Video games train air traffic controllers 25% faster
Inventions
By navigating virtual skies where density is four times higher than real life, novices are outperforming seasoned veterans in the high-stakes world of air traffic control.
Modern air traffic control training has traded the classroom for the cockpit of a video game. While the 1929 Link Trainer was a wood-and-canvas box designed to mimic dogfights, today's students use software like Microsoft Flight Simulator to master chaos. In these digital environments, trainees manage up to 200 virtual aircraft every hour—staggeringly more than the 50 planes a real-world controller typically handles during a peak shift.