New York Times columnist and technology guy David Pogue has an excellent feature about the next generation of air traffic control technology. Pogue did a piece on this subject for last week’s CBS News “Sunday Morning” broadcast, and turns what he learned into today’s Circuits column.
Pogue details the specifications of the A.D.S.-B system, and the benefits over the current radar system. The fact that pilots have very little awareness of what’s around them in the sky is something I’ve been aware of, but it really struck me this time. With all the data and visualization capability that we have these days, it’s crazy that commercial airline technology is stuck with 1960s-era situational awareness.
Pogue runs interview excerpts from FAA head Robert Sturgell, including this paraphrased quote, “We decrease communications by about 40 percent for the controller workforce. We see large savings in fuel, great environmental benefits, great air-traffic efficiency benefits.”
The FAA awarded a $1.8 Billion contract to ITT in August of 2007 to install and run the 800 ground stations that are needed for the for ATS-B system. This is just the first phase of a multi-phase system that will be built over the next 20 years at an expected cost of $15 Billion.
While it’s encouraging to see that this system is moving from idea to reality, it’s still many years away from having much of an impact on the already-crowded skies. The next step according to Sturgill is a three-year test of the system in the Gulf of Mexico.
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