Micro Nav has been shortlisted for the 2020 ATM Awards in the category of Enabling Technology, which recognises a significant contribution to enhancing capacity and/or increasing safety.
Global restrictions to air traffic, imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, threw the aviation industry into turmoil, impacting ANSPs, airports and training establishments, including providing safety-critical training.
Recognising the need for technology that enables its customers to continue their training, Micro Nav developed an extension to its existing BEST (Beginning to End for Simulation and Training) ATC simulation platform, making it accessible to its worldwide customer base from anywhere at any time via the Cloud.
With the continued drop in air traffic putting a huge financial strain on ANSPs, Micro Nav offered this technology for free to CANSO’s ANSP members, enabling them to access the capabilities of radar and tower simulation.
Access to ATC simulation capabilities via the Cloud ensures that training can occur anywhere at any time. It enables organisations to re-introduce or continue enhanced safety critical training, including training for abnormal and emergency situations, pre-OJT and ‘importantly’ training at pre-COVID traffic levels. Organisations are no longer restricted in capacity to conduct training, as this can be done remotely.
For ANSPs, it has provided a solution to return to much-valued training or, in some cases, offered an opportunity to access simulation for training for the first time. Viewed via any standard PC with an internet connection, controllers can maintain their core skills in busy traffic situations, refresh their skills that will inevitably have faded, and regain the confidence to manage much higher traffic loads safely as air traffic slowly increases.
As a specialist developer of simulation software since 1988, Micro Nav quickly identified how a change to their standard technology would enable the industry to enhance training capacity and contribute to increased safety through continued ATCO training at high traffic levels.
The company’s vision is to make a positive difference in the world through simulation, so the impact of the pandemic led to Micro Nav making amendments to their existing software and very quickly enabled the full capabilities of their tower and radar ATC simulator to be available in the Cloud.
Micro Nav joins several industry organisations shortlisted in the category of Enabling Technology with the winner due to be announced at a virtual award session later next month.