Turbulence-Impact Collaborative Response System

Turbulence is a major hazard to all classes of aircraft, affecting aircraft on a daily basis. While a variety of systems are currently deployed to support the detection of forecasting of turbulence, all have limitations, many are proprietary, and often costly. Our innovation is a real-time turbulence identification system that can provide a uniquely accurate up-to-the-second representation of turbulence, can geofence boundaries around hazard regions, determine the impacts to Air Traffic Management (ATM), and provide a collaborative ATM mitigation plan. Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data, updated every 1 second, is used as the basis for in situ up-to-the-second turbulence detection. ADS-B-based turbulence data, when fused with other turbulence nowcasts, provides a clear representation of where turbulence exists, and where turbulence has been positively demonstrated not to exist (clear-air-altitudes). This solution does not mount any new hardware or software onto any aircraft, however, it receives data "for free" from every aircraft in the sky.

Fundamental areas of NASA applications are: • Aviation Safety Research – system-wide safety assurance exploiting automated turbulence event detection • TFM Research – models of turbulence impacts into TFM (sector, center, or Continental United States (CONUS)) optimization problems, including collaborative Air Traffic Control (ATC)-Airline solutions • Hazard Display Research – display of turbulence events to AOC dispatcher and FD displays. Potential Government Customers: o Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be used operationally in Air Traffic Services o National Weather Service (NWS) providing improved aviation turbulence forecasts and nowcasts o Military Applications Potential Commercial Customers: o Airlines for use in AOC centers and in AOC workstation displays and FD EFBs o General Aviation (GA) o IATA Turbulence Aware Platform o Industry Partners o Commercial Aviation Weather Forecast Providers

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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