Paper Pushers to Pixel Power

Background: As Americans gear up for the annual tax tango, the Internal Revenue Service faces a colossal chore: digitizing 1 billion documents. These documents are stored at IRS campuses across the country, and the 2024 tax season expects to add another 20 million or so forms to that pile.

The documents have accumulated over time in part because the agency lacked the technology to simply scan and digitize paper tax returns. Instead, they relied on a process as delightful as a root canal: human hands manually entering each digit from a paper form into the system.

Using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. the IRS has implemented a large-scale plan to fix the paper problem, including purchasing 132 high-speed scanners. With the IRS finally equipping its troops with digital weapons, the battle for a paperless future is on. If they need some help, maybe they can call the FAA.

Deja Vu: Not too long ago, the complex ballet of thousands of planes crisscrossing the U.S. airspace was coordinated using a surprisingly low-tech method: paper strips. These thin slips of paper, containing handwritten flight data like call signs, altitudes, and clearances, were the primary tools air traffic controllers used to track and guide aircraft.

This system, while surprisingly effective for its time, had its limitations. It was prone to errors, with handwritten updates sometimes being unclear or misread. Communication between controllers and pilots relied on voice, further increasing the risk of misunderstandings. Additionally, the sheer volume of air traffic, especially in busy airspace, could quickly overwhelm even the most skilled controllers.

In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has embarked on a massive modernization program known as the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), which took off with the Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. While the entire project still has a 2030 due date, massive strides have already been made.

Number: $5.5 Billion.

Between 2010 and 2022 improvements from NextGen technologies, capabilities, and procedures have been estimated to generate 5.5 billion dollars in “passenger travel time savings”.

What have you done with your share of those savings?

Word: 4D Trajectory: The ability to predict and manage a flight's path not just in three dimensions (latitude, longitude, altitude) but also in time.

Fact: IRS agents have used Tingle Tables since 1962, when James Tingle, an IRS employee invented the furniture. A New York Times article described Tingle tables as looking like “an octopus carrying 10 dinner trays.”

Quote: "Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status" - Laurence J. Peter

List: NextGen Upgrades

• Replacing radar: Traditional radar technology had limited range and accuracy, especially in bad weather. NextGen introduced Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which allows aircraft to broadcast their position and other data directly to controllers via satellites, providing a real-time and highly precise picture of the airspace.

• Digital flight strips: Paper strips were gradually replaced with digital displays, allowing for faster updating, information sharing, and automation of routine tasks.

• Performance-based navigation: Traditional routes were often rigid and inefficient, especially in high-traffic areas. NextGen introduced a system where aircraft can fly more flexible routes based on real-time conditions, optimizing fuel efficiency and reducing delays.

• Data communication improvements: Modern communication systems were implemented to facilitate faster and more accurate information exchange between controllers, pilots, and ground personnel.

Recommended Reading: Art of the Airport Tower by Carolyn Russo. This book, the companion volume to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum exhibition of the same name, explores 85 historic and contemporary airport towers through more than 100 fine art photographs

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