Instruction assistance system and method for traffic management

Abstract

The invention relates to an instruction assistance system for guiding traffic within a traffic area by transmitting traffic guidance instructions to the respective traffic participant, comprising: - an input device configured for entering a traffic guidance instruction consisting of a plurality of instruction parts, - a speech recognition device configured for recognizing at least one control command within the entered traffic guidance instruction and for determining a corresponding instruction context, - a determination device configured for determining instruction data depending on the respective recognized control command and the corresponding instruction context, - an instruction generator configured for generating a modified traffic guidance instruction from the entered traffic guidance instruction.by automatically replacing the recognized control commands with the instruction data determined for this purpose, and - an electronic communication device that is equipped to transmit the automatically modified traffic guidance instruction to the vehicle in question.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an instruction assistance system for traffic guidance of a road user within a traffic area by transmitting traffic guidance instructions from a traffic control center controlling the traffic area to the road user in question.

[0002] The invention also relates to a method for this.

[0003] To secure and control traffic areas, especially airspace around airports or sea areas around ports, traffic control centers (often colloquially referred to as centers, towers, or control rooms) typically exist. These centers monitor and control the traffic within their area of ​​influence by transmitting instructions to vehicle crews and drivers. The human factor plays a crucial role, as the majority of traffic management tasks are still performed by the traffic control center.

[0004] An operator (also called a traffic controller) regulates traffic within their assigned area of ​​responsibility, typically through direct traffic guidance and control. Direct instructions to a specific vehicle, intended solely for that vehicle, initiate actions by the driver of that vehicle, thus regulating and controlling all traffic within the area. An operator generally possesses a significantly higher level of situational awareness regarding the overall traffic situation than the individual drivers of the vehicles in that area alone.

[0005] If the traffic area is, for example, airspace, such as in the vicinity of an airport, then the operator is an air traffic controller who is responsible for air traffic within their assigned area of ​​responsibility and must ensure that aircraft are guided safely and, where applicable, economically through their assigned area. Landing at and taking off from an airport, as well as the subsequent guidance of the aircraft through the airspace, play a particularly important role in this.

[0006] However, even today, the instructions required for air traffic control are still predominantly transmitted to the pilots of a given aircraft using traditional voice communication (e.g., VHF radio). These instructions are received by the aircraft via antennas and relayed to the pilots through appropriate output devices (usually headphones). The pilots receive the voice messages spoken by the air traffic controller, extract the flight instructions contained therein, and must then implement these instructions through appropriate actions. To ensure correct reception of the instructions, the pilots repeat the spoken instructions so that the air traffic controller can verify whether the pilots have understood them correctly.

[0007] While direct data connections now exist to transmit relevant data to the aircraft via this electronic communication channel, this is limited to a very restricted amount of information and mostly non-safety-critical instructions.

[0008] As the number of aircraft within controlled airspace increases, and with the emergence of sudden critical situations, the mental strain on air traffic controllers rises sharply, increasing the likelihood of errors and thus the risk of accidents. This ultimately affects every controller or operator responsible for a specific airspace.

[0009] US patent 2006 / 0046715 A1 discloses a method and device for voice communication between controller and pilot, wherein voice instructions from the controller are digitized and then transmitted to the pilot via a communication link based on packet-based transmission mechanisms.

[0010] US patent 2010 / 0198489 A1 discloses an air traffic control system for aircraft on the ground, in which the taxiway of an aircraft is monitored and, in case of possible dangers, the taxiway of the aircraft on the ground can be changed, which is to be done via data transmission via a communication link to the aircraft.

[0011] US patent 2010 / 0027768 A1 discloses a communication system between air traffic controller and pilot, whereby the voice instructions are converted into text using a speech recognition system, the text is transmitted to the aircraft via a communication link and displayed there on the screen.

[0012] US Patent 4,196,474 A discloses a system designed to transmit collision warnings and derived information to an aircraft and display them on a screen.

[0013] From EP 3 217 378 A1 a method for guiding vehicles in a traffic area by transmitting traffic guidance instructions is known, wherein the traffic guidance instructions are generated from instruction parts manually entered by the pilot and instruction parts automatically determined.

