Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] The ability to acquire information useful for the flight of an aircraft is desirable. [Solution] Output information that is useful for the flight of an aircraft can be outputted by an information processing device 100 comprising an aircraft information acquisition unit 141 that acquires status information regarding the status of the aircraft itself, a route acquisition unit 153 that acquires a route that the aircraft may follow, a relational information acquisition unit 151 that acquires relational information about a route on the basis of the status information, and an output unit 161 that outputs output information based on the relational information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that output information regarding a route along which an aircraft flies.

Background Art

[0002] In the operation of an aircraft, the route along which the aircraft flies is set based on relationships with other aircraft and restrictions such as laws and regulations.

[0003] Regarding such flight of an aircraft, for example, Patent Document 1 below describes flying with an altitude profile according to the performance envelope of the aircraft under the constraints of the legal flight level.

[0004] Further, Patent Document 2 below describes generating a plurality of flight routes that do not interfere with other airplanes in the local area near an airport, and enabling a pilot or the like to select a flight route in consideration of fuel efficiency, speed, and other operational considerations.

[0005] Further, Patent Document 3 below describes the configuration of a system that optimizes the flight parameters and fuel consumption of segments of a flight phase.

[0006] Note that Patent Documents 4 and 5 below describe outputting a weather forecast by using machine learning based on measurement data.

[0007] Note that Non-Patent Document 1 below describes an aircraft trajectory prediction technique that takes into account the interaction between aircraft using a long short-term memory neural network model.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

[0009] [Non-Patent Document 1] Xu, Z.; Zeng, W.; Chu, X.; Cao, P. Multi-Aircraft Trajectory Collaborative Prediction Based on Social Long Short-Term Memory Network. Aerospace 2021, 8, 115. https: / / doi.org / 10.3390 / aerospace8040115 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0010] In aircraft operation management, there is a need to obtain information useful for aircraft flight. For example, in order to realize a sustainable society, it is desirable to obtain information useful for flying aircraft more efficiently. Also, for example, aircraft are required to fly stably, and it is desirable to obtain information useful for that purpose.

[0011] The present invention aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program capable of outputting information useful for the flight of a target aircraft. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The first information processing device of this invention is an information processing device comprising: an aircraft information acquisition unit that acquires state information relating to the state of a target aircraft; a route acquisition unit that acquires possible routes that the target aircraft can take; a relationship information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information relating to the route based on the state information; and an output unit that outputs output information based on the relationship information.

[0013] This configuration allows for the output of information useful for aircraft flight.

[0014] Furthermore, in contrast to the first invention, the information processing device of this second invention is an information processing device in which the route acquisition unit acquires a route that the target aircraft can follow based on the route that the aircraft has flown in the past.

[0015] This configuration allows for the acquisition of a flight path that is realistic to fly based on past performance.

[0016] Furthermore, the information processing device of this third invention is an information processing device in which, with respect to the first or second invention, the relevant information acquisition unit acquires relevant information based on information regarding airspace facility usage fees for a route.

[0017] This configuration allows for the output of information that accurately reflects the costs required for flight.

[0018] Furthermore, the information processing device of the fourth invention is an information processing device in which, in relation to any of the first to third inventions, the related information acquisition unit acquires acquired information including the estimated result of the combustor outlet temperature of the target aircraft's engine by applying route-based input information to learning information corresponding to information about the properties of the target aircraft's airframe, and uses the acquired information and the engine operating time when flying the route to acquire related information including information about the maintenance costs of the target aircraft.

[0019] This configuration allows for the output of output information based on relational information that accurately reflects the costs required for flight.

[0020] In addition, for the information processing apparatus of the fifth invention, for any one of the first to fourth inventions, the route acquisition unit acquires two or more routes that the target aircraft can follow, and the relationship information acquisition unit determines whether each route satisfies a predetermined recommendation condition based on the respective values of two or more predetermined factors acquired for each route and designation information designating one or more of the two or more factors, and acquires relationship information including information indicating a route recommended for the target aircraft based on the determination result.

[0021] With such a configuration, output information regarding a route recommended according to the designated factor can be output.

[0022] In addition, for the information processing apparatus of the sixth invention, for any one of the first to fifth inventions, a route prediction unit that acquires position prediction information indicating the future positions of other aircraft different from the target aircraft in time series by applying input information to a neural network having a recursive structure is provided. The route prediction unit is configured to acquire position prediction information for each of two or more other aircraft by using a prediction model including a pooling layer having an attention mechanism for sharing the states in the neural network used for each of two or more other aircraft flying simultaneously, and the relationship information acquisition unit is configured to acquire relationship information by using the position prediction information.

[0023] With such a configuration, output information based on position prediction information of two or more other aircraft considering mutual dependence can be output.

[0024] In addition, for the information processing apparatus of the seventh invention, for the sixth invention, the relationship information acquisition unit is configured to acquire relationship information in a state where the target aircraft is flying, and the output information is information for displaying on a map both the positions of one or more other aircraft after the elapse of a first time and the positions after the elapse of a second time, and the positions of the target aircraft after the elapse of the first time and the positions after the elapse of the second time.

[0025] This configuration allows for the output of information that makes it easy to recognize the positional relationship between the target aircraft and other aircraft in the future.

[0026] Furthermore, the information processing device of the eighth invention, in relation to the sixth or seventh invention, is an information processing device in which, when the target aircraft is in flight, the relation information acquisition unit determines, based on position prediction information, that the future relationship between the target aircraft and other aircraft will satisfy relation conditions based on the history of issuing control instructions in air traffic control, and acquires information regarding changes in the target aircraft's route as relation information.

[0027] This configuration allows for the output of information regarding changes in flight status based on the relationship between the target aircraft and other aircraft.

[0028] Furthermore, the information processing device of the ninth invention is an information processing device that, in addition to any of the first to eight inventions, includes a congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information regarding the degree to which a destination is congested as a landing site for aircraft, based on information of aircraft heading toward the destination of the target aircraft, and an output unit that outputs output information based on the congestion information.

[0029] This configuration allows for the output of information regarding the degree of congestion at the target aircraft's destination as a landing spot.

[0030] Furthermore, the information processing device of the tenth invention, compared to the ninth invention, is an information processing device in which the output unit outputs output information corresponding to the timing of the target aircraft's arrival at its destination, based on congestion information and status information.

[0031] This configuration allows for the output of information corresponding to the timing of the target aircraft's arrival at its destination, such as information indicating the expected congestion at the destination.

[0032] Furthermore, the information processing device of the eleventh invention, in addition to the ninth or tenth invention, is equipped with an aircraft information acquisition unit that acquires information about other aircraft different from the target aircraft, and the congestion information acquisition unit acquires congestion information for a future destination based on aircraft information about other aircraft currently in flight.

[0033] This configuration allows for the output of information regarding future congestion at the destination.

[0034] Furthermore, the information processing device of the twelfth invention is an information processing device in which, with respect to any of the ninth to eleventh inventions, the output unit outputs information regarding changes in the flight status of the target aircraft as output information, based on congestion information and status information, while the target aircraft is in flight.

[0035] With this configuration, information regarding changes in flight status can be output based on destination congestion information and flight status.

[0036] Furthermore, the information processing device of the thirteenth invention is an information processing device that, in addition to any of the nineth to twelfth inventions, has output information that includes information for visually displaying the degree of congestion at a destination according to the time of arrival of the aircraft.

[0037] This configuration allows for the output of information that makes it easy to recognize the degree of congestion at a destination on a time-of-day basis.

[0038] Furthermore, the information processing device of the fourteenth invention is an information processing device that, in addition to any of the first to thirteen inventions, includes a meteorological information acquisition unit that acquires meteorological information including information on atmospheric conditions, a relational information acquisition unit that acquires relational information including prediction results of turbulence intensity in the region corresponding to the path based on the meteorological information, and the output information is information that associates the prediction results of turbulence intensity with the path.

