Cloud-Based SATCE Solution for a Prestigious Aeronautical University

Customer A prestigious aeronautical university with a program focused on virtual reality (VR) and air traffic control (ATC) communications for new pilots

Application

One of the leading aeronautical universities in the world recently debuted a new program that targets ATC communications with VR. This program helps fresh students master aviation English before reaching the cockpit.

ASTi’s Simulated Environment for Realistic ATC (SERA®) product suite powers the university’s courseware, exposing 40 students a month to this innovative training technology. Students start out with ASTi’s Pilot Phraseology Trainer (Pilot PT™), an interactive, web-based tool teaching basic aviation English. Next, they experience multiple 360-degree VR videos as the pilot non-flying (PNF), observing pilots’ actual flight communications with ATC. Finally, students encounter SERA, a Simulated Air Traffic Control Environment (SATCE) system, in their first flight simulator. SERA generates AI controllers that interact with students, scoring them against expected transmissions and challenging them with increasingly complex flight scenarios.

Challenges & Solutions

Scalability via Cloud Configuration

Enable a large number of students to train simultaneously, unrestricted by hardware.

The customer opted for SERA’s cloud configuration, which means they received no hardware—just a login. That’s it!

SERA generates AI entities that role-play ATC and other pilots, freeing up instructors to focus on training. As a result, multiple simulators can operate in parallel, an impossible feat with just the available staff. Combined with SERA’s cloud capabilities, this means the customer can easily scale the number of students training at one time, whether they need 40, 60, or even 100 students to train simultaneously.

Rapid-Reaction Delivery

Implement a custom solution with an extremely tight deadline.

Programs like this usually take years to implement, but the customer had mere months to deliver a polished, new course for the upcoming semester. Fortunately, as a long-time innovator in avionics simulation, ASTi has extensive experience with quick-reaction development and integration. SERA’s cloud implementation facilitated a quick turnaround since ASTi didn’t need to ship any hardware to begin integration.

Working closely with the university’s linguistics experts, ASTi precisely tuned SERA’s behaviors to match the customer’s busy ATC environment. Our developers worked overtime to meet the customer’s tight deadline, delivering our tailored solution before the first students arrived.

24/7 Availability

Provide unlimited access to training software.

With SERA’s cloud configuration, the customer gained the ability to train students any time, anywhere. Students interact with SERA and Pilot PT six days a week, 13 hours a day. SERA is also available to students who need extra practice on the seventh day. While students in this program can only access Pilot PT in the classroom, Pilot PT is available through any web-connected device—including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers.

Precise Phraseology Standards

Customize SERA’s phraseology to match the customer’s specific courseware.

The customer needed a technology to power its courseware, which follows its own rigorous phraseology standard. While most SATCE products on the market aren’t customizable, the SERA product suite is different.

ASTi tailored SERA and Pilot PT to enable the university’s courseware, even though our products already support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standard phraseology out of the box. Combined, SERA and the university created a powerful training tool that teaches pilots precise, accurate phraseology.

Informative Metrics Tracking Student Performance

Measure students’ progress over time, evaluating their progress.

Pilot PT generates a built-in transcript that gauges the accuracy levels of students’ speech, allowing them to self-monitor their progress. These valuable insights help instructors pinpoint exactly where a student is struggling. ASTi is working closely with the customer to capture and analyze more metrics the university can use to analyze students' performance throughout the program.

Components Deployed

SERA

Simulated Environment for Realistic ATC

Features:

  • A speech recognition system with over 97 percent word accuracy for native English and English as a Second Language (ESL) speakers
  • Customizable scenarios with a standard flight plan and additional configuration settings
  • Environment generation that automatically includes the appropriate traffic and ATC interactions for any flight plan
  • Flight history transcripts displaying past flights, performance metrics, student responses, and scores
  • Traffic plans with customizable traffic density, call signs, departure and destination airports, and the type of aircraft that appears at an airport
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Pilot PT

A web-based training service for flight schools and aviation training centers

Features:

  • Metrics scoring students based on their adherence to official communication standards
  • International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Level 4 proficiency evaluation, including pronunciation, structure, and comprehension of ATC communications
  • Varied ATC accents by region
  • Realistic, injected noises that acclimate students to radio sounds
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See SERA in Action!

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