[0014] When operators are responsible for multiple traffic areas in quick succession or simultaneously, confusion can arise. Uncertainty regarding local conditions within a given traffic area (e.g., taxiways, waypoints, radio frequencies, etc.) can also disrupt traffic flow. This occurs, for example, with flexible traffic monitoring licenses or simultaneous monitoring (e.g., multiple remote towers). The mental workload for operators to maintain consistent situational awareness increases significantly as a result.

[0015] Looking up or simply reading dynamic values ​​(e.g., wind, air pressure QNH, ATIS letter) is a rather tedious task for operators. They also have to take their eyes off the traffic situation to read the visual information from another location.

[0016] The exclusive use of a digital data link is not a viable alternative, not only because of its unreliable transmission reliability. A data link would potentially require more effort from the operator to manually compile the relevant instructions. Furthermore, it would increase the number of vehicles that would need to be equipped to receive data via a data link. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, two-way radio communication will remain the primary means of communication between the operator and the driver.

[0017] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and an improved assistance system with which a pilot can be relieved of work even in critical situations and under high workload, in order to reduce the risk of incorrect decisions and accidents.

[0018] The problem is solved according to the invention by the instruction assistance system of the type mentioned above, with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are then found in the corresponding dependent claims.

[0019] According to claim 1, a traffic guidance system is proposed for a road user within a traffic area by transmitting traffic guidance instructions from a traffic control center monitoring the traffic area to the road user in question. According to the invention, the traffic guidance system comprises: an input device configured for entering a traffic guidance instruction consisting of multiple instruction parts, wherein the traffic guidance instruction was manually entered by an operator for the purpose of guiding the road user in question; a speech recognition device configured for recognizing at least one control command within the entered traffic guidance instruction and for determining an instruction context of the corresponding instruction part from the entered traffic guidance instruction that relates to the respective control command; a retrieval device configured for retrieving instruction data from a database of the instruction assistance system, depending on the respective recognized control command and the related instruction context, wherein the database contains data relating to a current,The system consists of: a past and / or future predicted state of the traffic area to be controlled; an instruction generator configured to generate a modified traffic guidance instruction from the input traffic guidance instruction by automatically replacing the recognized control commands with the instruction data determined for this purpose; and an electronic communication device configured to transmit the automatically modified traffic guidance instruction to the vehicle in question.

[0020] A section of an instruction within a traffic control directive refers to a specific piece of data or information that, alone or possibly in conjunction with other sections, is intended to convey information to the driver or trigger an action to be performed by the driver. The sections of an instruction within a traffic control directive are therefore individual, semantically distinct blocks of information.

[0021] An instruction can comprise a single piece of data, such as an identifier (also called a call sign in aviation). For such an instruction, which consists of or contains only a single value or piece of data, the context arises from the position of the instruction within the traffic control instruction (a call sign is usually at the beginning of such a traffic control instruction) or from the structure of the data itself.

[0022] However, an instruction part can also consist of several individual pieces of information to provide the transmitted value with appropriate context. For example, altitude change instructions are usually specified with "ascend" or "descend" along with a corresponding altitude level, and whether additional information for plausibility checks and a corresponding value context should be transmitted (e.g., "descend three thousand feet"). In this case, the instruction part includes both the context information (in the previous example, "descend") and a corresponding value (3000 ft). Other multi-part instruction parts include, for example, changes in direction, changes in speed, and the transmission of static information such as temperature, air pressure, coefficient of friction, runway, tower frequency, etc.

[0023] According to the present invention, a traffic guidance instruction is first entered into an input device of the assistance system, typically by the operator. Preferably, the input takes the form of a spoken instruction, which the operator speaks into a microphone unit of the input device and which is recorded by the assistance system. In this case, the recorded traffic guidance instruction is then available as an audio data stream and may be stored in an audio file. However, it is also conceivable that the input is performed with the assistance system's support and is entered by the operator by assembling individual instruction components on the assistance system.

