The
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced
today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Searidge
Technologies to conduct research and development (R&D) into the application of artificial
intelligence (AI) in control tower operations.
The
MOU was signed on 7 March at the sidelines of the CANSO World ATM Congress held
in Madrid, Spain.
The
collaboration will bring together the operational expertise of CAAS in ATM and its partner's technical expertise in smart digital airport solutions.
The CAAS-Searidge
collaboration will adopt an agile development approach, with feedback from
operational and technical users regularly incorporated into the design of the
solution.
“Singapore is actively driving the development
of innovative ATM solutions to further enhance efficiency and maintain high
safety standards in our busy and complex airspace,” said Director-General of CAAS
Mr Kevin Shum.
AI
may be applied to enable new air traffic management (ATM) functionalities such
as: (1) predictive runway incursion and collision detection, (2) aerodrome
operational performance analytics, and (3) speech recognition, which have the
potential to enhance the safety and performance of control tower operations.
CEO
of Searidge Technologies Mr Moodie Cheikh commented that "CAAS is a thought
leader and early technology adopter in the industry".
“We are looking forward to expanding our
relationship with them and aggressively advancing AI technology in the digital
tower domain to improve performance and operational excellence at airports
around the world,” Mr Cheikh added.
Fulfilling
its mission to grow a safe, vibrant air hub and civil aviation system in
Singapore, CAAS has the roles of: (1) overseeing and promoting safety in the
aviation industry, (2) developing the air hub and aviation industry, (3) providing
air navigation services, (4) developing Singapore as a centre for aviation
knowledge and training, and (5) contributing to the development of
international aviation.
Just
last month, OpenGov reported that several new partnerships that CAAS has forged on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow
2018.
Some of these collaborative initiatives include: partnership
with ST Aerospace to develop Beyond Visual Line of Sight Unmanned Aircraft
System, the co-establishment
of a Global Safety Predictive Analytics Research Centre in Singapore with the
International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the
extension of partnership with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore
(NTU) in air traffic management research conducted at the Air Traffic
Management Research Institute (ATMRI).
Feature image: Ramil Sagum / CC BY 2.0