TASAR and TAP: Airborne Trajectory Management Enabled by Traffic-Aware Software

This innovation consists of the Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept and the associated Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) software. TASAR is intended to enable pilots to discover trajectory improvement opportunities while en route that will result in immediate operational benefits for the airspace user and be approvable by Air Traffic Control (ATC). TAP is a cockpit-based advisory tool that enables the TASAR concept, and it was developed to be hosted on a Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag. This near-term concept provides pilots with a strategic re-planning capability that optimizes fuel burn or flight time; avoids interactions with known traffic, weather, and restricted airspace; and may be used by the pilots to request a trajectory change from ATC with increased likelihood of approval. TAP’s internal architecture and algorithms are derived from the Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP), a flight-deck automation system developed by NASA to support research into aircraft self-separation.