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This year’s FAA Challenge focuses on Smart Connected Aviation, providing undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to design, build, and test smart technology that has the ability to improve traveler’s transportation experiences and the efficiency of the national aviation ecosystem.

The FAA is developing a vision for an info-centric National Airspace System (NAS). Full connectivity will come from infrastructure supporting NAS operations that enable all systems to share data. With all types of devices connected to the Internet (known as the Internet of Things [IoT]) and advances in wireless technology, nearly everything can be connected from nearly any location at any time. Through the Smart Connected Aviation Student Competition, FAA seeks innovative ideas from the academic community that take advantage of a future info-centric NAS (including connected aircraft) that will benefit NAS users in the following four user categories: Commercial Air Transportation, General Aviation, Emerging Operations, and Traveling Public.