ATC
Wisk Tests 1:3 Supervisor Ratio for Autonomous Flight
NASA controllers used existing tools to manage simulated autonomous traffic
A controller monitors simulated traffic inside NASA’s air traffic control simulation laboratory at the agency’s Ames Research Center.
A controller monitors simulated traffic inside NASA’s air traffic control simulation laboratory at the agency’s Ames Research Center. © Wisk Aero

Wisk Aero and NASA have simulated a single ground-based supervisor managing three autonomous aircraft at once in controlled airspace. The exercise tested the 1:3 supervisor-to-aircraft ratio that Wisk considers essential to making commercial air taxi service affordable.

The campaign was part of a five-year Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement between NASA and Mountain View, California-based Wisk focused on integrating autonomous aircraft flying under instrument flight rules (IFR) into the National Airspace System. It builds on earlier joint work the two announced in May 2025.

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