[0024] According to the invention, this traffic guidance instruction includes at least one control command that is not part of an instruction to the driver, but rather is directed as a control command to the assistance system. By means of such a control command, the assistance system is to be instructed to perform specific actions after the traffic guidance instruction has been entered.

[0025] For this purpose, the entered traffic guidance instruction is analyzed using a speech recognition device. The input is examined for the presence of a control command. Control commands are a finite, exhaustive list of speech commands. If such a control command is recognized, the instruction context of the instruction segment within which the control command was detected is then determined in order to trigger an action based on the control command's context. The speech recognition device thus not only performs a transcription of the input traffic guidance instruction, provided it was spoken, but also annotations, i.e., speech understanding, to comprehend the instruction semantically and determine its respective context.

[0026] There can also be multiple control commands, each intended to initiate a corresponding action for different parts of the instruction.

[0027] Subsequently, the corresponding action is executed for each detected control command. For this purpose, an investigative unit retrieves appropriate instruction data from a database, depending on the specific control command detected and its associated instruction context. This data is then substituted for the control command. The database contains data and information about the traffic area to be controlled and can reflect the current state of the traffic area, as well as information about a past state and / or a future state predicted based on the current state.

[0028] If corresponding instruction data has been determined for all found control commands, a modified traffic guidance instruction is automatically generated using an instruction generator by replacing all control commands in the traffic guidance instruction with the respective instruction data.

[0029] After generation, the amended traffic guidance instruction is then transmitted to the vehicle in question via a communication device.

[0030] Using the instruction generator, an audio output can be created from the modified traffic guidance instruction using a speech generator. This output is then transmitted to the driver of the vehicle in question via radio communication. Such an audio output is transmitted over the same transmission channel as if the operator or controller had manually recorded the traffic guidance instruction and transmitted it by radio. For this purpose, the original traffic guidance instruction is available in transcribed form, i.e., largely in textual form. If the operator previously spoke the traffic guidance instruction along with the control command, it is subsequently transcribed so that it can be digitally edited in textual form.This textual form is then converted back into an auditory form after the textual traffic guidance instruction has been changed, and this audio stream is then transmitted to the driver via the radio connection.

[0031] Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the entered traffic guidance instruction, which is available digitally as an audio stream, is directly modified by extracting the passages in which the control command was recognized from the audio stream and inserting the determined instruction data in their place. With this alternative, the transcribed form of the traffic guidance instruction is not changed, but rather the audio stream of the traffic guidance instruction itself. The instruction data, which is determined based on the instruction context and the respective recognized control command, is converted into an audible form using a speech generator and inserted into the audio stream at the place of the respective control command.

[0032] Finally, it is also conceivable that the amended traffic guidance instructions - of whatever kind - are transmitted digitally to the driver via a data link, and are then presented to the driver visually or audibly after being received by the vehicle.

[0033] The present invention thus makes it possible for an operator or controller tasked with managing and monitoring a traffic area to avoid having to speak the entire traffic control instruction each time. Instead, they can use control commands to instruct the assistance system to automatically retrieve missing data from a database. This eliminates the time-consuming and mentally demanding task of looking up the required data for each vehicle within the traffic area. This reduces the controller's mental workload and makes managing the traffic area safer. It also minimizes the human factor as a source of error while simultaneously reducing the controller's mental workload.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the input device has a microphone unit which is designed to acoustically record the traffic guidance instruction as an instruction spoken by the operator.

[0035] In this case, nothing changes for the traffic controller in their normal working environment, except for their knowledge of the necessary control commands for the assistance system. They can continue to generate and input their traffic guidance instructions acoustically, as usual.

[0036] According to one embodiment, the speech recognition device has a transcription unit that is equipped to convert the spoken traffic guidance instruction into a transcribed traffic guidance instruction.

[0037] In this embodiment, the traffic guidance instruction spoken by the traffic controller is converted into a textual version, allowing the assistance system to analyze and / or modify this textual version. If the textual version of the traffic guidance instruction is modified by inserting the corresponding instruction data for the control commands, the modified textual traffic guidance instruction can then be converted into a modified spoken version using a speech generator and transmitted to the driver via two-way radio. Alternatively, the textual version can also be transmitted to the driver digitally via a data link without needing to be converted into a spoken version within the traffic control center's coverage area.