[0039] This configuration allows for the output of output information regarding the predicted turbulence intensity in the region corresponding to the path.

[0040] Furthermore, the information processing device of the fifteenth invention is an information processing device in which the output information is information for displaying an image that illustrates the predicted turbulence intensity results superimposed on the path, compared to the fourteenth invention.

[0041] This configuration allows for the output of information that makes it easy to recognize the predicted turbulence intensity along the path.

[0042] Furthermore, the information processing device of the sixteenth invention is an information processing device that, in addition to any of the first to fifteen inventions, includes a meteorological information acquisition unit that acquires meteorological information including information on atmospheric conditions, and the related information acquisition unit acquires predictive information on the inertia at each point along the flight path of a target aircraft by applying input information including meteorological information acquired by the meteorological information acquisition unit and state information regarding the state of the target aircraft to learning information constructed by a machine learning method using two or more sets of learning input information including meteorological information and state information regarding the inertia of an aircraft acquired with respect to the flight of one aircraft and learning output information including inertial relationship information regarding the inertia of an aircraft measured at each point along the flight path of the aircraft, and acquires related information based on the predictive information.

[0043] This configuration allows for the output of predictive information regarding the inertia at each point along the target aircraft's flight path.

[0044] Furthermore, the information processing device of the seventeenth invention is an information processing device in which, compared to the sixteenth invention, the route acquisition unit acquires two or more routes that the target aircraft can take, and the relational information acquisition unit determines whether each route satisfies the recommendation conditions based on the prediction information acquired for each route, and acquires relational information including information indicating the route recommended for the target aircraft based on the determination result.

[0045] This configuration allows for the output of information indicating a recommended path based on predictive information regarding inertia. [Effects of the Invention]

[0046] According to the information processing device, information processing method, and program of the present invention, it is possible to output output information useful for aircraft flight. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0047] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic configuration of an operation support system using an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Block diagram of the information processing device in this embodiment [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates a specific example of acquiring fuel consumption information using the information processing device. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates a specific example of acquiring location prediction information using the information processing device. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates a specific example of acquiring atmospheric forecast information using the information processing device. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of output information produced by the information processing device. [Figure 7] A flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing device. [Figure 8] A flowchart illustrating an example of the process for acquiring related information processing devices. [Figure 9] This diagram illustrates a specific example of the operation of the relational information acquisition unit when the advanced setting is enabled in the information processing device. [Figure 10] A flowchart illustrating an example of using the advanced configuration support function in the information processing device. [Figure 11] This diagram illustrates a specific example of the operation of the information acquisition unit when setting a short-circuit path in the information processing device. [Figure 12] A flowchart illustrating an example of using the short-circuit path setting support function in the information processing device. [Figure 13] This figure shows an example of output information regarding short-circuit paths in the information processing device. [Figure 14] This figure shows an example of output information regarding short-circuit paths in the information processing device. [Figure 15]Figure 1 illustrates the results of using short-circuit paths in the information processing device. [Figure 16] Figure 2 illustrates the results of using short-circuit paths in the information processing device. [Figure 17] Figure 1 shows an example of output information regarding turbulence intensity in the information processing device. [Figure 18] Figure 2 shows an example of output information regarding turbulence intensity in the same information processing device. [Figure 19] This figure shows an example of a user interface for selecting a recommended route that can be provided by the information processing device. [Figure 20] This figure shows an example of a traffic flow visualization screen that can be provided by the information processing device. [Figure 21] This figure shows an example of output information based on congestion information that can be provided by the information processing device. [Figure 22] Block diagram of an information processing device according to one modified example of this embodiment. [Figure 23] Overview of the computer system in the above embodiment [Figure 24] Block diagram of the computer system [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0048] The following describes embodiments of the information processing device and the like with reference to the drawings. Note that components denoted by the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform similar operations, and therefore, further explanation may be omitted.

[0049] The terms used below are generally defined as follows. However, the meanings of these terms should not always be interpreted in the manner shown here; for example, if they are explained individually below, those explanations should also be taken into consideration when interpreting them.

[0050] An identifier is a character or code that uniquely identifies a particular item. An identifier is, for example, an ID, but it can be any type of information that can identify the corresponding item. In other words, an identifier may be the name of the thing it represents, or it may be a combination of codes that uniquely corresponds to it.

[0051] An aircraft's route refers to, for example, an air route, but it can also be understood as the process by which an aircraft flies. Information regarding the route may include information that identifies the points the aircraft should pass through and the air route, as well as information indicating the aircraft's speed and attitude. Here, a point may be a location that is absolutely or relatively identified by information such as latitude and longitude, or a location that is identified by a predetermined waypoint. Information indicating points and air routes may or may not include altitude information. A route may also include concepts related to the time at which a point is expected to be passed and the speed at which it will pass through.

[0052] Regarding aircraft, positional information refers to a point identified by, for example, latitude and longitude coordinates and altitude. It may also refer to information identified solely by coordinates. Furthermore, it may refer to information identifying a defined area or airspace. It may also refer to information indicating the relative position to a specific point.

[0053] In the case of aircraft, inertial relationship information can be said to be information related to stability. Inertial relationship information includes, for example, motion information related to the aircraft's shaking (motion), as well as other information related to ascent and descent, acceleration and deceleration, and changes in attitude around each axis.

[0054] Motion information may include, for example, acceleration information relating to vertical acceleration, but is not limited to this. Motion information may also include information relating to angular velocity, or information that includes information relating to angular velocity. Acceleration information may include, but is not limited to, the waveform of acceleration, i.e., the time series value of acceleration. Acceleration information and angular velocity information may also include instantaneous values ​​of acceleration, maximum values ​​over a predetermined period, etc. Various values ​​expressed for a predetermined three-dimensional coordinate system may be included. Furthermore, motion information may also include scores relating to inertia, i.e., scores relating to stability, etc. Scores relating to inertia may include, for example, the magnitude and frequency of aircraft body sway, but are not limited to this.

[0055] Acquisition may include acquiring information entered by a user, etc., or it may include acquiring information stored in the device itself or another device (this may be information that is stored in advance or information that is generated by information processing performed on the device). Acquiring information stored in another device may include acquiring information stored in another device via an API, etc., or it may include acquiring the contents of a document file (including the contents of a web page, etc.) provided by another device. Furthermore, it may also include acquiring information in a different format based on the original information, such as acquiring information by performing optical character recognition on an image file.

[0056] Furthermore, machine learning techniques may be used to acquire information. The use of machine learning techniques can be, for example, as follows: A learner (training information) is constructed using machine learning techniques, which takes a specific type of input information as input and outputs the desired type of output information as output. For example, two or more pairs of input and output information are prepared in advance, these two or more pairs of information are provided to a module for constructing a machine learning learner to construct the learner, and the constructed learner is stored in a storage unit. Note that the learner can also be called a classifier. The machine learning technique can be any, such as deep learning, random forest, or SVM. Furthermore, various machine learning frameworks such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, and PyTorch, as well as various existing libraries, can be used for machine learning. Acquiring information using such a learner is sometimes referred to as acquisition by machine learning.

[0057] Furthermore, the learner is not limited to those obtained through machine learning. The learner may be, for example, a table that shows the correspondence between input vectors based on input information and output information. In this case, the output information corresponding to the feature vectors based on the input information may be obtained from the table, or a vector approximating the feature vectors based on the input information may be generated using two or more input vectors in the table and parameters that weight each input vector, and the final output information may be obtained using the output information and parameters corresponding to each input vector used in the generation. Obtaining information using such a learner is sometimes called acquisition using correspondence relationships. The learner may also be, for example, a function that represents the relationship between input vectors based on input information and information for generating output information. In this case, for example, information corresponding to the feature vectors based on the input information may be obtained using a function, and the output information may be obtained using the obtained information. Obtaining information using such a learner is sometimes called acquisition using functions.

