WARP is a prototype demonstration for technology to perform optimal real-time (under 60 seconds) flight planning using actual weather and performance data for various aircraft.
It allows the user to specify the following:
The user interface displays a plot of the earth's surface, allowing the user to point-and-click selection of source and destination coordinates. After route generation, the minimal fuel route is displayed, along with the great circle from the source to destination. The route consists of a list of waypoints and headings to follow during the flight, along with information such as time, altitude, and fuel load at each point. An altitude profile for the flight is shown in the bottom panel of the interface.
This image (left) shows the selection of source (Frankfurt) and destination (San
Antonio) points, along with the selection of initial fuel, departure time,
and payload. The great circle (the shortest distance route along the
surface of the earth between the two points) is drawn in red.
(Click on the image to see it full size)
This second image (right) shows WARP searching for a solution. It has already completed its backward search pass, and the forward search pass is in progress. The region explored during the backward and forward passes are shown in orange and magenta, respectively. Notice how the magenta region is much more focused than the orange region. This is because the initial backward pass has tightened the heuristics used in the forward pass.
The final image shows the WARP system after it has generated a minimal fuel route. The solution route is shown in white, while the great circle is still in red. Notice that the solution route deviates quite a bit from the great circle - this is due to weather conditions. The system found and took advantage of more favorable weather conditions over Greenland and north central Canada, and exploited those conditions to find a route that while longer in distance than the great circle, actually requires less fuel.
Information displayed on the right side of the display show the flight information, as well as detailed information about the highlighted node in the solution waypoint list. The highlighted node is shown as a red dot on the geoplot. It also appears as a red dot in the altitude profile shown at the bottom of the interface. Finally, statistics in the lower right hand corner of the display allow direct comparison of the generated route with the great circle. Note that this particular experiment saved nearly 3% on fuel use when compared with the great circle. Routes generated typically save anywhere between 1 and 8 percent over the great circle. The total time for route generation is also given - at 35 seconds, well under the 60 second execution time goal for the prototype. This is an example of a longer route - typical routes are generated in less than 20 seconds!