Avionics
Multilateration: a new eye in the sky and on the ground
Although few pilots may know the word, multilateration is quickly becoming a household term among air traffic controllers and airport authorities.

Although few pilots may know the word, multilateration is quickly becoming a household term among air traffic controllers and airport authorities. But pilots will ultimately be one of its major beneficiaries.

Multilateration is today’s version of triangulation, where the location of an object is determined by taking its bearing from several different places. It is analogous to what pilots did in those far-off days of D/F, way before GPS, loran and VOR. Except that multilateration uses several small, unmanned, radio receivers spread around an airport that continuously monitor transponder, ADS-B and IFF transmissions from aircraft.