{"id":221853,"date":"2025-05-23T02:32:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=855140"},"modified":"2025-05-23T02:32:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:32:51","slug":"nasas-moffett-federal-airfield-hosts-boeing-digital-taxi-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=221853","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Moffett Federal Airfield Hosts Boeing Digital Taxi Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\n
Boeing\u2019s test plane simulates digital taxiing at Moffett Field at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. <\/div>\n
NASA\/Brandon Torres Navarrete<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

New technology tested by an industry partner at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley could improve how commercial planes taxi to and from gates to runways, making operations safer and more efficient on the surfaces of airports.<\/p>\n

Airport taxiways are busy. Planes come and go while support vehicles provide maintenance, carry fuel, transport luggage, and more. Pilots must listen carefully to air traffic control when getting directions to the runway \u2013 and garbled communications and heavy workloads can cause issues that could lead to runway incursions or collisions.<\/p>\n

Researchers at Boeing are working to address these issues by digitizing taxiway information and automating aircraft taxi functions. The team traveled to NASA Ames to collaborate with researchers while testing their technology at the Moffett Federal Airfield and NASA\u2019s FutureFlight Central<\/a>, an air traffic control simulation facility.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\n
Doug Christensen, test engineer for Air Traffic Management eXploration (ATM-X) at NASA Ames, and Mike Klein, autonomy technical leader in product development at Boeing discuss the digital taxi test in Ames\u2019s FutureFlight Central facility.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Brandon Torres Navarrete<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To test these new technologies, Boeing brought a custom single-engine test plane to the airfield. Working from FutureFlight Central, their researchers developed simulated taxiway instructions and deployed them to the test pilot\u2019s digital tablet and the autonomous system.<\/p>\n

Typically, taxiing requires verbal communication between an air traffic controller and a pilot. Boeing\u2019s digital taxi release system displays visual turn-by-turn routes and directions directly on the pilot\u2019s digital tablet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project with Boeing lends credibility to the research being done across Ames,\u201d said Adam Yingling, autonomy researcher for the Air Traffic Management-eXploration (ATM-X) program at NASA Ames. \u201cWe have a unique capability with our proximity to Moffett and the work Ames researchers are doing to advance air traffic capabilities and technologies to support the future of our national airspace that opens the door to work alongside commercial operators like Boeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s autonomous taxiing tests allowed its aircraft to follow the air traffic control\u2019s digital instructions to transit to the runway without additional pilot inputs.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\n
Estela Buchmann, David Shapiro, and Maxim Mounier, members of the NASA Ames ATM-X project team, analyze results of Boeing\u2019s digital taxi test at Ames\u2019s FutureFlight Central facility.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Brandon Torres Navarrete<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As commercial air travel increases and airspace gets busier, pilots and air traffic controllers have to manage heavier workloads. NASA is working with commercial partners to address those challenges through initiatives like its Air Traffic Management-eXploration<\/a> project, which aims to transform air traffic management to accommodate new vehicles and air transportation options.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to increase the safety and efficiency of our airspace operations, NASA research in collaboration with industry can demonstrate how specific functions can be automated to chart the course for enhancing traffic management on the airport surface,\u201d said Shivanjli Sharma, ATM-X project manager at Ames. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Share<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n