[0038] In this embodiment, the speech recognition device not only performs annotation, that is, the (semantic, content-related) understanding of the instruction itself, but also, in particular, a prior transcription, thereby converting the spoken instruction into a textual version. Based on the transcribed textual version, the annotation then takes place, i.e., the semantically, content-related understanding of the instruction, by determining the respective instruction context.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the speech recognition device is configured to determine an instruction context for each instruction part and to recognize at least one instruction gap in the entered traffic guidance instruction, depending on the instruction context of the respective instruction part, in whose place instruction data is expected in the respective instruction part, whereby this instruction gap is then interpreted as a control command to determine the missing instruction data.

[0040] Such a gap in a statement can be detected by the system's expectation that, based on the statement context, a control command or a specific value (statement data) for that context is necessarily present. Instead, neither a control command nor a corresponding specific value is detected. The system interprets this gap, where the relevant data would normally be present, as if the controller had entered a control command that would then determine or look up the corresponding statement data for the respective statement context.

[0041] In this embodiment, the pilot can thus save himself the specific control command for simply looking up or determining the data and simply leaves the corresponding part of his traffic guidance instruction blank, so that the system automatically inserts a corresponding control command for this or interprets the gap as a corresponding control command.

[0042] According to one embodiment, the speech recognition device is configured to determine an instruction context for each instruction part, the determination device is further configured to check the respective instruction parts for correctness depending on their respective instruction context and the data stored in the database in this regard, and, if incorrect instruction data is detected in the corresponding instruction part, to determine correct instruction data from the database, the instruction generator is configured to replace the respective incorrect instruction data in the entered traffic guidance instruction with the determined correct instruction data and thus generate a modified traffic guidance instruction.

[0043] In this embodiment, obvious errors made by the pilot due to inexperience or lack of routine when giving the traffic guidance instructions are detected, and the assistance system automatically corrects the erroneous instruction data. For each instruction segment, the instruction context is determined, and then an attempt is made to retrieve specific instruction data for each context. This is particularly easy to do with static data, such as air pressure or temperature from the database. The instruction data determined for the given context is then compared with the instruction data contained in the input traffic guidance instruction to identify any discrepancies. This error is then automatically corrected by inserting the retrieved instruction data.

[0044] The automatically corrected traffic guidance instruction can first be shown to the pilot again before being sent, so that he can recognize his error and intervene if necessary in the event of an incorrect correction.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the speech recognition device is configured to determine an instruction context for each instruction part, the determination device is further configured to determine one or more alternative instruction data from the database with respect to at least one instruction part, depending on the instruction context of the instruction part, and the instruction generator is configured to add the additional alternative instruction data to the corresponding instruction part of the entered traffic guidance instruction.

[0046] Particularly in connection with error detection, this embodiment further provides that, although correct instruction data has been identified for a part of the instruction, alternative instruction data can be determined from the database that is not contained in the entered traffic guidance instruction. This alternatively determined instruction data is then added to the correct instruction data in the respective part of the instruction, thus supplementing the corresponding part of the instruction with the alternative instruction data.

[0047] It is advantageous if such a supplemented traffic guidance instruction is presented to the controller again before the traffic guidance instruction is automatically sent, so that the controller knows which automatically added alternatives have been transmitted to the driver in question. This prevents the controller from being surprised by an unexpected traffic maneuver by the driver.

[0048] According to one embodiment, the instruction assistance system is provided to be connected or connectable to a display and is configured to show at least part of the changed traffic guidance instruction to the operator on the display.

[0049] As already discussed, this can increase or strengthen situational awareness, as the automatic generation of the traffic guidance instructions thus becomes visible and understandable for the pilot.

[0050] According to one embodiment, the instruction generator is configured to convert the modified traffic guidance instruction into an auditory output format and / or to make the changes directly in the auditorily entered traffic guidance instruction.

[0051] The problem is also solved according to the invention using the method according to claim 9. Advantageous embodiments of the method are described in the corresponding dependent claims.

