Dr Jason Gauci, Prof. Ing. David Zammit Mangion and their respective teams are on a mission to make air travel better and safer for us all.
Gauci is doing it through the introduction of a touch screen system inside cockpits that will make aircraft easier to control than the current complex console system in place鈥攁 project called TOUCH-FLIGHT. Meanwhile, Zammit Mangion is working on Clean Sky, ensuring a safer and more environmentally friendly flight path for planes.
Dr Gauci鈥檚 first prototype was touch-screen only, however he aims on eventually developing a system that can also use voice commands. With this, pilots would be able to control all aspects of the flight from one screen, rather than from separate consoles in different parts of the cockpit. The main difficulty, however, has been convincing older, more experienced pilots to make the transition to new technology. Pilot training will be essential in this shift.
The Clean Sky project kicked off with the identification of Malta International Airport鈥檚 best routes with the aim of reducing emissions and noise pollution. It will also be a tool that allows identification of the best flight path and ensures that the plane could stay on it while facing adverse conditions.
This research has introduced a new dimension to aviation. While everybody knows that aircraft are incredibly safe, and that very few planes in the present encounter serious difficulties, a move towards making air travel even safer for the passengers, while also impacting the environment less, is incredibly reassuring.
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