SALT LAKE CITY, UT-The U.S. Government has mandated the use of GPS as the navigational backbone for the U.S. Air Traffic Control System. Patents owned by Worldwide Notification Systems, Inc. (WNS) will enable and enhance this vastly improved ATC system. The first of these allows aircraft to use a tactical display to identify forms of traffic and geographical objects that are in a pilot's path. This affects more than 14,000 commercial aircraft. The next offers a new device that can be utilized in over 225,000 aircraft that eliminates the "search" portion of search & rescue missions. Worldwide Notification Systems, Inc. (WNS) owns patents that support the development and deployment of these systems. The last concerns the "Free Flight" program, which will allow aircraft to fly the shortest routes possible to their destinations, saving time and money.
The WNS technologies signal a new era in air transportation safety by providing an efficient, economical back-up system for identifying and instantaneously responding to problems.
- AVIATION NAVIGATION SYSTEM. This efficient GPS tracking system takes the guesswork out of the aircraft location process. It allows ATC to know, with pinpoint accuracy, precisely where an aircraft is at any given moment-whether the flight is following instrument flight rules (IFR) or visual flight rules (VFR) or is operating in a radar or non-radar environment. The technology is particularly useful for quick response to two critical situations:
- Flight plan closings. This allows air traffic to be speeded up because available air space can be released as soon as the airplane lands.
- Downed aircraft or in-flight emergencies. In emergency situations, rapid emergency response teams can be immediately dispatched to an exact location.
- TELEMETRY BURST COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM. This effective aircraft collision avoidance system provides warning and avoidance maneuvers for all fixed and moving obstructions that threaten the navigation of the host aircraft. It is effective against other aircraft, runway maintenance vehicles and prominent geographic obstructions such as radio towers and mountain peaks. WNS's system is an economical combination of basic telemetry equipment and computer components configured to broadcast the host location and intended movement while simultaneously receiving the same information from all nearby similarly equipped air and ground stations.
- Satellite Based ATC System. This patented system is comprised of a method of tracking, guiding, controlling and communicating with aircraft and vehicles in the air, in the water, and on the ground. Present air traffic control systems consist of a combination of primary and secondary radar and computers that display usable data to air traffic controllers. The WNS system corrects radar-related problems such as ghosts as well as the huge potential for error and miscommunication fostered by the only communication method currently used between air traffic controllers and the aircraft: verbal exchanges over a two-way radio.
According to J. Michael Wallace, WNS Chairman and CEO, "WNS is one of the original pioneers in GPS technology. We recognized the technology's enormous potential long before the term 'GPS' became a household word. Today, the world market is demanding the vast possibilities and enhancements that only GPS can provide..."
For more information about these patents (U.S. Patent No. 5,351,194; U.S. Patent No. 4,835,537, and U.S. Patent No. 5,714,948, respectively, and corresponding foreign patents and applications).
Contact: J. Michael Wallace
WORLDWIDE NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS INC.
Phone - (404) 237-2200
FAX - (404) 237-3222
E-mail - mwallace@wnsinc.com
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