| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 03-II A5.01-8580 |
| PHASE-I CONTRACT NUMBER: | NNA04AA25C |
| SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Human-Automation Interaction in Aerospace Systems |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | Flight-Deck Interface for High-Precision Taxi Control |
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN
(Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Optimal Synthesis Inc.
868 San Antonio Road
Palo Alto ,CA 94303 - 4622
(650) 213 - 8585
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Victor Cheng
vcheng@optisyn.com
868 San Antonio Road
Palo Alto ,CA 94303 -4622
(650) 213 - 8585
U.S. Citizen or Legal Resident: Yes
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Faced with ever-increasing projections of air traffic, airport expansion plans, changes in operational requirements and introduction of advanced technologies are all being considered to increase airport capacity. These enhancements serve to improve throughputs at the airports, but the resulting increases in surface traffic and airport complexity would lead to taxi delays and surface traffic congestion that offset some of the expected benefits. New operational concepts are needed to preserve the envisioned benefits. A Surface Operation Automation Research (SOAR) project has been exploring a concept of collaborative automation between surface traffic management and the flight deck. The Phase I research represents a major step towards the concept of a Flight-deck Automation for Reliable Ground Operation (FARGO) system, with results that demonstrate the feasibility of guidance and control technologies to deliver high-precision taxi performance, and interface technologies capable of conveying guidance and control information to the flight crew to achieve the precise taxi control. The proposed Phase II effort focuses on the development of a complete FARGO system, including operational procedures, aircraft guidance and control reference and monitor displays, and traffic monitor display and alert systems. Efforts beyond Phase II should target the transition of the FARGO technologies to the avionics community.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 100 WORDS)
The technologies to be developed under this SBIR are applicable to NASA's Aviation Capacity Program and Aviation Safety and Security Program, to contribute to their goals of improving air traffic efficiency and safety. In particular, the pilot interface technologies are useful for realizing the SOAR concept, which is being developed under support from the VAMS project.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 100 WORDS)
Like most of the products developed under the NASA Aviation Capacity Program and Aviation Safety and Security Program, the technologies sought by this SBIR proposal are targeted for civil aviation. As the global travel requirements increase and the major airports execute their plans to increase capacity through expansion, efficient taxi operations and runway crossings are quickly becoming major issues at these airports. The technologies to be developed under this SBIR can be adopted by the avionics manufacturers in conjunction with other technologies currently under development by the NASA programs.