Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                       May 4, 1994
(Phone: 202/358-1983)

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
(Phone: 415/604-9000)

RELEASE:  94-69

ELECTRONIC CHART WILL AID AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS

   NASA scientists are designing an electronic chart to make 
flying safer for aerial firefighters who often fly in potentially 
dangerous conditions above forest fires.

   The Electronic Chart Display (ECD), being developed at NASA's 
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., shows pilots an 
area's terrain and obstacles on a computer screen.  
   
   "Whether alone or with a glass cockpit, the electronic map 
provides a unique navigational capability and reduces the 
potential for human error," said Dr. James P. Jenkins, Program 
Manager for Human Systems Technology in NASA's Office of 
Aeronautics, Washington, D.C.  

   Several accidents and mid-air near collisions involving aerial 
firefighters have occurred in recent years.  Scientists predict 
the ECD will increase safety by reducing the need for verbal 
communication between firefighters and by showing pilots terrain 
to avoid as well as the location of other nearby aircraft.  It 
also will help aerial commanders direct the assault on fires.

   "The electronic chart can replace paper charts, pens and rulers 
and improve the navigational skills of pilots," said Vernol 
Battiste, Ames principal investigator and a former air traffic 
controller.  "This system improves the navigational capabilities 
of anyone flying an airplane." 

   The project has three research goals.  The first is to develop 
a flight environment structure applicable to any forest fire area.  
This environment will resemble a control zone similar to those 
used by air traffic controllers to regulate 

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an airport's takeoffs and landing.  The control zone drawn around 
the fire will show the pilots how to enter and leave the area 
safely.

   Another objective is to develop a common language including 
geographic, aviation and fire related terms.  To accomplish this, 
scientists will study the speech patterns of aerial firefighters 
during forest fires.

   The third goal is to integrate and display the flight 
environment information to the pilot.

   "To pull all this together, we need a medium to display this 
information," Battiste said.  Scientists are developing a software 
program jointly with ASINC
Inc., Tustin, Calif., and the Bureau of Land Management's Nevada 
State Office.

   The electronic chart will use the Global Positioning System 
(GPS) to determine an aircraft's position and then show it on a 
map of the area.  The GPS consists of 24 satellites orbiting the 
Earth.  Each GPS satellite broadcasts time based on an atomic 
clock.  Pilots use the intervals between satellite transmissions 
to determine their aircraft's location.

   Ames project engineer Michael Downs developed the ECD system on 
a personal computer.  The ECD has a 9-inch (22.86 centimeters) 
color monitor and stores the display's digital map images in its 
memory system.

   The ECD has many other potential uses.  "The electronic chart 
display is useful in any environment where people have to 
navigate," Battiste said.  "In an automobile, it could align you 
with the road and display the route from your departure to your 
destination on the screen," he said.

   "This type of system will revolutionize travel," Battiste said.  
"With an electronic chart display, you won't need a paper map in 
your car.  This is going to change the way we drive and the way we 
fly."

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