Real-Time Simulation Environment

As the National Airspace System (NAS) evolves and new Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts are implemented, the roles and responsibilities of the human element in air traffic operations may change. The goal of the VAMS Project is to provide an environment for the safe and cost effective study of human factors in the airspace system to support concept development research.

Much of the ATM simulation work being done today focuses on a specific area and cannot simulate operations of the NAS as a whole. The real-time simulation environment, for evaluating human performance and roles and responsibilities issues, being developed by the Virtual Airspace Simulation Technologies (VAST) element of the VAMS Project at the NASA Ames Research Center will enable researchers to simulate complex NAS operations at both the local and system-wide levels. This capability will provide a flexible platform for assessment of human interactions related to the implementation of next-generation ATM concepts, including those under development within the System Level Integrated Concepts (SLIC) sub-project of VAMS.

The VAST real-time simulation capability will leverage existing and future simulation components, including software models and human-in-the-loop facilities located across the nation. Such facilities will include NASA's FutureFlight Central (FFC), an air traffic control (ATC) tower simulation facility; other ATC laboratories at NASA Ames Research Center; and flight simulators such as the Crew Vehicle Systems Research Facility's Boeing 747-400 and the Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator (ACFS). The VAST real-time simulation capability could be expanded to include other laboratories, such as the Traffic Flow Management (TFM) Laboratory and the Target Generation Facility (TGF) located at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Linked by a nationwide network infrastructure, this capability will create a unique environment in which multiple researchers and users can collaboratively and interactively participate in NAS experiments from remote locations.

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