Travelling by air isn’t that very difficult because all you have to do is buy a ticket and be at the airport on time. The stress upon the pilots and the flight controller, on the other hand, is nearly toxic. To prevent colliding with other planes, and birds, in the air, pilots have to rely upon data from radars and live visibility. This is often not possible in the case of bad weather conditions and the best option remains maintaining an extremely safe distance between planes (whilst in air) and flights (during takeoff).

Attempting to take aviation service to the next level, and to keep up with the steady rise in demand, a new automatic surveillance system has been designed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) uses GPS for navigation and is a part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Shortened to NextGen, the ADS-B displays via satellite the weather conditions in the area, the location of airports on the ground, and the location of other planes in the air (including those that are dependent on ADS-B).

The use of the GPS enabled ADS-B would make it possible for pilots to fly the craft even in zero visibility, keep track of other aircrafts in the same area and would not need the constant help of the flight controllers on ground making each flight less strenuous for both parties involved as well as increasing the safety of everyone.

Via: NYTimes