Technology Trends In Aviation

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN AVIATION

Technology Trends in Aviation

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TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN AVIATION 2

Introduction

In the aviation industry, there are various emerging trends relating to the security of

aircrafts. In the history of aviation, it has been reported that there have been numerous airborne

crashes due to the lack of proper technology to help in the control and monitoring of the air

traffic. Due to the advent of modern technology, it has become possible to develop new

technological equipment and methods used in the process of monitoring air traffic. According to

historical facts on aviation, it is cited that many deaths have been as a result of poor safety

measures embraced by the aviation industries (Baker & Krokos, 2012). This could be on the side

of the professional pilots or the aircraft manufacturing industries. One of the most popular trends

in the modern world with regard to aviation technologies is the use of unmanned aircrafts.

Drones have been used today for the purpose of photography, military purposes among other

uses. The primary use for the introduction of unmanned aircrafts is to ensure the safety of pilots

among other personnel that are involved in the flying of the air traffic. Additionally, there are the

air-traffic control systems that have been developed over the years to help in enhancing air-

traffic monitoring in various airspaces. Airborne collisions of aircrafts has been cited as being a

main cause of fata deaths in many parts of the world (Harman, 2009). Due to this, professionals

in technology have come up with enhanced safety measures aimed at improving the level of

airborne collision avoidance. Among all the modern emerging trends, this paper will focus on

discussing the Traffic collision avoidance system. This trend will be discussed it the perspective

of its history to its prospective future.

History of the traffic collision avoidance system.

Research shows that there has been a huge increase for traffic in the world. The increased

air traffic has required that professionals come up with safer methods of controlling the traffic at

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all times. Without the use of the modern technology, it would be difficult to come up with viable

methods that are aimed at efficiently controlling the air traffic. However, despite there being

technology that can be relied upon, there is human error that can occur in the process of air

traffic control (Walsh & Wojciech, 2011). Minimal errors in the monitoring process can lead to

fatal collisions between aircraft in space. Therefore, there has been the need to develop an

advanced collision control system to monitor air traffic in the long run. The need has been in the

line of though since the 1950’s. In the year 1955, Dr John Morell was concerned about the air

collisions that had occurred in the mid 2-th century. With relation to this, he suggested the use of

an algorithm that would be used to calculate the rate of flight between two aircrafts (Williamson

& Spencer, 2009). These calculations would then be interpreted to help the experts in the control

room to give direction to the pilots. This would then help to avoid airborne collisions and reduce

the rate of accidents in the end. In today’s airborne collision avoidance system, it is indicated that

the algorithm pioneered by Dr. John is used.

According to research, it is reported that in the late 1960s and 1970s experts in

technology developed prototype aircrafts using the algorithms already suggested by Dr John. The

prototypes were used in the simulation testing of the aircrafts. However, there were problems

arising from the testing that indicated that the prototype TACS would not be highly efficient due

to the high rate of false alarms that they would cause to the flight crew (Williamson & Spencer,

2009). Therefore, the prototype aircrafts were disregarded before implementation but considered

for further development.

Around the late 1970s, there was an airborne collision between a light aircraft and an

airliner that led to the United States government initiating further development of the TCAS

(Harman, 2009). They found it necessary to have a system that would help in the coordination of

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the aircrafts in the various traffic routes in the USA. However, another collision that happened in

1986 between a small aircraft and an airliner resulted to a congressional mandate that made it

compulsory for airlines from the USA among other states to be installed with the TCA systems

to help in the control and avoidance of the airborne collisions in the end (Baker & Krokos,

2012). In the modern time, the international civil aviation organization has taken the initiative of

setting the required standards of the TCAS equipment that would ensure high safety standards

for aircraft users.

Modern and future trends

The FAA is responsible for the creation of regulation and rules to be used by aviation

industries to operate civilian and private aircrafts. According to (Walsh & Wojciech, 2011), it

has been reported that FAA has been responsible for the funding of the development of more

advanced airborne collision control systems. The ACAS X is the latest designed collision control

system that has incorporated the various scientific algorithms. Using the ACAS X system, it is

possible to predict outcomes offline without the need for individuals to be physically present.

This is a system that has been under observations and has helped many control system to be

efficient and effective in preventing airborne collisions. In addition to the algorithmic

applications adopted in the systems, the ACAS x systems have also integrated other

technological advancements available in the 21

century (Williamson & Spencer, 2009). With

the continued expert development of the system, is projected that the ACAS x may replace the

TCAS II that was considered not to be effective.

Unlike the current TCAs, it is indicated that the ACAS X system will involve more

complicated algorithm, which will allow the systems to have a reduced rate of alerts to the flight

crew (Williamson & Spencer, 2009). This means that the flight crew will not have to worry

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about false alarms as has been the case with the TCAS (Baker & Krokos, 2012). Additionally,

the ACAS x will have no changes in the hardware and software that the TCA system uses.

Therefore, it will not be any difficult to transfer the systems from the TCAs. Additionally, the

controllers will not change in any way from those of the TCAs. This will therefore do not require

the pilots among other crewmembers to undergo through another training.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the technological advancement in the aviation industry will be helpful in

making the air traffic more efficient. In addition, there will be reduced airborne collisions in the

end. Without the advancements, then it would be difficult for experts to control the air traffic

without collisions. The automatic systems will also be essential in self-monitoring when there is

insufficient control personnel on the ground.

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References

Baker, D. P., & Krokos, K. J. (2012). Development and validation of aviation causal contributors

for error reporting systems (ACCERS). Human factors, 49(2), 185-199.

Harman, W. (2009). TCAS- A system for preventing midair collisions. The Lincoln Laboratory

Journal, 2(3), 437-457.

Walsh, J., & WOJCIECH, J. (2011). TCAS in the 1990s. Navigation, 38(4), 383-397.

Williamson, T., & Spencer, N. A. (2009). Development and operation of the traffic alert and

collision avoidance system (TCAS). Proceedings of the IEEE, 77(11), 1735-1744.

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