Air traffic control is an extremely stressful and complex job. Controllers are expected to ingest the information of a variety of 2D displays, integrate it into a single assessment of the actual traffic situation, and then make decisions based on said assessment. The making of such an assessment by tower air traffic controllers is made extra challenging by the variation in weather conditions they
face while doing their job. We are developing augmented reality software for air traffic control in tower. We are developing a prototype for our product, which will run on the ODG R-7 augmented reality platform. The prototype will allow air traffic controllers to see aircraft in general low visibility conditions. The glasses along with the software will function in a manner analogous to infrared goggles, except that instead of picking up the heat signatures of planes they will pick up their digital signatures from the embedded ADS-B receivers. Long term we will add features that will consolidate the information ATCs use into one hands-free display. The display will show information at its relevant location in 3D space. For example, the velocity of a given plane will be shown at the location of the plane as an arrow coming out of the front of the plane with the velocity shown as a number on top of said arrow. This will enhance air traffic controller situational awareness and lower cognitive overload, by combining the information ingestion and assessment making steps air traffic controllers take into one.
