AI shares the cockpit with pilots

Artificial Intelligence is transforming every walk of life by bringing drastic changes in the technological fields. When we think of AI a lot of its applications comes to our mind like the intelligent machines and robots used by various industries, but are we familiar with the automated AI based systems in the cockpit? In this article we will see the effective use of AI in a cockpit and how the automated system affects the safety of the passengers.

Going back to December 17, 1903 when the wright brothers flew their first successful motor operated wooden body airplane which was self-propelled and heavier-than-air, we could never have imagined that one day AI will move into a crew member role in the cockpit.

How automation affects the pilots abilities?

All the pilots are trained rigorously to handle the aircraft in emergency situations, but nowadays the pilots rarely take the manual control of the aircraft. The autopilot is activated once the plane cruises a certain height and is then deactivated while descending. Many studies suggests the fact that, as the pilots are not involved directly with the operation, they can loose track of the situation and what the aircraft is doing. This can confuse them and affects their ability to react when a problem arises. All the organizations made many changes in their crew training and emphasized to fly the aircraft manually with a better understanding of the automated systems.

The aircraft manufacturers all around the world are investing significant resources in AI technology to make the aircrafts smarter than human brain. One such automated flight system is the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) developed by Boeing.

How does the MCAS safety system work?

This is an automated safety feature in AI autonomous aircrafts like the Boeing 737 MAX designed to prevent the aircraft from entering into a stall (Losing lift). A sensor which is called the angle of attack sensor (AOA) located on the nose of the aircraft automatically points the nose of the plane down if it is in danger of going into stall. Horizontal stabilizers are installed on the plane’s tail which are activated by the aircrafts flight control computer which lifts the plane’s tail while moving the nose down.

AI and machine learning are simply reducing the work load on pilots by the adoption of fly-by-wire controls and the automated systems. Sensor data is used to adjust the control surfaces of an aircraft automatically, based on flight conditions. Let’s list down some of the advantages of cockpit automation-

· Good automation reduces the workload of the pilots.

· Improves flight path control and keeps a check on the weather conditions.

· System like MCAS assured safety from the flight entering into stall.

· Improved passenger comfort and safety.

For the safety of the passengers onboard these systems have been introduced keeping in mind that humans can make mistakes but the automated systems do have some drawbacks and the MCAS system was criticized a lot for its failure.

Why the MCAS failed?

Issues were raised against the MCAS system after the tragic plane crash of the Lion Air 610 where the system malfunctioned and the MCAS sensors failed costing 189 lives. Same incident happened with the Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 after which the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded worldwide.

But the systems are only as good as the data they get. The preliminary reason for the crash is faulty data from the sensor as the angle of attack (AOA) sensors were feeding the MCAS faulty data. As AI and machine learning transform the role of pilots, those systems should be thoroughly tested. Until we create fully autonomous aircrafts AI is going the share the cockpit with pilots so both should go simultaneously with proper training and testing. If the sensors fail the AI should detect both the sensor malfunction and the sign of a crucial problem.

All the AI professionals are conducting research to solve these complex problems in aviation, so it’s going to take few years as technology is improving day by day and we will see some substantial growth in the field of aviation and Artificial Intelligence will keep brightening the skies.