From: oliverb@hfl.tc.faa.gov   
      
   Situation:  An air traffic control display depicts aircraft using position   
   symbols and labels.  Position symbols show the two dimensional location of   
   each aircraft.  Labels contain additional aircraft data and are (usually)   
   connected to its associated position symbol by a line.  Labels which overlap   
   are obscured.   
      
   Problem:  Labels can be positioned manually to avoid conflict, but this   
   takes time and effort on the part of the air traffic controller thus   
   reducing the amount of traffic that can be handled.  An autopositioning   
   algorithm can reduce overlap of labels but to be effective it must also meet   
   these requirements:   
      
       * Allow selected labels to be manually positioned   
       * Label movement must be smooth (i.e. no sharp jumps)   
       * Labels should move relative to the position symbol only when necessary   
       * Labels must remain near their position symbol   
      
   (There are many other constraints, but this should give you a good feel for   
   the problem)   
      
   Approach:  For each position symbol - label pair, plot the relative paths of   
   other position symbols and other labels for the next few minutes.  Move the   
   label in the direction to avoid conflicts with other position symbols and   
   other labels.   
      
   I call this the "dodge ball" model because of its similarity to the   
   playground game.  The label is constrained to a circle about its position   
   symbol and moves to avoid incomming objects.   
      
   I expect to find rules such as   
       * IF no conflict THEN dont move   
       * IF conflict on right side THEN move left   
       * IF conflict is soon THEN move fast   
       and other similar rules   
      
   Is this a realistic starting point?   
   Is fuzzy logic likely to provide a solution to this control problem?   
   What problems may I encounter since I have not implemented a system like   
   this before?   
   How can I test a tentative solution to see if it is realistic?   
      
   Regards,   
      
   Bob Oliver   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)