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[Feature Request] Utility to compile and merge ASTM F3548-21 Annex A3 log files into KML #1759

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Description

@Brendan-Hillis

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
When conducting multi-USS simulations (such as Operational Practicality "Day-in-the-Life" runs), interoperability evaluations, or post-flight airspace reviews, operators and service providers need a way to visually play back and review the 4D volumes that were planned and active in shared airspace over time.

Under ASTM F3548-21 (LOG0015, LOG0020, and LOG0035), USSs already log their operational intents locally and export them using the standardized Annex A3 common JSON export format. However, there is currently no standardized open-source utility in interuss/monitoring to convert one or more ASTM F3548-21 Annex A3 log exports into a consolidated KML playback file for visualization in tools like Google Earth.

Describe the solution you'd like
We would like a utility within interuss/monitoring that ingests one or more ASTM F3548-21 Annex A3 JSON log exports (from a single USS or multiple participating USSs) and compiles them into a single consolidated .kml (or .kmz) file.

Key capabilities we would like to see:

  • Multi-Log Merging: Accept one or more Annex A3 JSON log files (e.g., exported from different USSs participating in a shared airspace simulation) and merge them into a single unified KML output.
  • Operational Intent 4D Visualization: Render operational intent volumes (polygons and cylinders per LOG0015 / LOG0020 / LOG0035) as 3D extruded KML geometries (<Polygon> with altitude bounds) annotated with KML <TimeSpan> (<begin> and <end>) elements so volumes dynamically appear and disappear along the Google Earth timeline slider.
  • Extensible Entity Support: Focus primarily on Operational Intents (4D volumes, states, and time spans), while allowing optional or future extensibility for other Annex A3 logged entities (such as Constraints or UA telemetry/positions) if present in the log files.
  • Flexible Packaging: We are flexible on how and where this utility is packaged within interuss/monitoring (e.g., CLI entrypoint, Python module, or subpackage) to best fit the repository's existing structure and conventions.

Describe alternatives you've considered
Without a shared open-source tool in interuss/monitoring, individual USSs and operators would have to build and maintain bespoke, proprietary log-to-KML conversion scripts. This duplicates effort across the ecosystem, results in inconsistent KML representations, and makes it difficult to cleanly merge log exports from multiple USSs into a single joint playback visualization.

Additional context

  • Standard References:
    • ASTM F3548-21 LOG0015 & LOG0020: Logging of operational intent details and updates.
    • ASTM F3548-21 LOG0035 & Annex A3: Standardized common data format (JSON schema) for exporting logged UTM data.
  • Primary Use Case: Post-run playback and operator evaluation of shared airspace simulations (e.g., Operational Practicality assessments), where participating USSs export their local Annex A3 logs post-simulation and merge them into a single KML artifact for joint operator review.

Activity

  1. BenjaminPelletier commented on Oct 8, 2026

    @BenjaminPelletier
    Member

    I think this makes sense and shouldn't be particularly difficult to implement. I think the most useful enabler for development of this feature would be a sample of USSLogSet data to test the new functionality on. Could you provide such a sample? There is now a tool that can export tracer logs as USSLogSet data, but I don't think the InterUSS project has access to an example dataset in either format. Each CI run can produce tracer logs like this from uss_qualifier runs, but the injected flights for automated testing are very uninteresting and likely not sufficiently representative of real operations to fully validate the output of the requested tool.

    Note also that the desktop version of Google Earth has been indicated as end-of-life by Google. Since the web version of Google Earth is incapable of opening large KMLs representative of medium-volume operations, a different longer-term plan for evaluating these large data sets may be necessary.

  2. wing-utm-sharing-airspace commented on Oct 16, 2026

    @wing-utm-sharing-airspace
    Contributor

    Acknowledge data sample request and we are actively working to provide it.

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