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Lone Wolf Ok | VOLSCAN, The First Computer with Graphical User Interface
Also known as the "Air Traffic Control Central" or USAF AN/GSN-3 (XD-1) was an automatic electronic system for bringing differing aircraft into an air base at precise intervals of 30 seconds. The system is not a radar set; rather it is a combination of electronic, tracking, and computing units which are capable of automatic control of all planes approaching multiple airports. Designed by the Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC) in 1949, the AVCO Manufacturing Corporation, Crosley Division, developed and built VOLSCAN (VOLume SCANing radar system).
It was capable of controlling an entire area from one site. Thus, in a 1953 demonstration near Boston, Massachusetts, aircraft were "fed into" Norwood Airport, Beverly Airport, the Weymouth Naval Air Station, and Logan Airport. When the incoming planes were about 100 km from Boston, they were seen by VOLSCAN's AN/CPN-18 radar "eyes" and their radar echoes appeared on the circular screen of the radar scope in the bunker. The traffic operator's console screen gives a maplike picture of the entire control area and the planes appear as tiny yellow dots moving across it. Meanwhile the planes have told VOLSCAN's "ears," the traffic operator, for which airport they are bound and she points a VOLSCAN Light Gun at the aircraft's signal on the scope. Instantly, a small square of yellow light called a tracking gate surrounds the radar's blip. Each plane scheduled to land is enclosed by one of these gates. As each plane's signal moves, the little tracking gate follows it, sorting out its data from that of all other planes, and memorizing its position and velocity. These gates are produced by automatic tracking-while-scanning devices called "ANTRACS" which are VOLSCAN's memory cells. Even if the radar echo fades out. they will continue to move in accordance with their memory of the aircraft's past performance, thus predicting where the aircraft will appear when the fade has passed. Once the gate is tracking the aircraft's signal, the traffic operator pushes a button which starts VOLSCAN's cortex operating. This device, the reasoning and calculating section of VOLSCAN's brain, is called "DATAC." An electronic traffic manager considers the plane's relationship to the airport and to other inbound aircraft and automatically selects a schedule which will permit it to arrive as early as possible without conflicting with other planes. Once it has selected the schedule DATAC continuously calculates control orders for the aircraft consisting of headings to fly, altitudes, airspeed, and discrete instructions, such as, slow down, lower landing gear, etc. These control orders from DATAC can be remoted and displayed in the aircraft or they can be fed directly into the automatic pilot. In the latter case, DATAC actually would be flying the plane from the ground. Such remoting will take place over the standard data link. Since data link is not yet available in all aircraft, VOLSCAN now uses relay men, who merely read DATAC's orders over a voice radio channel to the pilot.
The Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC) in Bedford, Massachusetts was a Cold War systems development organization that participated in Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) development, which borrowed some of its display concepts and technologies from this earlier VOLSCAN computer system.
Reference:
A Preliminary Operational Evaluation of Volscan Model GSN-3 (XD-1) / J.P.O'Brien, M.H.Yost, A.B.Johnson, L.S.Foot, F.S.McKnight TDR No.330 U.S.Dept.of Commerce PB151284 https://books.google.ca/books?id=eV8WI8ayD_sC&printsec=frontcover#v=...
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Origination of GUI