[0058] In the following explanation, the output information of such a learning device may be referred to as acquired information.

[0059] Outputting information is a concept that includes displaying it on a screen, projecting it using a projector, printing it with a printer, outputting sound, transmitting it to an external device, storing it on a recording medium, and transferring processing results to other processing devices or other programs. Specifically, it includes, for example, making information available on a web page, sending it via email, and outputting information for printing.

[0060] The concept of receiving information includes receiving information input from input devices such as keyboards, mice, and touch panels; receiving information transmitted from other devices via wired or wireless communication lines; and receiving information read from recording media such as optical discs, magnetic discs, and semiconductor memory.

[0061] Regarding various types of information stored in information processing devices, the term "update" encompasses not only changes to the stored information, but also the addition of new information to the stored information, and the deletion of some or all of the stored information.

[0062] (Embodiment)

[0063] In this embodiment, the information processing device acquires the possible routes that the target aircraft can take, then acquires information about the target aircraft's route based on the aircraft's status information, and outputs output information based on the route information. It may also acquire weather information and use that information to acquire route information. The possible routes that the target aircraft can take may be acquired based on past aircraft routes. The following describes an aircraft operation support system using the information processing device configured in this way.

[0064] Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an operation support system 1 using an information processing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] As shown in Figure 1, the flight support system 1 includes an information processing device 100 and an output destination terminal 700. In this embodiment, the flight support system 1 is used together with internal and external information servers 910, 920, and 930. The flight support system 1 is broadly configured to output information about the target aircraft 810 from the information processing device 100 to a predetermined output destination terminal 700, etc. The pilot of the target aircraft 810 and the dispatcher can use the output information about the target aircraft 810 to operate the aircraft, such as flying it.

[0066] In this embodiment, the flight support system 1 may be used by an organization such as an airline that operates one or more aircraft. The flight support system 1 may also be used jointly by multiple organizations.

[0067] The flight support system 1 relates to the target aircraft 810, as well as other aircraft 820 and 830 that are different from the target aircraft 810. The target aircraft 810 is the aircraft that is the target of various information acquisition processes performed by the information processing device 100, as described later. Other aircraft different from the target aircraft include related aircraft 820 and other aircraft 830 that are different from related aircraft 820. Related aircraft 820 are, for example, aircraft related to the organization that operates the flight support system 1. Related aircraft 820 can also be said to be aircraft that can be operated efficiently by using the flight support system 1. Specifically, for example, when the flight support system 1 is used for one airline, related aircraft 820 may include, for example, aircraft used in the operation of that airline, similar to the target aircraft 810. Here, "airline" may mean a single company organization, or it may mean an airline group that includes multiple company organizations. Furthermore, an airline may include companies that have partnership relationships with the companies included in it. In other words, the related aircraft 820 may include other aircraft of the same company that operates the target aircraft 810, aircraft of other companies that make up the same group, or aircraft of companies with which the company has a partnership.

[0068] In the flight support system 1, the information processing device 100 can communicate with devices such as the output terminal 700 and the information server 910 within the organization via a network such as a LAN. The network is not limited to this and may also be the Internet or other communication networks. Furthermore, the information processing device 100 can communicate with information servers 920, 930, etc., outside the organization via the Internet, for example. The network is not limited to this and may also be other communication networks. The connection configuration and communication method between the information processing device 100 and the output terminal 700, and between the information processing device 100 and the information servers 910, 920, 930, etc., are not limited to these. The information processing device 100 may also be an electronic computer or the like installed on an aircraft.

[0069] In this embodiment, the output destination terminal 700 is a device that can be the destination for output information from the information processing device 100. In this embodiment, for example, an electronic flight bag (EFB) used in the operation of the target aircraft 810 can be the output destination terminal 700. Also in this embodiment, for example, a device such as an operation management terminal used by an operations manager, etc., when operating the target aircraft 810 can be the output destination terminal 700. Note that a different device may be used as the output destination terminal 700. Furthermore, if there is a computer installed in the target aircraft 810 that can communicate with the information processing device 100 via a network, the target aircraft 810 itself can also be considered as the output destination terminal 700. Note that the output destination terminal 700 may not be used, and the output information may be configured to be output directly to a device connected to and used by the information processing device 100.

[0070] Furthermore, various devices can be used as the computer for the output terminal 700, such as a personal computer, a mobile information terminal device such as a smartphone, or a tablet-type information terminal device. In the following examples, it may be assumed that the computer used for the output terminal 700 is a personal computer with a keyboard and display (not shown), but it is not limited to this.

[0071] The information server 910 is, for example, a server device that stores information related to the aircraft management system. The information server 910 is used, for example, to manage information for one or more aircraft used within an organization that uses the flight support system 1. For example, the information server 910 may store information such as the maintenance history, aircraft information, and flight history of each aircraft. Each piece of information is stored associated with the identifier of the corresponding aircraft, but is not limited to this. The information server 910 is configured to transmit the stored information to the information processing device 100 when a predetermined query or access is made from the information processing device 100.

[0072] The information server 920 is, for example, a server device that stores information related to a data supply platform for weather information. In this embodiment, the information server 920 stores atmospheric measurement information regarding atmospheric conditions measured on an aircraft in flight. The atmospheric measurement information is stored in association with information such as position (coordinates such as latitude and longitude), altitude, and time of measurement. The atmospheric measurement information includes, for example, one or more measured values ​​from wind speed, wind direction, static temperature, total temperature, and static pressure. Other information may also be included in the atmospheric measurement information.

[0073] The information server 920 stores atmospheric measurement information measured by, for example, the related aircraft 820. When the target aircraft 810 takes flight, the information server 920 also stores atmospheric measurement information measured by the target aircraft 810. The information server 920 stores atmospheric measurement information measured by other aircraft 830. The timing of the storage of atmospheric measurement information is not specified. In this embodiment, atmospheric measurement information is configured to be transmitted from the aircraft immediately after measurement and stored in the information server 920. Atmospheric measurement information is, for example, information measured by the avionics installed on each aircraft. The atmospheric measurement information stored in this way can represent the upper-air wind distribution with high accuracy in real time. The information server 920 may also perform anonymization of the information when storing atmospheric measurement information, that is, to prevent the inclusion of information that directly indicates which aircraft measured the data. The information server 920 is configured to transmit the stored atmospheric measurement information to the information processing device 100 when a predetermined query or access is made from another device such as the information processing device 100. Among atmospheric measurement information, information measured by other aircraft 820 and 830 is called other-aircraft measurement information. Other-aircraft measurement information can be described as other-aircraft acquired information, which is information related to the flight of the aircraft 820 and 830 that was acquired by the other aircraft 820 and 830 during their flight.

[0074] The information server 930 is configured to transmit the information it stores to the information processing device 100 when a predetermined query or access is made from the information processing device 100.

[0075] One of the information servers 930 stores, for example, information indicating past or present traffic flow (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "traffic flow"). Traffic flow can also be described as, for example, a history of the position information of an aircraft group. Specifically, for example, the information server 930 stores information such as the longitude, latitude, and altitude of each aircraft, associated with the date and time and an identifier that can identify the aircraft. By accumulating information about each aircraft in operation, the information server 930 can provide information about an aircraft group present in a predetermined airspace. Such an information server 930 may be configured to store information on the current and past flight status output from each aircraft based on standards such as ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Monitoring). The information server 930 may also store, for example, the position of each aircraft, associated with information on the operating status of actuators used in the aircraft's flight, and information on turbulence and acceleration obtained from avionics, etc. In other words, the information server 930 can be said to store status information regarding the past or present state of each aircraft. Among this status information for each aircraft, in particular, other aircraft status information related to the flight of the aircraft in question, acquired by other aircraft 820, 830 during flight, can be referred to as other-aircraft acquired information.

