Search Results

A multidisciplinary field for analyzing large amounts of data—current and past (historical)—which are processed using tools and methods from statistics, applied mathematics, artificial intelligence, and computer programming, with the object of…

A mathematical entity consisting of a set of values (the carrier set) and a collection of operations that manipulate them. For example, the Integer abstract data type consists of a carrier set containing the positive and negative whole numbers and…

Signal processing is a discipline that deals with the extraction of information from signals. The devices that perform this task can be physical hardware devices, specialized software codes, or combinations of both. In recent years the complexity of…

A discipline that combines the means to know the location and heading of an aircraft with respect to some map or coordinate system, with guidance which means steering the aircraft along some desired path toward a destination. The construction of the…

A service to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic. Safety is principally a matter of preventing collisions with other aircraft, obstructions, and the ground; assisting aircraft in avoiding hazardous weather; assuring that…

Radar equipment carried by commercial and military aircraft. These aircraft use airborne radar systems to assist in weather assessment and navigation. Military systems also provide other specialized capabilities such as targeting of hostile aircraft…

A device that reduces the risk of midair collision by providing advisories to the flight crew. It is known in the United States as a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), and operates independently of the ground-based air-traffic…

An instrument that indicates the bearing, or angle of the direction in which an aircraft is pointing in the horizontal plane. A compass may indicate magnetic heading or bearing, bearing referenced to a radio signal source, or bearing with respect to…

A coordinated group of instruments that provides the flight crew with information about the aircraft and its subsystems. Together with the controls, aircraft instruments form the human–machine interfaces that enable the flight crew to operate the…

A ground mapping system that uses analog radar equipment to provide surveillance of aircraft and other surface vehicles on an airport surface. It is used by air-traffic controllers in airport control towers to monitor and control the movement of…