Research issues that affect current and future ATC systems.

Research should include, but not be limited to,

  • aircraft and air traffic equipment
  • virtual ATC
  • non-radar environments (e.g., satellite-based navigation)
  • airport infrastructure
  • underuse of Global Positioning System (GPS) approaches
  • staffing.

Research should also include planned/future improvements, such as

  • the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)
  • Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in airspace
  • better technology available for monitoring aircraft
  • Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B)
  • cybersecurity considerations.

Process/Skill Questions:

  • Why is ATC a relatively technologically deficient field?
  • What cybersecurity considerations exist in ATC?