New vision for safer flights

Working to make flying safer, more than a dozen

, airline, industry and government pilots are testing technology to "synthetically" give pilots a clear view of their surroundings.

Technicians equipped a Boeing 757 jet with cockpit displays and radar equipment that give pilots clear electronic pictures of what's outside, regardless of weather or time of day. The jet is based at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. The Airborne Research Integrated Experiments System is flying over NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia, to test the Synthetic Vision and Enhanced Vision Systems.

Synthetic Vision combines Global Positioning System satellite signals with an on board photo-realistic database to paint a picture of terrain for the crew. Also on board the jet is an enhanced weather radar capability that can help pilots spot traffic and obstacles that aren't part of the Synthetic Vision terrain computerised atlas. NASA researchers developed the system. NASA is testing this version of "enhanced vision" to determine if it can effectively fill in the gaps and help pilots see hazards, such as traffic on the runway or even a cellular tower recently added to the landscape.