Case Study: Luftfartsverket achieves AI-driven autonomous air traffic control with IBM Garage and IBM

LFV explores AI-driven autonomous air traffic control

Luftfartsverket (LFV), Sweden’s air navigation service provider, faced growing pressure on air traffic controllers as flight volumes increased and the risk and complexity of managing safe separation rose. To explore whether autonomous air traffic control could help, LFV worked with IBM, using the IBM Garage methodology and IBM Watson-inspired AI thinking to validate the idea and build a new approach.

IBM helped LFV develop Advanced Autoplanner (AAP), an AI-driven solution built with IBM Streams on IBM Cloud and supported by IBM Cloudant and Db2. The team co-created and delivered the first MVP in about four months, and the system now runs successful simulations at roughly 200% of normal air traffic capacity, while also generating nearly 800 conflict-resolution scenarios in a second.

Luftfartsverket

Robin Hughes

Head of Engineering