Travelers and air-traffic controllers alike truly owe Heinz Erzberger a "thank you." As an expert in the area of trajectory optimization, flight mechanics, controls, and automation concepts and algorithms for the air traffic control system, Heinz Erzberger recently designed the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS), which the Federal Aviation Administration has adopted as its terminal area air traffic automation system. CTAS was conceived and is being prototyped at the NASA Ames Research Center. The system inaugurates a new approach to air traffic control, called human-centered automation, that combines the skill of controllers with computer-generated advisories. Early production versions of CTAS tools are installed at air traffic control facilities serving the Denver, Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles airports, and FAA plans to install CTAS at more than 20 sites nationwide. To date, CTAS demonstrates improvements in both capacity (up to 13%) and delay savings (an average of 2 minutes per flight). The tools in CTAS benefit air traffic controllers by reducing stress and workload, and benefit air travelers by reducing delays and increasing safety.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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