[0052] According to claim 9, a method for guiding traffic from a road user within a traffic area is proposed by transmitting traffic guidance instructions from a traffic control center controlling the traffic area to the road user in question, wherein the method according to the invention comprises the following steps: Recording a traffic guidance instruction consisting of multiple instruction parts, which was manually entered by an operator using an input device of an instruction assistance system for the traffic guidance of the road user in question; recognizing at least one control command within the entered traffic guidance instruction and determining an instruction context of the corresponding instruction part from the entered traffic guidance instruction related to the respective control command using a speech recognition device of the instruction assistance system; determining instruction data depending on the respective recognized control command and the related instruction context from a database of the instruction assistance system, wherein the database contains data regarding a current, past and / or future predicted state of the traffic area to be controlled.Generating a modified traffic guidance instruction from the entered traffic guidance instruction by automatically replacing the recognized control commands with the corresponding instruction data using an instruction generator of the instruction assistance system, and transmitting the automatically modified traffic guidance instruction to the relevant vehicle via an electronic communication device of the instruction assistance system.

[0053] According to one embodiment, the entered traffic guidance instruction is recorded by a microphone unit of the input device as a traffic guidance instruction spoken by the operator.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the spoken traffic guidance instruction is first converted into a transcribed traffic guidance instruction using the speech recognition device.

[0055] According to one embodiment, it is provided that, by means of the speech recognition device, an instruction context is determined for each instruction part and, depending on the instruction context of the respective instruction part, at least one instruction gap is recognized in the entered traffic guidance instruction, at the place of which instruction data is expected in the respective instruction part, whereby this instruction gap is then interpreted as a control command to determine the missing instruction data.

[0056] According to one embodiment, it is provided that an instruction context is determined for each instruction part by means of the speech recognition device, wherein the respective instruction parts are further checked for correctness by means of the determination device depending on their respective instruction context and the data stored in the database in this regard, and if incorrect instruction data is detected in the corresponding instruction part, correct instruction data is determined from the database, wherein the respective incorrect instruction data in the entered traffic guidance instruction is replaced by the determined correct instruction data by means of the instruction generator, and thus a modified traffic guidance instruction is generated.

[0057] According to one embodiment, it is provided that an instruction context is determined for each instruction part by means of the speech recognition device, wherein, with regard to at least one instruction part, one or more alternative instruction data are further determined from the database depending on the instruction context of the instruction part with respect to the instruction data contained therein by means of the determination device, wherein the additional alternative instruction data are added to the entered traffic guidance instruction in the corresponding instruction part by means of the instruction generator.

[0058] According to one embodiment, it is provided that at least part of the modified traffic guidance instruction is displayed to the operator on a screen by means of the instruction assistance system.

[0059] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the modified traffic guidance instruction is converted into an auditory output format by means of the instruction generator and / or that the changes are made directly in the auditorily entered traffic guidance instruction by means of the instruction generator.

[0060] The invention is explained in more detail using the accompanying figure as an example. It shows: Figure 1 schematic structure of the instruction assistance system according to the invention.

[0061] Figure 1Figure 1 shows a highly simplified schematic representation of an airport site 100 where an aircraft 110 is to land on a runway 120. In a traffic control center 130, a controller 140 transmits appropriate traffic guidance instructions 150 via radio to the aircraft 110 so that the aircraft 110 receives corresponding instructions from its pilot on how the aircraft 110 should move within the traffic area.

[0062] To assist him, the pilot 140 has the instruction assistance system 10 according to the invention, which supports him accordingly in the creation of the traffic guidance instructions 150.

[0063] The assistance system 10 has an input device 12 which is connected to a microphone 14. The pilot 140 can input his traffic guidance instructions via the microphone 14 by speaking them into the microphone.

[0064] The input device 12 then forwards the audio stream to a speech recognition device 16, where, in the exemplary embodiment of the Figure 1 is transcribed, i.e., converted from an auditory version of the audio stream into a textual version.

