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Advanced Simulators Keep Our Skies Safe and Provide Air Traffic Controllers with Realistic and Up-to-date Training

Although it may not be something we pay much attention to as passengers, air traffic management is currently undergoing a major transformation, brought on by satellite-enabled technologies that make it easier for pilots and air traffic controllers to have information about a plane’s location faster and more precisely than ever before.  This will also result in shorter flight times and reduced carbon emissions since aircrafts can fly closer to each other in the air on optimal trajectories.  The transition to these new technologies has many benefits, but the move requires significant planning on the part of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) who are charged with managing the global airspace.  Among the considerations in that process is how to train current as well as new air traffic controllers to use these new technologies and to learn the accompanying changes in air traffic procedures in a way that ensures maximum passenger safety.  Simulation training is already widely used to train air traffic controllers as it provides the most realistic environment to learn the required operational skills.  However, given recent advances in simulation technologies, this type of training has become even more compelling because it helps shorten training times and manage training costs at a time when air traffic control training around the world will be at urgent levels.

Just as many of us have switched to using satellite-enabled global positioning systems to navigate the roads, the airline industry is changing to use satellites in place of radar systems to navigate the skies.  Aircrafts are being equipped with an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) transponder which broadcasts data much more quickly and accurately to air traffic controllers on the ground than previous systems that used radar.  In the future, air traffic controllers are still ultimately responsible for maintaining safe separation standards, but with the new technology they will be able to work more collaboratively with pilots who will gain access to better information about their location through ADS-B.  Air traffic controllers will require training to operate the tools and functions that will be available due to the new ADS-B-enabled equipment.  They will also need to learn the new air traffic control procedures and communications protocols with pilots.  But the result will be shorter flight times, saved jet fuel, while maximizing safety standards.  

 As air navigation service authorities look to manage these changes, simulation training offers a viable solution to the challenge of training thousands of air traffic controllers in a reasonable period of time.  Simulation training provides extremely realistic learning experiences that replicate real air traffic scenarios.  In addition, simulation training allows for smoother and faster adoption of new air traffic management technologies while delivering higher throughput rates than traditional classroom training due to a unique learning model that tailors itself based on skill level and experience.  With passenger departures expected to increase from 2.3 billion in 2009 to 16 billion by 2050 , more air traffic controllers will be needed to keep our skies safe as the traffic load increases.  As new controllers learn their skills on the new technology, the current generation of controllers will also need conversion training to new systems and procedures.

To meet this need, advanced simulators are being adopted around the world.  For example, the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority is rolling out a new high-tech simulator to help train 17,000 new air traffic controllers nationwide through 2017 .  The simulator re-creates an airport’s layout and allows controller trainees to practice landing, take off and maneuvering around the airfield using ADS-B technology.  While almost 200 scenarios are already built into the system, the simulator can also be programmed with scenarios that re-create conditions that have been linked to major accidents in the past. Scenarios on the simulations include depictions of fires and explosions to provide the most realistic experience for trainees.  A NASA Ames Research Center study found that the simulators reduce training time by up to 30 percent for new hires .  As noted by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Authority, training Air Traffic Control Officers from being a student to become a fully qualified controller takes around five years.  Consequently, a 30% reduction in the length of the training process would save considerable training costs and bring the new controllers on line much faster.

Such advances in simulation technologies as visual simulation, speech recognition and replicating 4D trajectory analysis technology are helping to make simulation training even more compelling.  Software is used to generate traffic, flight plan information and weather information. This data is then passed to actual air traffic control system displays, which enable training on an actual real world system, but with simulated data.  This type of simulation training means trainees experience real-life scenarios on the same equipment they will use once they become certified air traffic controllers.   

Accurate and noise-tolerant speech recognition software used in conjunction with visual simulation to provide air traffic trainees with true-to-life situations is also important in the training process.  Advanced speech recognition software is intelligent enough to work with new trainees as well as controllers with twenty-plus years of experience.  Where speech recognition offers the greatest benefits is in its capacity to reduce the overall costs of ownership.  Fewer “pseudo-pilots” or real pilots and senior air traffic controllers are needed to staff the training sessions to role play aircraft and other agencies in the scenarios.  Best-in-class simulators are able to hear, interpret and translate trainees' commands into a response from the aircraft on the screen.  If the trainee makes a mistake, then the simulator is able to play out the likely chain of events.  There is no need for the instructor to intervene.  This promotes more intensive training sessions as well as enables one instructor to work with more trainees.

Air traffic controllers around the world will all have to undergo new training to learn the next-generation technologies that are being installed in towers and control centers to take advantage of the satellite based surveillance that is being installed aboard commercial aircrafts.  Global challenges for civil aviation authorities exist as air traffic management programs try to address changing technology, cost inefficiencies, and low training throughput rates.  With the Asia Pacific region expected to be the largest air travel market in the world by 2020 , high-tech simulation systems that can save training costs and reduce the amount of time to train air traffic controllers are needed to produce more qualified air traffic controllers at a faster pace.  Of course, training is only one component of the program to generate more qualified controllers.  The industry also needs to focus on recruiting new air traffic management applicants and adjusting overall training strategies to better respond to emerging technologies and industry trends.  Meeting these challenges will ensure that the Asia Pacific region has an air traffic control network that is as modern and efficient.
 

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