$325K Airplane Safety Grant To RPI Computer Scientists

TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Two Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute computer scientists have been granted $325,000 to develop technology to help make flying safer.

The three-year grant from the National Science Foundation will go toward developing an improved way to analyze flight sensor data reliably and quickly.

Computer scientists Stacy Patterson and Carlos Varela are developing a system to selectively share some of the massive amounts of meteorological, mechanical, environmental data modern airplanes collect.

The researchers will test the system with pilots on a flight simulator.

The work is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's modernization of the National Airspace System.