BeyondATC has just released a traffic update and more for Microsoft Flight Simulator. They have been working on the traffic system for nearly a month, and it is currently available in an alpha state for Supporter’s Pack customers. Moreover, they announced additional features like the VR Toolbar and Pilot Portal.
About BeyondATC
BeyondATC is an AI ATC service that covers all ATC needs without joining an online server such as VATSIM or IVAO. You can get full coverage in every airport you fly from and to. It offers more than 100 realistic voices and AI-assisted voice recognition alongside a database of real-world procedures made in collaboration with real traffic controllers both ICAO and FAA.
Traffic Update
BeyondATC showcases a demo flight from New York to Washington, introducing their new traffic update for the AI ATC service. It gathers data from Flightradar24, corrects gate assignments accurately, and utilizes them. The AI voice gives you the immersion that you are in a big airport and the controller is busy and stressed. You can even act as an observer in VATSIM and listen to the frequency of planes working harmoniously with AI ATC.
Full Flight with Traffic
Along with the Discord announcement, they also published a full flight video with the traffic update through their YouTube channel. The video consists of a nearly 40-minute flight from New York to Washington with all the traffic chatter in the background. But the surprising side is that those chatters are not just “background noise”, but actual commands and actions. You can observe an aircraft take commands from the ATC, read them back, and then execute them. The KIAD plane spotting section in the video shows this in a great way. It is like watching VATSIM in observer mode.
VR Toolbar
The VR Toolbar was also a new announcement from the traffic update and it is available for everyone. To use BeyondATC in VR, you had to use tools like FSdesktop to view the menu, but with this update, you just need your sim and the BeyondATC app, nothing else. You can currently install the Toolbar from their Discord server via the “batc-toolbar-vr” channel and also report any lags or problems in the same channel.
Pilot Portal
Another big announcement is a Pilot Portal that allows you to add custom data to BeyondATC, such as VOR, STAR, or SID names to help the AI’s pronunciation. Airport-specific SOPs, runway wind ops, and more will also be available for you to submit. The portal will very soon be available for all verified BATC customers to suggest changes in the system. After a moderation process, it has a chance to even be integrated into the BeyondATC system.
Conclusion
It is really surprising how AI changes so fast and unpredictably and great to see it in our daily lives and hobbies even considering this is in an alpha development state. If you are interested in other BeyondATC news, consider checking our past articles and following our new articles to come.
