Tech Briefs Magazine - January 2024 - 37

SPINOFF
B
efore airplanes even reach the runway,
pilots must file a plan to inform
air traffic controllers where they're going
and the path they are going to take.
When planes are in the air, however, that
plan often changes. From turbulence
causing passenger discomfort and additional
fuel use to unexpected weather
patterns blocking the original path, pilots
have to think on the fly and inform
air traffic controllers of any modifications
to their routes.
In the past, these changes would have
to happen suddenly and without much
lead time. But as airplanes have become
more digitally connected, the flying machines
can take advantage of the additional
data they receive, and a NASA-developed
technology can help pilots find
the best path every time.
NASA has explored methods to improve
aircraft efficiency since its inception.
Among the agency's most famous
contributions are winglets, upturned
vertical flanges at the ends of airplane
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring
successfully commercialized NASA technology. This
commercialization has contributed to the development
of products and services in the fields of health and
medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety,
computer technology, and environmental resources.
'Digital Winglets' for Real-Time Flight Paths
NASA-developed routing technology leads to fuel savings and smoother flights.
wings that eliminate turbulence at the
wingtip and lead to significant savings in
fuel (Spinoff 2010). Fuel efficiency is incredibly
important to future aircraft development,
as not only does it improve
the distance a plane can travel and the
weight it can carry, but airplane engines
release huge amounts of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere. Reducing
aircraft fuel use means less carbon dioxide
in the air.
David Wing, Principal Researcher of
air traffic management at NASA's Langley
Research Center in Hampton, VA,
develops advanced autonomy systems
for aircraft, allowing operators to directly
manage flight paths in crowded skies.
He noticed that some of the same technology
used for safe routing could also
be used to optimize routes for flights already
in the air. Allowing pilots to identify
a better path as soon as it's available
could save time and money.
" Air traffic control is there to keep the
aircraft safely separated from other aircraft, "
said Wing. " So the trick is, when
you need to change your routing, what
route do you ask for, and how much is it
going to save you? "
Under Wing's lead, NASA developed
Traffic-Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests
(TASAR), a piece of software pilots and
ground operations teams can use to find
better routes in transit. TASAR works by
using a genetic algorithm, a kind of machine
learning system that finds the optimal
answer by pitting hundreds of route
changes against each other and seeing
which one comes out on top.
TASAR takes a map of the area and
draws hundreds of lines radiating from
the airplane. These lines represent potential
routes the plane could take. The
software whittles down every route it
generates, avoiding ones that stray into
no-fly zones or dangerous weather systems
or get too close to other aircraft
until it's found the most efficient route
the airplane can take. Then it's up to the
pilot whether to take the computer's advice.
Information is constantly being updated
using sensors on the airplane and
connections to ground-based services,
which TASAR takes into account.
Alaska Airlines Captain Bret Peyton looks at
route options presented by Traffic Aware Strategic
Aircrew Requests (TASAR) during a test of
the software at Langley Research Center. The
program connects to onboard systems and
runs on a tablet called an electronic flight bag.
(Image: David Wing)
Tech Briefs, January 2024
In this screenshot of the APiJET Digital Winglets software based on NASA technology, a route is
plotted along navigational waypoints, presenting three options that would save fuel and time
based on real-time information. (Image: APiJET LLC)
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