Definition
An air traffic control software function that continuously scans surveillance data and flight plan information to identify potential conflicts between aircraft, or between aircraft and protected airspace, terrain, or obstacles, and alerts the controller before the situation becomes critical.
Plain English
A computer system inside ATC that watches all the traffic and warns the controller early if two aircraft might get too close to each other, or if an aircraft might stray into airspace it shouldn't enter.
Context Anchor
Seen in air traffic control and FAA automation discussions, especially when describing tools that help controllers watch for developing traffic conflicts.
Derivation
Automated comes from the Greek 'automatos' meaning 'self-acting.' The phrase simply means problem-finding done by the system itself rather than relying on the controller to spot every developing issue manually.
Why Pilots Care
It lowers pilot workload and allows issues to be caught early, before they develop into safety threats.
Intuition Check
Do not read “problem” here as an aircraft malfunction. In this context, it usually means a predicted traffic or separation issue that air traffic control needs to handle.
Example Sentence 1
Automated Problem Detection alerted the controller that the two aircraft converging at the same altitude would lose separation in about three minutes.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach checklist the pilot confirmed that automated problem detection had found no discrepancies.