In 1999, the FAA’s Center of Excellence Office approached the University of Illinois Center of Excellence in Pavement Technology with a request to provide assistance in addressing wildlife issues at airport with a special focus on hazard warning technologies that were, at that time, in the early stages of development. With renewal of the University of Illinois Center in 2001, the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) came into being . CEAT's continuing dedication to the advancement of airport technology resulted in the establishment of the Airport Safety Management Program (ASMP).
The ASMP has conducted science-based performance assessments of emerging safety technologies designed for use in the airport environment. ASMP assessments have:
- evaluated technologies in the context of rigorous safety criteria grounded in Advisory Circulars and the Safety Management Systems (SMS) approach,
- proved the utility of new technologies in airport settings and
- provided new concepts of operation (CONOPS) for airport SMS.
The ASMP has provide primary research support to three areas in the FAA’s Research and Development Program (AJP-63).
- Geographic information sciences that are used to organize and visualize wildlife data in a geographic information systems (GIS).
- Foreign Object Debris (FOD) FOD detection systems.
- Avian radar sensors and systems.
In addition to these primary support areas, the ASMP has also assisted AJP-63 research efforts in visual guidance by identifying technologies to improve the capabilities of FAA staff in airport testing.