About 15 days each year, air traffic controllers working inside London Heathrow’s 286-foot control tower experience essentially IFR conditions when low clouds surround the tower cab, often while ground visibility is just fine. ATC delays occur during these conditions because controllers cannot verify whether arrivals and departures have cleared the runway. The U.K.’s ATC provider, NATS, says those delays can reduce airport capacity by as much as 20 percent. Enter new technology capable of blending Heathrow’s 4K digital equipment with ADS-B and radar systems thanks to data from 20 ultra HD cameras located just beneath the tower cab.
London’s Heathrow Tower Begins Testing Augmented Reality for ATC
Key Takeaways:
- London Heathrow frequently experiences ATC delays, reducing airport capacity by up to 20%, due to low clouds obscuring the control tower's view despite clear ground visibility.
- NATS is trialing new augmented reality (AR) technology that blends 4K digital equipment, ADS-B, radar data, and input from 20 ultra HD cameras.
- This AR system provides controllers with unprecedented situational awareness, offering customizable tags for hidden aircraft and vehicles, better night visibility than human eyes, and could lead to its first live airport deployment at Singapore's Changi Airport.
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