[0076] Furthermore, one of the information servers 930 stores atmospheric forecast information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as meteorological forecast information) published by public institutions or other organizations. The information server 930 stores meteorological forecast information, including atmospheric data such as pressure, temperature, wind speed, and turbulence intensity, associated with information such as time, latitude, longitude, and altitude. It is possible to use weather forecasts from the Japan Meteorological Agency, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and other organizations that provide weather forecasting services as data sources.

[0077] Furthermore, one of the information servers 930 may include, for example, airspace restriction information. Airspace restriction information is, for example, information about airspace in which aircraft can fly, and may include information indicating airspace in which flight is permitted, information indicating airspace in which flight is prohibited, and information identifying restrictions on flight. In this embodiment, the airspace restriction information is stored in association with identifiers that identify standard instrument departure procedures (SIDs) and standard arrival routes (STARs) at each airport, such as information about altitude restrictions and final approach fixes (FAFs) at each airport.

[0078] Furthermore, one of the information servers 930 may include, for example, information regarding airspace facility usage fees (which may also be called transit fees). Information regarding airspace facility usage fees may include, for example, information regarding various types of transit fees in the airspace. Hereinafter, information regarding airspace facility usage fees may be referred to as transit fee information. Such transit fees are charges collected from aircraft flying in designated airspace. Transit fee information may include information for identifying airspace and information regarding the calculation method of transit fees. Based on transit fee information, it is possible to calculate the transit fees to be imposed on aircraft. Transit fees are collected, for example, as compensation for the costs required for the development, maintenance, and operation of facilities that assist aircraft navigation, but the reasons for collection are not limited to this, and they may be collected for other purposes. Transit fees may also be called, for example, navigation aid facility usage fees, airspace transit fees, or airspace transit fees. It should be noted that information regarding airspace facility usage fees may be considered to be included in airspace restriction information.

[0079] Furthermore, various devices can be used as electronic computers for information servers 910, 920, and 930, including personal computers and server devices, as well as mobile information terminal devices such as smartphones and tablet-type information terminal devices. Each of the information servers 910, 920, and 930 may consist of a single device, multiple devices operating in cooperation with each other, or an electronic computer built into other devices. For example, at least part of the roles of information servers 910, 920, and 930 may be performed by the information processing device 100. The roles of two or more of the information servers 910, 920, and 930 may be performed by a single device or a group of devices. The information stored in each of the information servers 910, 920, and 930 may be temporarily or continuously stored by other information servers 910, 920, and 930 or other devices and then made available for transmission to aircraft, etc. In other words, the information stored in each of the information servers 910, 920, and 930 may be transmitted to an aircraft or the like via other devices among the information servers 910, 920, and 930 or other devices. The servers may be so-called cloud servers, ASP servers, etc., and the type is not limited.

[0080] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the information processing device 1 in this embodiment.

[0081] The information processing device 100 comprises a storage unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a reception unit 130, a processing unit 140, and a transmission unit 170. The information processing device 100 is, for example, a server device.

[0082] The storage unit 110 includes a learning information storage unit 111, an aircraft information storage unit 115, and a weather information storage unit 117.

[0083] The learning information storage unit 111 stores learning information. This learning information may also be called a learner, classifier, or trained model. In this embodiment, the learning information is obtained, for example, by machine learning performed by the learning information acquisition unit 159, as described later. In this embodiment, the learning information used includes meteorological learning information for acquiring weather information and path learning information for predicting paths. The types of learning information are not limited to these. Details of the learning information and its use will be described later.

[0084] The aircraft information storage unit 115 stores information about the target aircraft 810 and other aircraft 820 and 830. Information about each aircraft is stored, for example, associated with an identifier that can identify the aircraft. The aircraft information may include, for example, information about the airframe of the target aircraft 810. The aircraft information may also include status information and information obtained from other aircraft. That is, it may include information about the flight history of the target aircraft 810 and other aircraft 820 and 830.

[0085] The weather information storage unit 117 stores information related to the weather. For example, the weather information storage unit 117 stores weather forecast information obtained from the information server 930 and weather information obtained by the weather information acquisition unit 145, which will be described later. The weather information storage unit 117 also stores past weather information that has been measured and observed in the past. In this embodiment, the weather information is stored in association with, for example, each area and each altitude. In the weather information storage unit 117, it is possible to identify weather information corresponding to a point or area that can be specified using latitude and longitude, for example.

[0086] The receiving unit 120 receives information transmitted from other devices. The receiving unit 120 stores the received information, for example, in the storage unit 110.

[0087] The reception unit 130 receives various input operations performed by the user to the information processing device 100. The reception unit 130 receives information, for example, that is entered using input means (not shown) connected to the information processing device 100, and information entered through input operations (including information read by the device) performed using a reading device (not shown) (e.g., a code reader) connected to the information processing device 100. The reception unit 130 may also receive information related to input operations, etc., transmitted via other devices connected via a network or the like. The received information is stored, for example, in the storage unit 110.

[0088] The processing unit 140 includes a self-aircraft information acquisition unit 141, a non-aircraft information acquisition unit 143, a weather information acquisition unit 145, a congestion information acquisition unit 146, an airspace information acquisition unit 147, a related information acquisition unit 151, a result information acquisition unit 157, a learning information acquisition unit 159, and an output unit 161. The processing unit 140 performs various processes, such as the processes performed by each part of the processing unit 140 as described below.

[0089] The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 acquires status information regarding the status of the target aircraft 810. The status of the target aircraft 810 is a concept that may include information such as the position of the target aircraft 810, as well as, for example, the nature of the equipment, operational history, fuel consumption (including predicted values), and flight plans (such as how the flight is planned). The status may be the status before the flight, the status during the flight, or the status after the flight. The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 stores the acquired status information in the aircraft information storage unit 115.

[0090] More specifically, in this embodiment, the aircraft information acquisition unit 141 is configured to acquire status information using scheduled information relating to the flight plan of the target aircraft 810, equipment characteristic information indicating the characteristics of the equipment of the target aircraft 810, and operation history information relating to the operation history of the target aircraft 810. The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 may also be configured to acquire status information using at least one of these pieces of information. Note that acquiring status information using scheduled information, equipment characteristic information, and operation history information is a concept that includes not only acquiring status information by performing calculations etc. using the information, but also acquiring each of the pieces of information used as status information as is.

[0091] Here, the scheduled information may be, for example, information that shows the contents of the flight plan itself, or information obtained from the flight plan. The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 can acquire scheduled information using, for example, information input to the output terminal 700 or information registered in the information server 910.

[0092] Equipment characteristic information refers to information that can identify, for example, the aircraft type or engine model. The self-equipment information acquisition unit 141 is configured to acquire equipment identification information using, for example, information registered in the information server 910.

[0093] Operational history information refers to information such as maintenance history and flight history. The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 is configured to acquire aircraft identification information using information registered in the information server 910, for example.

[0094] The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 may acquire scheduled information based on input operations received by the reception unit 130. The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 may also acquire information regarding the flight status of the target aircraft 810. For example, it may be configured to acquire information regarding the current and past flight status output from the target aircraft 810 based on standards such as ADS-B as status information. In this case, information regarding past flight status may be treated as operational history information.

[0095] In this embodiment, the self-aircraft information acquisition unit 141 is configured to acquire motion information related to the inertia of the target aircraft 810 as state information, which is acquired by an inertial measuring device (not shown) or the like installed on the target aircraft 810. The motion information can also be said to be information related to the flight state of the target aircraft 810. The motion information is, for example, time-series information showing the change in vertical acceleration, but is not limited to this. The motion information may be instantaneous values ​​of the acceleration of the target aircraft 810 at a predetermined timing, or maximum values ​​of the acceleration over a predetermined period. Furthermore, the motion information may be a score related to the magnitude of the sway of the target aircraft 810, or information classifying the magnitude of the sway into a predetermined rank. The motion information may also be a score indicating the quality of the sway (for example, the degree to which passengers feel uncomfortable). The motion information may also be information related to the angular velocity of the target aircraft 810. In this embodiment, the self-aircraft information acquisition unit 141 acquires motion information corresponding to location information based on location information corresponding to terminal information. Corresponding to location information can also be said to correspond to the path of the target aircraft 810. In other words, the aircraft information acquisition unit 141 acquires motion information at points along the flight path of the target aircraft 810. The relationship between the flight path of the target aircraft 810 and its motion information may be clear based on the correspondence between the flight path and time of the target aircraft 810 and the time-series motion information. Here, the position may be a position indicated by latitude or longitude, a position relating to altitude, or a position relating to both.