[0065] The speech recognition device 16 is further equipped to differentiate the entered traffic guidance instruction into individual instruction parts and to determine an instruction context for each instruction part and, if necessary, to identify the previously defined voice commands.

[0066] This information, i.e., the individual instruction parts, the instruction text belonging to each instruction part, and a recognized voice command for an instruction part, is then forwarded to an investigation unit 18, which then determines corresponding instruction data from a database 20 for each recognized voice command and the related instruction context.

[0067] Database 20 does not necessarily have to be a static database. Rather, it can also be a support system that provides instruction data based on the current state of the traffic area. Database 20 can also provide a predicted future state of the traffic area as well as a record of its past state.

[0068] This information is then provided to an instruction generator 22, which replaces the respective voice commands in the entered traffic guidance instruction with the instruction data determined in the investigation unit 18 and generates a modified traffic guidance instruction. The completed and modified traffic guidance instruction is then provided to a communication unit 24, which then transmits the traffic guidance instruction 150 to the aircraft 110.

[0069] This procedure will be briefly explained below using some examples from aviation. The spoken instructions are in English, as is standard practice in aviation. Example 1: Looking up data

[0070] The pilot speaks the following command into microphone 14: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor descend three thousand feet QNH LOOKUP"

[0071] This standard command means that the aircraft with the call sign DLH7HV should descend to 3000 ft, where DLH stands for Lufthansa. This instruction also conveys information about the air pressure. QNH refers to the current pressure at the airport's altitude.

[0072] However, the pilot did not look up or search for the current air pressure, but instead used the instruction section "QNH". <wert>"Instead of the specific value, the control command "LOOKUP" was entered.

[0073] The following textual version is transcribed from the command spoken by the pilot: "DLH7HV DESCEND 3000 ft QNH <lookup>"

[0074] The speech recognition system now recognizes the control command "LOOKUP" in the instruction section concerning air pressure and therefore knows that static information is to be looked up. From the fact that the standardized Q-key QNH was previously used in the instruction section, the speech recognition system can also determine the instruction context, namely that it concerns information about air pressure.

[0075] Using the investigation device, the air pressure valid at the airport is now determined from a database with or without assistance systems; in this example, it is "1014".

[0076] The instruction generator now replaces the control command "LOOKUP" with the actually determined value for the air pressure "1014" and thus generates a modified traffic guidance instruction as follows: "DLH7HV DESCEND 3000 ft QNH 1014"

[0077] Using a speech generator, this textual version of the amended traffic guidance instruction is converted into an audio stream, which sounds like this: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor descend three thousand feet QNH 1014"

[0078] This auditory version of the amended traffic guidance instruction, generated by the speech generator, is then transmitted to aircraft 110 via VHF radio. Example 2: Error detection

[0079] The pilot speaks the following command into microphone 14: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor contact one one eight decimal three"

[0080] With this command, controller 140 intends to inform aircraft 110 that the tower frequency for communication with the tower is 118.300. However, the controller has made a mistake, and aircraft 110 is currently on approach to an airport where the tower frequency is 120.725.

[0081] The following textual version of the command spoken by the pilot is transcribed by the speech recognition system: "DLH7HV CONTACT 118.300"

[0082] This command has two parts: the identifier and the transmission of the tower frequency. The voice recognition system can deduce from the recognition of the word "contact" and the utterance of the call sign that the aircraft should receive the corresponding tower frequency. Therefore, after the standardized word "contact," the voice recognition system expects a corresponding frequency value. This value is recognized and stored.

[0083] The detection unit now determines the current tower frequency of the relevant airport based on the instruction context of the second instruction part. In this example, however, it is 120.725. By comparing the entered and recognized value for the tower frequency with the determined value, the detection unit identifies an error. This information is then transmitted to the instruction generator.

