SITE-SPECIFIC AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TRAINING SIMULATOR WITH SPEECH INPUT & OUTPUT

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A SITE-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL PROTOTYPE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) TRAINING SIMULATOR. THE SYSTEM WILL SUPPORT SPEAKER-INDEPENDENT, CONTINUOUS SPEECH RECOGNITION FOR INPUT OF TRAINEE COMMANDS,AND WILL ALSO SUPPORT REAL-SPEECH OUTPUT OF PSEUDO-PILOT RESPONSES, ALLOWING A TRAINEE TO USE THE SYSTEM WITHOUT OTHER PERSONNEL. TRAINING ATC STAFF IS AN EXPERT LABOR INTENSIVE ACTIVITY. SOPHISTICATED SIMULATION OF THE ATC ENVIRONMENT CAN IMPROVE THIS TRAINING. THE SIMULATOR CAN ALSO BE USED TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF PROPOSED CHANGES IN ATC PROCEDURES. SSI, A DEVELOPER OF AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION AND SYSTEM EQUIPMENT, PROPOSES TO TEAM WITH UFA, PRODUCERS OF AN ATC SIMULATOR, TO INTEGRATE TWO AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN A LEVERAGED EFFORT TO PRODUCE A PRACTICAL SITE-SPECIFIC DEMONSTRATION. BOTH COMPANIES HAVE THE GENERALIZED EXPERT SYSTEMS, TOOLS, AND EXPERIENCE TO DO THE APPLICATION. THE PROPOSAL IS TO PERFORM THE KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING (KE) REQUIRED TO DEVELOP A USABLE PROTOTYPE OF THE SITE-SPECIFIC SIMULATOR.