[0096] In this embodiment, the aircraft information acquisition unit 141 includes a consumption information acquisition unit 142 that acquires fuel consumption information relating to the fuel consumption rate. The fuel consumption information is information indicating the fuel consumption rate when the target aircraft 810 flies under predetermined conditions in predetermined weather conditions. The consumption information acquisition unit 142 stores the acquired fuel consumption information in the aircraft information storage unit 115, associating it with an identifier that identifies the target aircraft 810.

[0097] In this embodiment, the consumption information acquisition unit 142 acquires fuel consumption information using the consumption learning information stored in the learning information storage unit 111. The acquisition of fuel consumption information by the consumption information acquisition unit 142 can be achieved, for example, by acquisition using machine learning, acquisition using correspondence relationships, or acquisition using functions. Here, flight-related information, weather information, and equipment characteristic information can be used as input information. The acquired information (output information) is fuel consumption information. It should also be possible to output information that allows for the acquisition of fuel consumption information by performing calculations or making judgments based on other criteria using the acquired information.

[0098] In this embodiment, it is preferable that the consumption information acquisition unit 142 is configured to acquire fuel consumption information while considering the weight changes of the aircraft during flight. This makes it possible to calculate and evaluate the energy costs associated with ascent and descent during cruising with high accuracy.

[0099] Figure 3 illustrates a specific example of how fuel consumption information is acquired by the information processing device 100.

[0100] Figure 3 shows specific examples of input information and acquired information used in acquiring fuel consumption information by the consumption information acquisition unit 142 described above. By using the input information, which includes each attribute value, and the consumption learning information, the consumption information acquisition unit 142 can output the attribute values ​​of the acquired information.

[0101] As shown in the diagram, for example, attribute values ​​such as mode (climbing, flying, descending, etc.), aircraft weight, aircraft center of gravity position, flight speed, flight Mach number, climb / descent speed, bank angle, latitude, longitude, altitude, lift assist device (flap) angle, pitch angle, flight acceleration, and jerk are used as flight-related information. In addition, attribute values ​​such as wind direction, wind speed, static pressure, static temperature, total temperature, and square root of inlet silence are used as meteorological information. Furthermore, attribute values ​​such as aircraft type, specifications, introduction date, and engine type may be used as equipment characteristic information. The acquired fuel consumption information includes, for example, attribute values ​​such as fuel consumption rate.

[0102] Returning to Figure 2, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 includes a route prediction unit 144. The other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires other aircraft information concerning other aircraft 820, 830 that are different from the target aircraft 810. The other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 stores the acquired other aircraft information in the aircraft information storage unit 115. In this embodiment, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires other aircraft information in a predetermined airspace related to the self-aircraft information acquired by the self-aircraft information acquisition unit 141, for example, but is not limited to this. The predetermined airspace related to the self-aircraft information is the airspace related to the route of the target aircraft 810, for example, the airspace near the route of the target aircraft 810 on the flight plan, but is not limited to this.

[0103] The other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires other aircraft information, for example, regarding the positions of other aircraft 820 and 830. Other aircraft information regarding position refers to information such as the longitude, latitude, and altitude of other aircraft 820 and 830 at a given time. The other aircraft information regarding position may not include altitude information. Other aircraft information regarding past or present positions can be acquired, for example, based on information stored in the information server 930.

[0104] In this embodiment, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires other aircraft information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as position prediction information) regarding the positions of one or more other aircraft 820 and 830 after a predetermined time has elapsed, based on information (position information) regarding the respective positions of one or more other aircraft 820 and 830. That is, the other aircraft information may include information regarding the positions of one or more other aircraft 820 and 830 after a predetermined time has elapsed. In other words, the other aircraft information can be said to be information regarding future traffic flow including one or more other aircraft 820 and 830.

[0105] In this embodiment, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires position prediction information using the route prediction unit 144. The route prediction unit 144 acquires position prediction information using, for example, route learning information stored in the learning information storage unit 111. The acquisition of position prediction information by the route prediction unit 144 can be achieved, for example, by acquisition using machine learning as described above, acquisition using correspondence relationships, or acquisition using functions. Here, the input information can include the history of position information of the group of other aircraft 820,830 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the aircraft group), flight information of the aircraft group, information near the destination airport, aircraft information of the aircraft group, and weather information. The weather information can include, but is not limited to, past weather information and weather information regarding future weather. Furthermore, the acquired information can be configured so that a time-series group of position information of the aircraft group is output as position prediction information. That is, for example, the time, latitude, and longitude information for each aircraft can be output. The acquired information may also include altitude information. Furthermore, the acquired information can be configured so that information that allows for the acquisition of position information, etc., by performing calculations or judgments based on other criteria, etc., is output.

[0106] Figure 4 illustrates a specific example of acquiring location prediction information in the information processing device 100.

[0107] Figure 4 shows specific examples of input information and acquired information used for acquiring location prediction information using the route prediction unit 144 described above. By using the input information, which includes each attribute value, and the route learning information, the route prediction unit 144 can output each attribute value of the acquired information.

[0108] As shown in Figure 4, for example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, latitude, longitude, and altitude are used as the location history of an aircraft group. Such location history can be provided for each aircraft as JSON format data, for example, "{aircraft_id: [[2021-10-08 12:34:56, 35.12345, 136.12345], [...], ...], ...}". Here, "aircraft_id" is the aircraft identifier. Note that the data format is not limited to this and can be set as appropriate. In addition, attribute values ​​such as call sign, operating airline, departure and arrival locations, departure and arrival times, planned arrival location, and planned arrival time may be used as flight information for the aircraft group. Furthermore, attribute values ​​such as runway used, airport airspace entrance waypoint, and the number and distance of aircraft approaching the airport airspace waypoint may be used as information near the destination airport. In addition, attribute values ​​such as aircraft name, aircraft type, and aircraft characteristics may be used as aircraft information for the aircraft group. Furthermore, weather information may include attribute values ​​such as date and time, wind, temperature, pressure, weather, and turbulence intensity.

[0109] The acquired information, specifically the group of aircraft's positions after a certain period, includes, for example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, latitude, and longitude. The group of positions may also include altitude. The group of positions may also be referred to as traffic flow. The group of positions is position prediction information that includes the position information corresponding to each of the other related aircraft 820 and 830.

[0110] Here, it is preferable to use learning information obtained using a recursive neural network that utilizes machine learning techniques as the path learning information. In this embodiment, preferably, the path prediction unit 144 is configured to obtain position prediction information that shows the future positions of other aircraft 820 and 830, which are different from the target aircraft 810, in a time series by applying the input information to a recursive neural network.

[0111] In this embodiment, it is preferable that the path prediction unit 144 is configured to acquire position prediction information for each of the two or more other aircraft 820, 830, using path learning information, which is a prediction model including a pooling layer for sharing the state within the neural network used for each of the two or more other aircraft 820, 830 that are flying at the same time. This can be achieved, for example, as shown in Non-Patent Document 1 mentioned above. This makes it possible to obtain position prediction information that reflects the situation in which the two or more other aircraft 820, 830 that are flying at the same time are influencing each other.

[0112] Furthermore, in such path learning information, it is preferable to use a pooling layer with an attention mechanism to model the interactions between other aircraft 820 and 830. This makes it possible to obtain highly accurate position prediction information that effectively reflects the learning results of past interactions between multiple aircraft.

[0113] Specifically, it is preferable to use path learning information that, for example, models two or more other aircraft 820, 830 flying at the same time using an LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) structure, and shares the hidden states of the LSTM networks using a pooling layer with a multi-head attention mechanism, thereby obtaining an output that takes into account the spatiotemporal characteristics of the aircraft. This makes it possible to obtain position prediction information that takes into account the interactions between aircraft.

[0114] Furthermore, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 can obtain aircraft group position prediction information by, for example, outputting acquired information using route learning information for each aircraft targeted for position prediction information acquisition by the route prediction unit 144, and aggregating the obtained acquired information. Aircraft routes can be changed according to various factors, as shown in the input information described above. Also, route selection tendencies may differ depending on the aircraft type, airline, flight, route, congestion, deviation from the scheduled time, etc. By obtaining position prediction information based on this input information, more accurate position prediction information can be obtained.

[0115] The other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires other aircraft information related to the flight of the aircraft in question, which is acquired by other aircraft 820 and 830 during their flight. Such other aircraft information can be acquired from, for example, the information server 920 or the information server 930, but is not limited to this. For example, it may be configured to be acquired by receiving information output from other aircraft 820, 830, etc. More specifically, in this embodiment, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires atmospheric measurement information (other aircraft measurement information) regarding the state of the atmosphere measured by other aircraft 820 and 830 as other aircraft information. That is, other aircraft information includes other aircraft measurement information measured by other aircraft 820 and 830. The other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 acquires the other aircraft measurement information stored in the information server 920 and stores it in the weather information storage unit 117. It may also be considered that the other aircraft information does not include other aircraft measurement information, and the weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires the other aircraft measurement information as weather information. Furthermore, the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 may be configured to acquire and store other aircraft status information, including, for example, information regarding the operating status of actuators and other devices used in the flight of other aircraft 820, 830 in a predetermined location or airspace, and information regarding vibrations, accelerations, etc., obtained by avionics, etc., as other aircraft information.

[0116] Returning to Figure 2, the weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires weather information, including information about atmospheric conditions. The weather information acquisition unit 145 stores the acquired weather information in the weather information storage unit 117. In this embodiment, the weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires altitude-specific weather information in the airspace related to the flight path of the target aircraft 810. The airspace being flown in may also be called the airspace targeted for route evaluation. The airspace related to the flight path of the target aircraft 810 is, for example, the airspace near the flight path of the target aircraft 810 on the flight plan acquired by the aircraft information acquisition unit 141, but is not limited to this. The weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires weather forecast information from the information server 930, for example, and stores the acquired information as weather information. The weather information acquisition unit 145 also acquires past weather information, for example, and stores the acquired information as weather information.

[0117] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires atmospheric forecast information regarding future atmospheric conditions as weather information. The weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires atmospheric forecast information based, for example, on forecast information of atmospheric conditions related to the airspace in which the target aircraft 810 is flying, acquired from the information server 930, and on other aircraft measurement information related to the airspace stored in the weather information storage unit 117. In this case, the weather information acquisition unit 145 can acquire weather information based on forecast information of atmospheric conditions related to the airspace and other aircraft acquisition information related to the airspace.

[0118] Furthermore, the weather information acquisition unit 145 may acquire weather information using other aircraft status information pertaining to the airspace in question, either in place of or in addition to other aircraft measurement information pertaining to the airspace in question. Specifically, for example, atmospheric forecast information, such as whether or not the airflow is unstable, may be acquired using other aircraft status information, such as whether or not there is turbulence or the operating status of actuators, etc. For example, a forecast result regarding turbulence intensity can be acquired as atmospheric forecast information, such as whether or not the airflow is unstable. In this case, considering that the influence of airflow on turbulence and the operating status of actuators, etc., differs for each aircraft type, atmospheric forecast information may be acquired using other aircraft status information per aircraft type or per aircraft size group. More specifically, for example, flight record data called QAR data may be used as training data, and atmospheric forecast information may be acquired by processing it for each aircraft type or per aircraft size group.

[0119] The weather information acquisition unit 145 acquires atmospheric forecast information, for example, using weather learning information stored in the learning information storage unit 111. The acquisition of atmospheric forecast information by the weather information acquisition unit 145 can be achieved, for example, by acquisition using machine learning, acquisition using correspondence relationships, or acquisition using functions as described above. Here, weather forecast information and other aircraft measurement information measured by preceding aircraft can be used as input information. The acquired information is atmospheric forecast information. It is also possible to output information that can be used to perform calculations or judgments based on other criteria, etc., to acquire atmospheric forecast information.

[0120] Figure 5 illustrates a specific example of how atmospheric forecast information is acquired by the information processing device 100.

[0121] Figure 5 shows specific examples of input information and acquired information used for acquiring atmospheric forecast information. By using input information including each attribute value and path learning information, the weather information acquisition unit 145 can output each attribute value of the acquired information.

[0122] As shown in Figure 5, for example, attribute values ​​such as time, latitude and longitude, pressure, temperature, wind speed, and turbulence intensity are used as weather forecast information. In addition, attribute values ​​such as wind speed, wind direction, static temperature, total temperature, static pressure, latitude, longitude, altitude, and time may be used as information measured by other instruments. The acquired atmospheric forecast information includes, for example, attribute values ​​such as wind speed, wind direction, static temperature, total temperature, static pressure, latitude, longitude, altitude, time, and turbulence intensity.

[0123] Returning to Figure 2, the congestion information acquisition unit 146 acquires congestion information regarding the degree to which the destination is congested as an aircraft landing site, based on information about aircraft heading to the destination of the target aircraft 810. The congestion information acquisition unit 146 stores the acquired congestion information in the storage unit 110. The congestion information may be stored, for example, for each destination or time period, associated with identifiers that identify them. However, it is not limited to this, and in addition to each destination, congestion information may also be stored by season, day, or day of the week.

[0124] Congestion information can be obtained, for example, based on information about aircraft that have arrived at the destination in the past. For example, information about the number of aircraft that have arrived per unit time in the past (past performance information) can be obtained for each destination airport. The congestion information acquisition unit 146 can, for example, use statistically processed information obtained from the past performance information to acquire the number of aircraft arriving per unit time for each time period as congestion information. Congestion information is not limited to this, and may also be information that indicates the degree of congestion at the destination under predetermined conditions (e.g., time, weather, date and time) based on the history of location information of aircraft that have arrived in the past.

[0125] Furthermore, congestion information may be obtained, for example, by predicting the degree of congestion based on other aircraft 820 and 830 currently in flight. That is, the congestion information acquisition unit 146 may acquire future congestion information for the destination based on other aircraft information regarding other aircraft 820 and 830 currently in flight. For example, an indicator showing the degree of congestion (e.g., the number of arrivals per hour, the number of vectoring occurrences, etc., but not limited to these) is used as output information, and the location information, time of day, weather information, etc., of aircraft groups that have arrived in the past are used as input information to construct learning information regarding congestion information. Then, by applying the other aircraft information obtained about other aircraft 820 and 830 currently in flight to the learning information, congestion information regarding the indicator showing the degree of congestion can be obtained. The construction and use of the learning information can be done by machine learning, acquisition by correspondence tables, acquisition by functions, etc. Congestion information may be predicted using, for example, weather conditions, season, day of the week, time of day, operational information such as the location information and speed of each aircraft heading to the airport, the originally planned flight schedule, airspace restriction information, etc.

[0126] To obtain congestion information, information on aircraft departing from the destination may also be used. Alternatively, the frequency of aircraft approaching or departing from the destination runway or surrounding runways may be calculated using ADS-B information, and congestion information may be obtained based on this.

[0127] The airspace information acquisition unit 147 acquires airspace information, including information about airspace in which an aircraft can fly. The airspace information acquisition unit 147 stores the acquired airspace information in the storage unit 110. For example, the airspace information acquisition unit 147 acquires airspace information for airspace related to the flight path of the target aircraft 810. It can also be said that the airspace information acquisition unit 147 acquires airspace information for airspace such as the vicinity of the flight path of the target aircraft 810 on the flight plan.

[0128] The airspace information acquisition unit 147 may acquire such airspace information from an information server 930 that includes airspace restriction information. Alternatively, it may acquire airspace information based on information acquired from the information server 930. The airspace information may include transit fee information.

[0129] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the airspace information acquisition unit 147 may acquire airspace information indicating airspace in which an aircraft's course can be changed. That is, airspace information can be said to include, for example, information defining flight-restricted airspace where flight is restricted and course-changeable airspace where the course can be changed. Such airspace information may be acquired, for example, based on information provided by the information server 930 or information entered by a user and received in advance by the reception unit 130. The airspace information acquisition unit 147 may also acquire information regarding flyable airspace that has been entered in advance by a user such as a pilot or flight operations manager as airspace information. Furthermore, the airspace information acquisition unit 147 may acquire information regarding flyable airspace as airspace information based on past information from other aircraft, i.e., the history of the position information of a group of aircraft. For example, the history of the position information of a group of aircraft may be statistically processed and information regarding airspace that is determined to be flyable may be acquired.

[0130] The relational information acquisition unit 151 includes a route acquisition unit 153 and a route evaluation unit 155. The relational information acquisition unit 151 acquires relational information regarding the route of the target aircraft 810 based on status information. The relational information acquisition unit 151 may also be configured to acquire relational information using other information. In this embodiment, the relational information acquisition unit 151 is configured to acquire relational information based on other aircraft information and weather information in addition to status information. The relational information acquisition unit 151 may also be configured to acquire relational information based on status information and other aircraft information, or based on status information and weather information. As other aircraft information, for example, position prediction information of other aircraft 820, 830 can be used, but is not limited to this.

[0131] In this embodiment, the relational information refers to information about the path that the target aircraft 810 should follow. The relational information can also be said to be information about the trajectory. The relational information may include, for example, information about heading, altitude, and speed. That is, the relational information acquisition unit 151 is configured to acquire, for example, recommended path information as relational information, which is recommended that the target aircraft 810 should take, regarding the direction of travel (heading), altitude, and speed. The recommended path information can also be said to be information that indicates a recommended path for the target aircraft 810. The relational information may also be information that indicates points, areas, airspace, etc., that the target aircraft 810 should not pass through during its operation. Furthermore, the path information may not include, for example, information about heading, altitude, or speed. That is, the relational information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to acquire recommended path information regarding heading, altitude, or speed as path information.

[0132] In this embodiment, the related information acquisition unit 151 acquires related information for routes that satisfy predetermined recommendation conditions. That is, the related information acquisition unit 151 acquires related information, including recommended route information, based on whether each route satisfies predetermined recommendation conditions. In this embodiment, the recommendation conditions include conditions relating to costs related to the target aircraft 810. More specifically, the recommendation conditions are, for example, conditions set to be related to achieving a goal that includes cost reduction for the target aircraft 810. Here, costs related to the target aircraft 810 refer to the costs required for the maintenance or operation of the target aircraft 810. Costs can mean monetary costs, human costs, time costs, or risk costs. Costs may include, for example, costs related to the fuel consumption of the target aircraft 810 or costs related to tolls such as airspace facility usage fees incurred in connection with the flight of the target aircraft 810. That is, the cost conditions may include conditions related to fuel consumption or conditions related to tolls. Depending on the recommended conditions set, it becomes possible to obtain information based on recommended route information for routes that are considered flyable within an acceptable cost, for example.

[0133] Furthermore, the recommended conditions may relate to aspects other than those mentioned above, or may include conditions relating to aspects other than those mentioned above. For example, the recommended conditions may be set to relate to achieving objectives that include aspects such as reducing flight time and improving safety. The recommended conditions may be set to relate to achieving objectives in two or more of these aspects.

[0134] Furthermore, for example, as described later, a recommended condition may be set that the score obtained for a route that leads to the achievement of the goal is higher than or relatively high than a predetermined value. In other words, the recommended condition may include a condition related to the score. Note that the score may be obtained so that the score is lower the more the route leads to the achievement of the goal, in which case a recommended condition may be set that the score is lower than or relatively low than a predetermined value. Furthermore, for example, a recommended condition may be set that the route consumes less fuel than the comparison route, has lower maintenance costs, has lower tolls, has a shorter flight time, or is safer. In other words, a recommended condition may be set that the route is relatively closer to achieving the goal than other routes.

[0135] Furthermore, the recommended conditions are not limited to those that lead to cost reductions for the target aircraft 810. For example, the recommended conditions may be set so that the related aircraft 820 can achieve the above-mentioned objectives by flying a route that satisfies the conditions for the target aircraft 810. For example, the recommended conditions may include at least one cost-related condition for one or more specified related aircraft 820 that are different from the target aircraft. The costs related to the related aircraft 820 refer to the costs required for maintenance or operation of the related aircraft 820. This allows organizations using the flight support system 1, including the target aircraft 810 and related aircraft 820, to obtain information on more efficient routes that will lead to the overall achievement of the objectives. Furthermore, the value of the cost-related indicator may be used as a score, and conditions related to the score may be set as cost-related conditions. For example, if the score corresponds to the magnitude of the costs that are expected to be incurred when following that route, the recommended condition may include that the score be lower than or relatively low than a predetermined value.

[0136] The relational information acquisition unit 151 acquires candidate routes for recommended routes (which may also be called "candidates" or "route candidates") from the route acquisition unit 153, for example, as described later. The relational information acquisition unit 151 then acquires recommended route information for routes that meet the recommendation criteria from among the acquired routes. In this embodiment, the route acquisition unit 153 acquires two or more routes, and the relational information acquisition unit 151 acquires one or more recommended route information from those routes. Alternatively, the route acquisition unit 153 may be configured to acquire one route, and the relational information acquisition unit 151 may acquire that route as recommended route information if it determines that the route meets the recommendation criteria.

[0137] In this embodiment, the relational information acquisition unit 151 obtains a score corresponding to each of two or more routes of the target aircraft 810 from the route evaluation unit 155. Then, based on the acquired scores, it obtains information about one or more routes. For example, the relational information acquisition unit 151 obtains the route that has the highest score (an example of a recommendation condition) as recommended route information.

[0138] The relational information acquisition unit 151 is configured to acquire relational information while the target aircraft 810 is in flight. In this embodiment, the relational information acquisition unit 151 acquires relational information whenever predetermined acquisition conditions are met. The predetermined acquisition conditions can be set in various ways, such as being at a predetermined stage in the pre-flight process, a predetermined time being reached, a predetermined time elapsed since the last acquisition during flight, flying a predetermined distance, or reaching a predetermined position and altitude. For example, if the acquisition conditions are set to be met relatively frequently, the relational information acquisition unit 151 can be said to acquire relational information in real time. The acquisition conditions may also be that a predetermined request has been received from the pilot or other users. Alternatively, for example, predetermined information may be received from other aircraft 820, 830 that are different from the target aircraft 810. For example, information indicating proximity to the target aircraft 810 or information indicating the presence of airspace with high turbulence intensity may be transmitted from other aircraft 820, 830 and received. When these acquisition conditions are met, the system may be configured such that, for example, the route acquisition unit 153 acquires the route and the relationship information acquisition unit 151 acquires the relationship information.

