When browsing your TikTok or X feed this month, you may have seen a few viral videos<\/a> featuring a sleek, user-friendly interface that combines air traffic control (ATC) audio transcriptions with the real-time location data of platforms such as FlightAware, showing where the conversation takes place and who is speaking.<\/p>\n The screen recordings come from an application called ATC<\/a>, developed by startup Enhanced Radar and made available on iOS last week. Eric Button, co-founder and CEO of Enhanced Radar, said the platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to transcribe about one million transmissions per day\u2014all in real time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re able to put together two pieces of the puzzle, which, to date, have not been put in the same interface,\u201d Button told FLYING. \u201cThere are apps that can show you a map of where planes are. There are apps that can give you ATC audio. We put them in the same place, on the same map.\u201d<\/p>\n Button said the app is by no means a replacement for \u201caviation institutions\u201d like LiveATC. But it could be a useful tool for aviation geeks, student pilots, and professionals at airports\u2014many of whom he said are already users\u2014to learn of engine failures, fires, and other events before they are widely reported.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can know sooner, and they have more context and details about what is going on,\u201d Button said. \u201cThe delay that the user experiences should be shorter than the delay when watching an NFL football game.\u201d<\/p>\n Button said Enhanced Radar has installed proprietary hardware\u2014designed to obtain high quality ATC audio\u2014on or near 71 airports that are now covered by the ATC app. That number will be \u201cvery different\u201d by year\u2019s end, he said.<\/p>\n In addition to location, users can search for ATC audio by aircraft tail number, call sign, or flight number, as well as AI-flagged \u201cevents,\u201d including fires, engine failures, icing, and other scenarios.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s unusual or interesting things that are happening in U.S. airspace, and we\u2019re able to essentially detect those with the AI,\u201d Button said.<\/p>\n ATC for All<\/p>\n The ATC app runs on a \u201clightweight\u201d version of Enhanced Radar\u2019s proprietary Y3 AI model. Button said the company immediately recognized Y3\u2019s potential for transcribing heaps of audio transmissions. That would be a Herculean\u2014and costly\u2014task for a team of humans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can, with AI, transcribe or just understand what the pilots and controllers are saying and present the data in a new way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Button said he grew up scanning the airwaves with LiveATC. He later became a professional pilot of light midsize jets such as the Pilatus PC-12 and Gulfstream G280. Button then transitioned to software and founded a startup, where he met pilot and Enhanced Radar co-founder Kristian Gaylord.<\/p>\n Button estimated that about 8 in 10 Enhanced Radar employees are current or former pilots and controllers. Many combine that experience with the technical expertise required to build a model like Y3, which he said \u201cwould not have been possible even a few years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, the AI is training on an ever-growing set of data obtained by the proprietary audio collection systems the firm has installed at more than 70 airports.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have processes and have been thoughtful about how to design the AI and the accuracy involved\u2014just like on the software side\u2014to make sure that we\u2019re not crying wolf about something, which I think we\u2019ve done a good job of to date,\u201d Button said.<\/p>\n The Enhanced Radar chief said \u201csome enterprise people,\u201d including professionals at airports and airlines, are using the ATC app to assist in their work. Student pilots and their family members are using the tail number search feature to get historical ATC audio.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen someone is doing flight training, they can go back and actually see how they were performing on the radios,\u201d Button said.<\/p>\n Another early cohort comprises \u201caviation geeks\u201d who simply want to get the news before everybody else. That includes live updates on their own commercial flights.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can actually listen along as they get pushed back from the gate, hear their pilots when they take off, and then hear when they\u2019re landing,\u201d Button said.<\/p>\n However, the app\u2019s simple and social media-friendly interface is designed to be useful to anyone, even a person with zero aviation knowledge or experience. Users pay $6.99 a week or $89.99 a year, with the latter option including a free, seven-day trial. The app is available only on iOS but could expand to Android or web platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have to see,\u201d Button said.<\/p>\n The Enhanced Radar CEO added that the ATC app is \u201cjust a small part of what we do.\u201d Fundamentally, he said, they are an AI research company with a focus on enterprise solutions.<\/p>\n When asked about future potential customers, Button was cagey. But one could imagine the company delivering its capabilities to customers such as the FAA, which is using AI to sift through data and identify \u201chot spots\u201d in the wake of the devastating January 2025 collision<\/a> over the Potomac River between a U.S. Army helicopter and commercial passenger jet.<\/p>\n The regulator is also overseeing the transition of ATC communications from analog to digital under its three-year, multibillion-dollar Brand New ATC System plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the opportunity for AI to improve efficiency in the system\u2014and on a longer timeline, save lives\u2014is very exciting,\u201d Button said. \u201cI think that\u2019s why we are working in the space.\u201d<\/p>\n Button said the company\u2019s models will only get more powerful. On Tuesday, it unveiled Y4, a model he said is much larger than Y3. The new model is designed primarily to tackle aviation-specific challenges\u2014transcribing noisy or broken audio, rushed speech, accents, and dozens of aircraft sharing the same frequency. It is also better at differentiating between pilots and controllers.<\/p>\n![\"ATC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772039168_787_image-4.png\")
The ATC app alerts users to aviation events, such as malfunctioning landing gear forcing a commercial flight to head back to the runway. [Credit: Enhanced Radar]<\/p>\n