b'90 MSP ENVIRONMENTALOther Industry InnovatorsThe pool of airport entities that have earned U.S. patents in recent years is small. It includes: San Francisco International, patent No. 10,535,021, for a ground transportationtracking system, in 2020; The Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Airports Authority, patent No. 10,387,976,for a centralized data collection system, in 2019; andThe Vancouver (Canada) Airport Authority, patent No. 9,412,140 B2, for a traveldocument inspection system, in 2016.The new system leverages noise monitoring stations that were already in place.is yet another component of continuing noise mitigation efforts at MSP. A diverse team from the Metropolitan Airports Commission INSPIRE THE FUTURE started developing the technology in 2016 and CREATE CONNECTIONS finished in 2018. EMPOWER AIRPORTS Experts in acoustics, computer science, GIS (geographic information systems) and aviation collaborated and brainstormed together to arrive at the final solution, says co- BRAD JUFFERinventor Brad Juffer, who was manager of Community Relations for the Commission at the time. The system, he explains, addresses a key point: We have a sound. Do we have an airplane? The teams 24 thInternational Exhibition forsystem classifies each sound event that Airport Equipment, Technology,occurs at and near the airport, particularly Design & Services under flight paths. With this classification system, we gain more reliable data to better JOIN THEunderstand overall trends impacting our airport neighbors, says Juffer. ONE-STOP-SHOPMichelle Ross, current manager of Community UNITING THERelations for the Metropolitan Airports AIRPORT COMMUNITY Commission, adds that the technology used at MSP provides reliable data that we can shareMICHELLE ROSS1013 OCTOBER 2023 with residents, use to educate our pilot community and manage Munich Trade Fair, Germany noise abatement and mitigation activities in a manner that is mindful of our communities.The new system works with and reviews data from noise monitors already in place, including the airports 39 Larson Davis Model 831 sound level meters. Learn more: www.interairporteurope.com The backbone of the classification system is existing technology that converts an audio September 2023AirportImprovement.com'