THE PROBLEM: Currently, when a flight operator wants to change their flight path or altitude to improve flight time, fuel efficiency, or some other flight attribute, the operator must first check with air traffic control (ATC). That is because pilots have limited awareness of weather hazards, airspace restrictions, or airplane traffic in areas far away from their flight path, so ATC can help ensure the conditions are safe. However, when pilots’ requests are denied and they are unable to make flight improvements, it adds unnecessary workload increase for pilots, who have to come up with a new request and repeat the process, and ATC, who has to analyze and decide on a response, all while a flight continues on a less efficient route. 

THE SOLUTION: NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC) developed the Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) software to implement the Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) patented system. TASAR features a cockpit automation system that identifies optimal flight path improvements and displays them to the pilot. These wind-optimized flight trajectory changes are pre-checked for conflicts, making it easier for pilots to request modifications due to changing flight conditions. TASAR suggests flight path and altitude improvements that are more likely to be approved by ATC and reduce work time for both sides. 

THE TECH TRANSFER MECHANISM: The TAP technology emerged from research on aircraft operational autonomy and enabling automation technology for cockpit-based trajectory management. It was developed for commercial release to bring NASA’s advanced airborne trajectory management technology to the aviation community for near-term adoption while laying the groundwork for increasingly autonomous operations in the future. TAP won the 2016 NASA Software of the Year award, which helped it gain significant attention from the aviation community. Before merging, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America both signed Space Act Agreements with NASA to test TAP. By involving industry in the process early, the LaRC team reduced the handoff effort needed to transfer it. 

THE IMPACT: TAP technology is currently licensed to APiJET, Basic Commerce & Industries, Delta Air Lines, and General Electric. Other partners include the Air Line Pilots Association, the Federal Aviation Administration, GE, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Boeing. One major U.S. airline realized a 1.5% fuel savings equivalent to 240,000 tons of reduction in CO2 emissions, over $70 million in fuel cost savings, and 15,967 hours of flight time saved. With TASAR, about 6% to 8% of requests to ATC would reasonably be expected to be rejected, compared with about 23% of requests on flights without TASAR, according to a simulation. Another analysis estimated an annual potential savings of about $800 million and 6.7 billion pounds of CO2 if the top 10 domestic airline operations used the APiJET solution.