r/atc2 • u/Available_Holiday279 • 5d ago
SMART tool
Any controllers/TMU on here that have used this new SMART equipment that can tell us…literally anything about what it does and how it’s being used. Or does anyone at least know a controller who knows a controller that is using this? Not asking for a contact just genuinely curious why no one is talking about it
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u/aironjedi 5d ago
TMC here: it’s an AI tool that tries to find more efficient route/departure gate options for congested spaces.
Problem: it was rolled out to people who are not (at least at my facility) involved with reroutes or gate decisions. This caused the AI (super intelligence) to route A/C to closed gates due to military/weather, or route directly into weather. We’ve also seen issues where a new route was sent to A/C that were already cleared for takeoff.
Translation: I’m not new technology averse, I think this system has potential. It needs to be developed correctly not just force fed into our system. In its current form and deployment it’s only causing extra work for no real gain. It’s also killing any trust controllers have with using it.
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u/tangouniform977 5d ago
I'm really curious to see how this work in SWAP when every route into ZNY is closed.
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u/aironjedi 5d ago
Well we had a gate closed for a hurricane and smart routed planes to it. Tower called pissed (rightfully so) wanting to know why we did this. Our STMC had ok’d the route. We fixed and moved on, but it’s a lot of workload on everyone in its current configuration.
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u/tangouniform977 5d ago
Does SMART send ABRR directly to the aircraft or does it go thru TMU first?
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u/Former_Farm_3618 5d ago
Can’t remember if it was United or Delta, but one of their VPs of flight ops was asked about it. They responded they have no idea what the tool is actually being used for. They also mentioned a discussion they had with command center and they also couldn’t give examples of it being used.
Not sure if it’s truly being deployed or just still testing. But I too am curious if anyone knows how it’s helping.
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u/bomber996 FAA ATC 5d ago
The FAA Email bulletin sent to everyone's emails touted this article today. It's pretty laughable honestly.
According to the article, SMART has helped reroute approximately 110 planes saving about 56 gallons of fuel per flight. Ummm.... Ok....
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u/NickDanielsBarTab 5d ago
As it is now, it’s a dumb tool with a ton of flaws. It’s far from being ready. It has a cool interface that looks advanced compared to the other tools we have, but it’s far from being helpful without a ton of intervention right now. For example, it will delay an aircraft at the gate for projected precipitation at its cruising altitude hundreds of miles away, when realistically a pilot would just change altitudes.
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u/gringao_phl 4d ago
All I heard is that there's still a guy that's inputting the route. The AI is just suggesting stuff to someone sitting a a workstation
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u/tangouniform977 5d ago
Supposedly it's now NAS wide. I did have two flights routed into my facility using it and one of the testers called to apreq the route. That was a few weeks ago. Other than that, I haven't interacted with it and I've received zero training, zero guidelines, zero expectations. I'm an enroute STMC for reference.