that increasingly understands and appreciates the business benefits - cost-effectiveness and agility – that stem from applying the SWIM principles leading to accelerated growth in interoperability and strengthened collaboration between many different ATM stakeholders.
 
 “I would like to congratulate the winning entries, as well as the finalists of this year’s edition of the SESAR SWIM Master Class, who are true pioneers in modernising information management in ATM. Thanks to their efforts, SWIM is becoming a reality and enabling enhanced collaborative decision-making, as well as more effective and cost-efficient ATM operations. This evolution in information management is good news for our industry, but also more broadly for passengers, who, at the end of the day, will see the knock-on benefits of increased punctuality and fewer delays,” said Florian Guillermet, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking.