Egg Harbor Township, N.J. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is excited to announce the winning teams of the 2022 FAA Challenge: Smart Connected Aviation Student Competition. Four finalist university teams participated in a 2022 Virtual Forum June 22-23, 2022. The teams each presented smart technology design solutions to improve travelers’ transportation experiences and the efficiency of the national aviation ecosystem. University teams demonstrated concepts that will leverage a future info-centric National Airspace System (NAS) that will benefit NAS users in two categories: General Aviation and Emerging Operations. A winner was selected for each user category, earning a $10,000 cash prize. In addition, an overall Grand Prize winner was awarded an additional $15,000.

Finalists for the General Aviation category:

• • • Hampton University, “R.I.P.S.: Runway Incursion Prevention System” – 1^st Place
    • Oklahoma State University, “Squawk ForeFlight”

Finalists for the Emerging Operations category:

• • • Morgan State University, “A Simulation of a Real-Time Cloud-Based Communication Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) System in Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)”
    • Purdue University, “Advanced Air Mobility as an Electric Grid Demand Response Asset” – 1^st Place and Grand Prize

The FAA launched this activity for undergraduate and graduate student teams to think creatively in developing solutions to transportation technology challenges while addressing human factors aspects of the travelers’ experience, and to share those innovations with the broader community. The Challenge Steering Committee selected four finalist teams from seven proposals submitted to compete for the $10,000-$25,000 cash prizes based on project plan proposals, a technical paper and digital poster and lastly, a final presentation/demonstration to the Steering Committee judges during the 2022 Virtual Forum.

“This competition was intended to stimulate and advance innovation in aviation research and promote the development of a robust aviation workforce,” said Shelley Yak, director of the FAA Technical Center. “Ultimately, ideas from participating student teams may help shape the future and foster innovation.”

The FAA partnered with the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) to manage the FAA Challenge: Smart Connected Aviation Student Competition to recognize undergraduate and graduate students who can demonstrate innovative thinking.

More information about the FAA Challenge: Smart Connected Aviation Student Competition and this year’s projects can be found at http://faachallenge.nianet.org.

For more information about the William J. Hughes Technical Center, go to: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ang/offices/tc.

For more information about the National Institute of Aerospace, please visit https://www.nianet.org.