Ames and Langley Research Center have planned a T-NASA flight demonstration and a mission simulation for next year. Pilots taxi at airports today basically like they did in the 1950s. The only cockpit aid currently available to taxiing pilots is a paper airport layout chart despite the technological boom in avionics, GPS satellite positioning technology and advanced display media. T-NASA is a cockpit display system that combines software and navigational devices. HUD depicts the taxiway with a series of virtual cones.
Virtual signs show the angle and direction of the turn.
These virtual cones and signs move and change as the pilot taxis as if the objects are actually on the taxiway. The pilot's cleared route looks like a virtual highway on the ground. Bad weather at a major airport means tremendous disruptions on the schedules as backups occur. If we can increase the efficiency of airline surface operations so that planes can get from runway to gate and from gate to runway very efficiently, then we can impact airline schedules and reduce delays. I think that is the bottom line for taxpayers.