Landside-Aware Air Traffic Management

We focus on the passenger as the key stakeholder of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. Air transport is only a portion of the passenger door-to-door journey, which also relies on other modes of transportation (a taxi ride, bus ride, drive over the freeways, rail, or other) to complete the journey. Transportation modes are usually studied separately as if not interacting, although they are intrinsically coupled through passenger transfers; in fact, the failure of one mode disrupts the entire passenger journey. In this effort, we gather specific passenger location data from individual passengers and aggregate data on passengers, both airside (within the terminal) and landside (within the airport and outside the airport) to build a better estimate for the expected time of departure for an aircraft at an airport gate. The system is composed of multiple technologies that either access specific data or aggregate data of passengers. A "push" technology is used to shape passenger behavior by informing the passenger about security delays, traffic delays, and other information that could encourage the passenger to be on time to the departure gate.

This capability is applicable to a number of NASA applications: - Improved ATM due to more accurate planning of gate OUT times - Improved tracking of passengers changing planes at hubs - A potential for improved gate assignments that minimize passenger transit times between aircraft gates - Efficiency gains through faster turn times for aircraft - Fewer missed connections - Fewer cancellations due to duty limits - Optimization of airport operations

This capability has the potential to assist in the following commercial applications: - Better schedule integrity for airlines - Greater lead times for airlines to rebook late or cancelled passengers and to provide seats to standby passengers - Improved taxi, train, and rental car operations - Increased revenues for business at airports (due to longer passenger dwell times)

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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