Gogo Business Aviation has agreed to implement The Weather Company’s Turbulence Auto Pirep System (TAPS), which allows Gogo-equipped aircraft to provide turbulence data to pilots and dispatchers, the companies announced today.

The agreement means that Gogo will install the TAPS software, which includes a turbulence-detection algorithm, on its airborne communication servers installed in customer business aircraft. The software uses inputs from aircraft avionics to “calculate and report turbulence intensity and transmit to the ground via Gogo's U.S.-based air-to-ground and global satellite communication network,” according to The Weather Company, which is an IBM subsidiary. This real-time information can then be shared with dispatchers and pilots to help pilots avoid turbulence, but it also will help The Weather Company improve turbulence forecasts and its overall forecast model, the company noted, “as well as empower its team of 40 aviation meteorologists to alert clients of weather-related safety risks globally.”

“It is a great example of the Internet of Things in action,” said Mark Gildersleeve, president of business solutions at The Weather Company, “where we are collecting massive amounts of data very quickly and then using that insight to provide guidance to all flights that will be traveling through impacted airspace.”