NASA researchers are testing aviation technology intended to make crowded airport ground operations safer and more efficient. At NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, the agency worked with Boeing on field tests involving digital taxi information, safe taxiways and safe runways.
Large airports require aircraft, ground crews and service vehicles to navigate tightly packed taxiways and runways. NASA’s work is aimed at reducing the kinds of complications that can contribute to delayed departures, holding patterns and other disruptions for commercial travelers.
In the digital taxi demonstrations, pilots received taxiway directions on cockpit displays or tablets rather than solely through verbal instructions from air traffic controllers. NASA said this approach could help pilots follow ground routes in complex airport settings.
Testing at Ames in March 2026 also demonstrated autonomous technology that could identify runway incursions, including vehicles, stray luggage or other obstacles that could affect an aircraft’s landing safety. Source: NASA.
