NASA's Traffic Aware Planner
NASA Langley is developing Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR). TASAR features a cockpit automation system that monitors for potential flight trajectory improvements and displays them to the pilot. These wind-optimized flight trajectory changes are pre-cleared of potential conflicts with other known airplane traffic, weather hazards, and airspace restrictions. The objective of TASAR is to improve the process in which pilots request flight path and altitude modifications due to changing flight conditions. Changes may be made to reduce flight time, increase fuel efficiency, or improve some other flight attribute desired by the operator. Currently pilots make such requests to ATC with limited awareness of what is happening around them. Consequently, some of these requests will be denied resulting in no flight improvements and an unnecessary workload increase for both pilots and ATC. The TASAR technology provides pilots with recommended flight path and altitude improvements that are more likely to be approved by ATC.
More information about this technology can be found at https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LA...
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration solicits interest from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market this technology. For more information, please visit: http://technology.nasa.gov