A team of researchers at Langley Research Center developed two special
technologies that can automatically alert pilots of potentially
hazardous turbulence conditions, in real time. The first technology,
called the Enhanced Turbulence (E-Turb) Mode Radar, is software in an
aircraft's radar that can provide flight crews advance warning of
turbulence, so that they can avoid it altogether and keep themselves
and their passengers out of harm's way, or, at a minimum, prepare the
aircraft for it by stowing loose equipment and having passengers and
crew seated with seatbelts fastened. The second technology, known as
the Turbulence Auto-PIREP System, or TAPS, is software that improves
situational awareness of the location and severity of actual turbulence
encounters, for pilots, dispatchers, and controllers. If a
TAPS-equipped aircraft encounters turbulence that exceeds the
designated turbulence threshold, the onboard TAPS software will
generate a turbulence report that is then broadcast over a data link.
The report is received by ground stations, where it is automatically
shown on a display, accessible via the Internet by dispatchers,
controllers, airline operations personnel, and maintenance crews.
Various functions allow the ground station display users to process and
tailor the information for specific users. If there are any other
aircraft on course to approach the region where the turbulence was
reported, then the ground station can directly uplink the TAPS report
packet to them. AeroTech Research was funded by NASA to develop the
E-Turb Mode Radar algorithms and the TAPS software. The two airborne
turbulence technologies are being implemented into commercial systems.
SpinOff Story:
Steering Aircraft Clear of Choppy Air