[0084] This now replaces the erroneous tower frequency with the tower frequency determined by the investigation unit and generates a revised traffic guidance instruction. This reads: "DLH7HV CONTACT 120.725"

[0085] Using the speech generator, this results in the following radio communication: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor contact one two zero decimal seven two five"

[0086] It is conceivable that the assistance system provides additional information besides the faulty tower frequency, namely which airport tower is actually involved. The radio transmission generated by the voice generator could then, for example, look like this: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor contact Munich Tower one two zero decimal seven two five" Example 3: Auto-insert

[0087] The pilot speaks the following command into microphone 14: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor taxi via GENERATE"

[0088] In this command, the aircraft with the registration DLH7HV had just landed on runway 120 and required instructions on which taxi route the aircraft should take to its parking position. This was done using the control command. <generate>The assistance systems are instructed to independently select a suitable taxi route.

[0089] The speech recognition system transcribes the following text: "DLH7HV TAXI VIA <generate>"

[0090] The voice command will then be included in this textual version of the traffic guidance instructions. <generate>It was recognized and, in connection with the instruction context "TAXI VIA", it was recognized that the assistance systems should determine and use a taxi route.

[0091] One such taxi route could be, for example, "AC". The instruction generator then replaces the voice command with this taxi route, resulting in the following version: "DLH7HV TAXI VIA AC"

[0092] Using a speech generator, this amended traffic guidance instruction is then transformed into the following radio communication: "Lufthansa seven hotel victor taxi via alfa and charlie"

[0093] Since the control command <generate>When used, this radio communication generated by the speech generator is sent directly to the aircraft.

[0094] However, if the control command is instead <suggest>If the option is selected in the sense of "suggest," a corresponding taxi route is also determined, but is first displayed to the pilot on a screen so that he can decide independently whether he wants to send such an instruction or not. Reference symbol list:

[0095] 10 Instruction assistance system 12 Input device 14 Microphone 16 Speech recognition device 18 Investigation device 20 Database 22 Instruction generator 24 Communication device 100 Airport / Traffic area 110 Aircraft / Vehicle 120 Runway 130 Traffic control center 140 Controller / Operator 150 Traffic guidance instruction< / suggest> < / generate> < / generate> < / generate> < / generate> < / lookup> < / wert>

Claims

1. Instruction assistance system (10) for guiding a road user within a traffic area (100) by transmitting traffic guidance instructions (150) from a traffic control center (130) controlling the traffic area (100) to the road user in question, comprising: - an input device (12) configured for entering a traffic guidance instruction (150) consisting of a plurality of instruction parts, wherein the traffic guidance instruction (150) was manually entered by an operator (140) for the purpose of guiding the road user in question, - a speech recognition device (16) configured for recognizing at least one control command within the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) and for determining an instruction context related to the respective control command of the corresponding instruction part from the entered traffic guidance instruction (150), - an investigation device (18),- a system configured to determine instruction data depending on the respective recognized control command and the related instruction context from a database (20) of the instruction assistance system (10), wherein the database (20) contains data relating to a current, past and / or future predicted state of the traffic area (100) to be controlled; - an instruction generator (22) configured to generate a modified traffic guidance instruction (150) from the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) by automatically replacing the recognized control commands with the instruction data determined for this purpose; and - an electronic communication device (24) configured to transmit the automatically modified traffic guidance instruction (150) to the vehicle (110) in question.

2. Instruction assistance system (10) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact thatthe input device (12) has a microphone unit which is set up to acoustically record the traffic guidance instruction (150) as an instruction spoken by the operator (140).

3. Instruction assistance system (10) according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that the speech recognition device (16) has a transcription unit which is equipped to convert the spoken traffic guidance instruction (150) into a transcribed traffic guidance instruction (150).

4. Instruction assistance system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe speech recognition device (16) is configured to determine an instruction context for each instruction part and to identify at least one instruction gap in the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) depending on the instruction context of the respective instruction part, in whose place instruction data is expected in the respective instruction part, whereby this instruction gap is then interpreted as a control command to determine the missing instruction data.

5. Instruction assistance system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe speech recognition device (16) is configured to determine an instruction context for each instruction part, the detection device (18) is further configured to check the respective instruction parts for correctness depending on their respective instruction context and the data stored in the database (20) in this regard, and, if incorrect instruction data is detected in the corresponding instruction part, to determine correct instruction data from the database (20), the instruction generator (22) is configured to replace the respective incorrect instruction data in the entered traffic control instruction (150) with the determined correct instruction data and thus generate a modified traffic control instruction (150).

