ATM Modernization, Business & GA, Commercial, Embedded Avionics

SWIM Team: FAA, Rockwell Collins and ERAU Enhance Situational Awareness

By Juliet Van Wagenen | January 9, 2015
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[Avionics Today 01-09-2015] Rockwell Collins has joined with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in a two-phase launch of the Aircraft Access to System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) program, which uses National Airspace System (NAS) data to improve aircraft situational awareness. Rockwell Collins’ Data Management Service (DMS) was used in Phase 1 of the program to demonstrate one-way access to SWIM. Phase 2 of the program will demonstrate the capability for two-way data transfer.

Aircraft Access to SWIM (AATS) aims to help decrease delays and airlines’ associated operational costs by enabling collaboration and informed decision making. The program also provides an opportunity for Rockwell to work closely with the FAA in defining NextGen situational awareness capabilities that will enable pilots to improve decision making on weather, airspace status and equipment performance.

”A key element to the success of AATS Phase 1 was the demonstration of connectivity using existing commercial infrastructure, rather than creating a whole new infrastructure,” said Jon Standley, project manager for the FAA’s AATS demonstration. “AATS Phase 1 demonstrated the ability for aircraft to connect to FAA SWIM and retrieve information to display in the cockpit in a flexible model. Phase 2, for which completion is expected in June 2016, will take that connectivity and begin to look at how operators can use the information to interact with the FAA to create a truly collaborative air traffic environment.”

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