SMARTS Research Accepted at Prestigious SESAR Innovation Days 2025
A groundbreaking paper on intelligent airspace design and configuration from the SMARTS research project has been accepted for presentation at the SESAR Innovation Days (SIDs) 2025, one of Europe’s most competitive air traffic management conferences.
The paper, titled “SMARTS solution for airspace design and configuration,” was selected from a highly competitive pool, with only the top 50% of submissions accepted for the landmark event taking place December 1-4 in Lake Bled, Slovenia.
International Collaboration Tackles Critical Aviation Challenge
The research represents a major international collaboration involving seven institutions across Europe. The team includes Go Nam Lui and Guglielmo Lulli from Lancaster University Management School, alongside researchers from CRIDA (Spain), DLR’s Institute of Air Transport (Germany), ENAC’s OPTIM lab (France), and ENAIRE (Spain).
The SMARTS solution addresses one of the most pressing challenges in European aviation: increasing airspace capacity to meet growing air traffic demand while maintaining safety and efficiency. The research introduces an innovative three-component framework combining artificial intelligence and optimization algorithms for intelligent sector management.
Technical Innovation Meets Real-World Validation
The solution comprises three integrated components: Basic Volume Design, Sector Design using mixed integer linear programming for optimal sector boundaries, and Dynamic Configuration employing graph-based optimization for near real-time configuration planning.
Crucially, the system was validated using real operational data from Madrid Area Control Center (ACC) with 2023 traffic patterns. Results demonstrate that the SMARTS solution successfully balances air traffic controller workload, improves capacity utilization, and introduces a novel local resilience key performance indicator (KPI) for monitoring system robustness.
Alignment with European Aviation Strategy
The research directly supports the strategic vision outlined in the European ATM Master Plan and SESAR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC) is recognized as a cornerstone of future European airspace architecture and a primary means to resolve demand-capacity imbalances.
The SMARTS project aims to deliver the right amount of capacity at the right moment with maximum efficiency, addressing both current capacity challenges and anticipated significant growth in air traffic while reducing environmental impact.
SESAR Innovation Days: A Premier Platform
Now in its 15th edition, the SESAR Innovation Days has become a landmark event in the European aviation research calendar. The conference, hosted this year by Pipistrel and the University of Ljubljana, brings together researchers, industry professionals, and academics to showcase cutting-edge air traffic management innovation.
The event places strong emphasis on exploratory research and offers a unique platform for collaboration between academia and industry. This year’s edition will also feature the prestigious SESAR Young Scientist Award, recognizing outstanding contributions by early-career researchers.
The acceptance of the SMARTS paper at SIDs 2025 underscores the project’s significant contribution to advancing European air traffic management capabilities and its potential to shape the future of aviation operations across the continent.