6. Instruction assistance system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe speech recognition device (16) is configured to determine an instruction context for each instruction part, wherein the detection device (18) is further configured to determine one or more alternative instruction data from the database (20) with respect to at least one instruction part for the instruction data contained therein, depending on the instruction context of the instruction part, wherein the instruction generator (22) is configured to add the additional alternative instruction data to the corresponding instruction part of the entered traffic guidance instruction (150).

7. Instruction assistance system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the instruction assistance system (10) is connected or connectable to a display and is configured to show at least part of the changed traffic guidance instruction (150) to the operator (140) on the display.

8. Instruction assistance system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the instruction generator (22) is set up to convert the modified traffic guidance instruction (150) into an auditory output format and / or that the instruction generator (22) is set up to make the changes directly in the auditorily entered traffic guidance instruction.

9. A method for guiding traffic of a road user within a traffic area (100) by transmitting traffic guidance instructions (150) from a traffic control center (130) controlling the traffic area (100) to the road user concerned, wherein the method comprises the following steps: - Receiving a traffic guidance instruction (150) consisting of a plurality of instruction parts, which was manually entered by an operator (140) by means of an input device (12) of an instruction assistance system (10) for the purpose of guiding the road user concerned, - Recognizing at least one control command within the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) and determining an instruction context related to the respective control command of the corresponding instruction part from the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) by means of a speech recognition device (16) of the instruction assistance system (10),- Determining instruction data depending on the respective recognized control command and the related instruction context from a database (20) of the instruction assistance system (10), wherein the database (20) contains data relating to a current, past and / or future predicted state of the traffic area (100) to be controlled, - Generating a modified traffic guidance instruction (150) from the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) by automatically replacing the recognized control commands with the instruction data determined for this purpose by means of an instruction generator (22) of the instruction assistance system (10), and - Transmitting the automatically modified traffic guidance instruction (150) to the vehicle (110) in question by means of an electronic communication device (24) of the instruction assistance system (10).

10. Method according to claim 9, characterized by the fact thatThe entered traffic guidance instruction (150) is recorded by a microphone unit of the input device (12) as a traffic guidance instruction (150) spoken by the operator (140).

11. Method according to claim 10, characterized by the fact that the spoken traffic guidance instruction (150) is first converted into a transcribed traffic guidance instruction (150) using the speech recognition device (16).

12. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized by the fact that By means of the speech recognition device (16) an instruction context is determined for each instruction part and in the entered traffic guidance instruction (150) at least one instruction gap is recognized depending on the instruction context of the respective instruction part, in whose place instruction data is expected in the respective instruction part, whereby this instruction gap is then interpreted as a control command to determine the missing instruction data.

13. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized by the fact that By means of the speech recognition device (16) an instruction context is determined for each instruction part, whereby by means of the detection device (18) the respective instruction parts are further checked for correctness depending on their respective instruction context and the data stored in the database (20) in this regard and if incorrect instruction data is detected in the corresponding instruction part, correct instruction data is determined from the database (20), whereby by means of the instruction generator (22) the respective incorrect instruction data in the entered traffic control instruction (150) are replaced by the determined correct instruction data and thus a modified traffic control instruction (150) is generated.

14. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized by the fact thatBy means of the speech recognition device (16) an instruction context is determined for each instruction part, wherein by means of the determination device (18) one or more alternative instruction data are further determined from the database (20) with respect to at least one instruction part for the instruction data contained therein, depending on the instruction context of the instruction part, wherein by means of the instruction generator (22) the additional alternative instruction data are added to the corresponding instruction part of the entered traffic guidance instruction (150).

15. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized by the fact that by means of the instruction assistance system (10) at least part of the changed traffic guidance instruction (150) is displayed to the operator (140) on a display.

16. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized by the fact thatby means of the instruction generator (22) the amended traffic guidance instruction (150) is converted into an auditory output format and / or that the changes are made directly in the auditorily entered traffic guidance instruction (150) by means of the instruction generator (22).

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