(Monday continued)
Procuring Innovation Requires Innovative Procurement Policy 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Of all the ongoing policy discussions across the aviation industry, there is one that stands out as having a clear consensus across stakeholders. There is a need to expedite the development and implementation of innovative capabilities across our industry. Given the dual role of the government in operating the system and overseeing its safety here in the US, the focus of this panel is on how the government and industry can better work together to implement innovative technologies that do not necessarily fit the mold of classic air traffic system procurement. Previous discussions in this realm have focused on more general impediments, such as how long procurement takes, risk-aversion in decision making, and the roles and responsibilities of the players on the government side. This panel is focused more specifically on an underlying policy question, which remains even if we could snap our fingers and resolve these other issues. How can we balance the public sector mandate for level playing fields (including specificity in requirements and corresponding evaluation criteria to meet that need) against the inherent nature of innovative approaches, i.e., lack of prescription and specificity to promote creativity? Weather Innovation 2 - 3 p.m. The NAS is operating at the highest safety levels with numerous factors driving improved aviation safety: improved aircraft design, pilot operating procedures, ATC enhancements, and heightened industry awareness. In addition, advances in meteorology have also contributed not just to safety, but to more efficient NAS operations. Advances such as increasing accuracy and frequency of weather observations and forecasts, providing enhanced weather in the cockpit, improving turbulence detection, and using advanced weather modeling to anticipate and adjust to weather impacts all have a direct effect on aviation safety and efficiencies. Data mining and machine learning are now also coming to the forefront of aviation weather and combining with NAS simulators to predict next-day weather impacts and possible alternate traffic strategies. Finally, the panel will focus on emerging weather requirements, such as the need for hyperlocal weather in UAS operations and solutions on how to get there. Key topics: • Weather in the cockpit. • Weather on the glass. • Weather at the planning stage/command center. • Weather modeling advances. 24
ATCA Annual Conference Guide