RELEASE 09-26-2022: College and University Students Invited to Weigh in on New Air Traffic Management System Interface in All-New FAA Challenge 

In the all-new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Traffic Flow Management – Application Integration Design (TFM-AID) Challenge, collegiate students will have the opportunity to design and prototype an interactive graphical user interface for the Administration’s new traffic flow automation system, Flow Management Data and Services (FMDS). The goal is to develop a more streamlined, modernized, and user-friendly interface to integrate into the replacement system, with the top overall winner earning a $25,000 prize.

Air traffic management is complicated and is currently supported by the Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS). FMDS will replace TFMS, aiding traffic managers in balancing air traffic demand with system capacity to ensure a safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of traffic while minimizing delays.

Prototypes from the TFM-AID Challenge may help close the gap on interface development for FMDS. The purpose of the TFM-AID Challenge is to pursue design and development enhancements to air traffic management capabilities while fostering a passion for aviation science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (AvSTEM) at the university level.

Interested teams must submit a non-binding Expression of Interest (EOI) by Oct. 30, 2022. Those who express interest will be invited to an exclusive Question and Answer (Q&A) Session with FAA TFM-AID Challenge program staff and judges on Nov. 15, 2022. Preliminary Design Review submissions are due on March 2, 2023, with up to five finalist teams selected to further develop concepts into a Critical Design Review submission. Finalist teams will also present their work at the Forum, planned for late June 2023 in the Washington DC/Northern Virginia metro area.

Teams will receive an Airspace Flow Program Traffic Management Initiative scenario on which to base their integrated, interactive display designs. The display will translate computed data into a readable format that air traffic flow managers can access and utilize quickly and easily to facilitate air traffic flow management decisions and communication across traffic control centers.

“This is a new era in air traffic management,” said Matt Sanders, FAA FMDS Implementation Lead. “The current system is in need of an update. We’re poised to deliver the FMDS system, and we’re excited to engage the next generation in modernizing the user experience for the current and future workforce. I am hopeful that these students’ designs will help us define the solution space for the final product.”

The TFM-AID Challenge is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration’s FMDS Program and is managed by the National Institute of Aerospace.

For full Challenge details, including design guidelines and constraints, relevant resources, and information on how to participate, visit the TFM-AID website at: https://FAA-TFM-AID.nianet.org.

For more information about the FAA’s Flow Management Data and Services project, visit: https://www.faa.gov/atmm.

For more information about the National Institute of Aerospace, visit: https://nianet.org.