Mosaic ATM is pleased to announce that we have been awarded an SBIR Phase I contract by the Department of Defense/Department of the Navy. The aim of this contract is to address Navy shortfalls with training their Air Traffic Controllers by building an advanced communications software tool that relies on analytics.
The current Air Traffic Control (ATC) operational environment requires a training environment whereby an operator/student must listen and filter through a large number of communications in order to complete their objectives. During training, the quality of the “non-target” communications, or “noise” is lacking or non-existent, due to technological or instructor workload limitations. This limitation decreases the training fidelity of the environment and can cause a lack of trainee skill.
To prepare controllers for the dynamic Air Traffic Control operational environment, students require a more realistic, intelligent, and autonomous communications training system. This system must have higher fidelity of the operational environment while also reducing instructor workload. Mosaic envisions utilizing AI, ML, and voice recognition technology to develop an intelligent, realistic, and autonomous communications software tool that provides relevant radio and chat information exchanges within training systems that also provides specific feedback to help reduce instructor workload.
The project will be split up into two phases:
- Phase I: Demonstrating feasibility of an autonomous voice and text-based communications capability to support signal-to-noise ratio in training scenarios, with initial autonomous capability to include user feedback.
- Phase II: Developing and prototyping the proposed solution to integrate into a sample training environment. The prototype capability will be able to provide realistic, autonomous voice and text-based communications from various types of aircraft for the appropriate set of training scenarios, and provide feedback to students.
As we’ve successfully done in the past, APTIMA is subcontracting to assist in the specific instructional evaluation and feedback needed to train these junior controllers more efficiently.
The Mosaic ATM team is very excited about this opportunity as the work can lead to training support in other realms such as Air Intercept Control taught at TOP GUN. There is also significant potential to leverage this new technology in training aviation Crew Resource Management applicable in both the military and commercial domains. Other military applications include Fleet Synthetic Training events and large-scale exercises conducted by all the services.
Of note, this is just one component project to a larger overall Mosaic business thrust into the training domain as we’re also currently working on similar projects with the FAA.
Congratulations to the entire team involved in submitting the proposal and winning this impactful project.
