Airspace Operations Lab @ NASA Ames

This paper describes the Multi Aircraft Control System (MACS) simulation platform developed in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) at NASA Ames Research Center. MACS is a comprehensive research tool that has been developed to increase the overall realism and flexibility of controller- and pilot-in-the loop air traffic simulations. The research focus in the AOL is on examining air traffic operations in rich air/ground environments that can include multiple oceanic,en route, and terminal airspace sectors. The AOL research and development team maintains and continuously expands the capabilities of MACS to rapidly prototype new interfaces, displays, tools and operational concepts for addressing the complex controller/pilot/automation integration crucial to the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Sample applications of the MACS software are presented to show the range of air traffic environments that can be investigated. Funding for this work was provided by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and NGATS Airspace Systems research program.