[0139] The route acquisition unit 153 may also be called the candidate information acquisition unit. The route acquisition unit 153 acquires possible routes that the target aircraft 810 can take based on the status information acquired by the aircraft information acquisition unit 141. In this embodiment, when acquiring a route, the route acquisition unit 153 acquires the route based on the status information and other aircraft information. Specifically, the route acquisition unit 153 acquires the route based on routes that the aircraft has flown in the past. For example, the route acquisition unit 153 acquires the route based on information regarding the flight history of the target aircraft 810 and other aircraft 820, 830, which is acquired by the information processing device 100 and stored in the aircraft information storage unit 115.

[0140] Acquiring a route based on past aircraft flight paths can be done as follows: If there are past aircraft that have flown a route similar to the general route that the target aircraft 810 intends to take within a predetermined airspace, the route acquisition unit 153 identifies waypoints and points on the route taken by those past aircraft as possible transit points. Then, it acquires routes that can follow these possible transit points using a predetermined algorithm, as described later. Here, waypoints and routes (airways) are not limited to those that are officially defined and used. They may also be information indicating points that are more precisely and virtually defined by the route acquisition unit 153, etc.

[0141] Furthermore, the route acquisition unit 153 may extract possible transit points based on the routes of past aircraft with the same departure and destination. In addition, based on information on whether past aircraft applied to air traffic control (ATC) for changes in heading or altitude and received approval, transit points on the modified route may be treated differently from points on routes flown without such application. Treating them differently means, for example, lowering the priority of selecting them as transit points or designating them as transit points under certain circumstances.

[0142] Furthermore, the route acquisition unit 153 may also use weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 145. In addition, the route acquisition unit 153 may be configured to acquire a route using airspace information acquired by the airspace information acquisition unit 147. In other words, the related information acquisition unit 151 can be said to acquire recommended route information for the target aircraft 810 using airspace information.

[0143] Furthermore, the recommended conditions include that the route must be within flyable airspace, and the relevant information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to determine whether the route acquired by the route acquisition unit 153 satisfies the recommended conditions using airspace information.

[0144] In this embodiment, the route acquisition unit 153 is configured to acquire a route using a known algorithm such as Dijkstra's algorithm. In this case, the route acquisition unit 153 may acquire candidates according to predetermined rules using status information, other aircraft information, and weather information. For example, the route acquisition unit 153 may acquire a route based on status information such as a flight plan, or status information indicating the current position and altitude. Alternatively, the route acquisition unit 153 may acquire a route from among the routes that can be acquired based on the status information that is determined not to interfere with other aircraft 820, 830 based on other aircraft information, and that is determined to be relatively easy to fly based on weather forecast information.

[0145] However, the route acquisition unit 153 is not limited to this, and may be configured to acquire candidate routes for recommended route information using, for example, candidate learning information stored in the learning information storage unit 111. In other words, route acquisition by the route acquisition unit 153 can be achieved, for example, by acquisition using machine learning, acquisition using correspondence relationships, or acquisition using functions. Here, status information, other aircraft information, weather information, and airspace information can be used as input information. The acquired information is information related to routes. The route acquisition unit 153 can acquire acquired information as candidates using this input information. Specific examples will be described later. Furthermore, the acquired information may be configured so that information related to routes can be obtained by performing calculations or making judgments based on other criteria.

[0146] Furthermore, the route acquisition unit 153 may acquire a route using, for example, congestion information or toll information.

[0147] The route evaluation unit 155 acquires a score based on status information, other device information, and weather information. In this embodiment, the route evaluation unit 155 is configured to acquire a score using, for example, the learning information stored in the learning information storage unit 111. That is, the relationship information acquisition unit 151 is configured to acquire relationship information using the acquired information obtained by applying route-based input information to the learning information.

[0148] The route evaluation unit 155 can acquire candidates for example by machine learning, using correspondence relationships, or using functions. Here, the input information can include, for example, route-based information, status information, other aircraft information, and weather information. The acquired information is a score. The route evaluation unit 155 can use this input information to acquire a score as acquired information. Alternatively, the acquired information can be used to perform calculations or other methods to obtain information for which a score can be acquired. Airspace information may be included in the input information. Furthermore, congestion information and toll information may also be included in the input information, and it can be said that the route evaluation unit 155 acquires a score based on the congestion information and toll information.

[0149] Furthermore, it is preferable that the learning information used by the route evaluation unit 155 corresponds to information regarding the characteristics of the target aircraft 810. Information regarding the characteristics of the aircraft includes, but is not limited to, the individual aircraft, aircraft type, engine type, weight class, or size group. For example, if learning information has been created in advance for each of these characteristics of the aircraft, the route evaluation unit 155 can output acquisition information with higher accuracy by using the learning information corresponding to the information regarding the characteristics of the target aircraft 810.

[0150] The route evaluation unit 155 may calculate and obtain a score for each candidate flight based on the generated evaluation rules, using status information, other aircraft information, weather information, congestion information, and toll information. It is not necessary to use any of this information. The evaluation rules may include, for example, evaluation conditions such as whether an indicator related to atmospheric conditions passes over a predetermined point, speed, comparison results with the flight plan, and distance to other aircraft 820, 830. For example, for each evaluation condition, if the condition is met, a first predetermined score may be reflected in the score, and if not, a second predetermined score may be reflected in the score, and the score can be obtained by aggregating these. In the aggregation, the score may be calculated using a predetermined formula, such as by adding or multiplying in a predetermined method.

[0151] The route evaluation unit 155 may, for example, acquire a score (value for a factor) for each factor related to the evaluation of whether a route is recommended. Factors that can be used include, for example, those relating to the time required to fly the route, the amount of fuel consumed when flying the route, the maintenance costs required for flying each route, the tolls incurred when flying each route, and the magnitude of turbulence that may occur when flying each route. The system may then determine whether the recommendation conditions are met based on the score for each factor. In other words, the recommendation conditions may include conditions relating to two or more factors.

[0152] When acquiring relational information using scores for each factor in this manner, the relational information acquisition unit 151 may acquire relational information based on recommended conditions in accordance with instructions from users (those using the flight support system 1), such as pilots or flight managers. For example, the relational information acquisition unit 151 may determine whether the recommended conditions are met based on the values ​​(scores, etc.) of two or more predetermined factors and the specified information that designates one or more of these two or more factors. For example, relational information may be acquired using the recommended conditions specified by the user from among two or more recommended conditions, each with different criteria for the score of each factor. In other words, the relational information acquisition unit 151, for example, determines whether the recommended conditions for one or more factors specified by the specified information are met, based on the values ​​of those factors acquired for the route. The specified information can be said to be a priority instruction that selects the factor to be given priority consideration in route recommendation from among two or more factors. For example, if a factor related to fuel consumption is specified, it is determined whether the recommended conditions related to fuel consumption are met. For example, for a route, it is determined whether the fuel consumption is below a predetermined value, and recommended route information is acquired according to the determination result.

[0153] The specified information can be received and acquired by the receiving unit 130. For example, in this embodiment, the receiving unit 130 receives the specified information while a graphical user interface used to receive specified information from the user is output to the user. That is, the receiving unit 130 receives an operation performed by the user to specify one or more factors from two or more factors using the graphical user interface output to the user, and acquires the specified information. The graphical user interface may be output to the display of the information processing device 100, or it may be sent to an output destination terminal 700 used by the user and output by the output destination terminal 700. The graphical user interface is configured to allow the user to input specified information by, for example, selecting a factor from two or more factors using a drop-down list, but is not limited to this. By using such a user interface, the user can easily input specified information.

[0154] In this embodiment, the relational information acquisition unit 151 is configured to acquire two or more possible routes that the target aircraft can take, and to acquire relational information, including recommended route information, based on whether each route satisfies the recommended conditions. The relational information acquisition unit 151 can be configured to determine whether each route satisfies the recommended conditions based on the values ​​of two or more predetermined factors acquired for each route, and the specified information that specifies one or more of the two or more factors. For example, if a factor related to fuel consumption is specified as described above, and the corresponding recommended condition is that the fuel consumption is less than the others, then information about the route with the lowest fuel consumption among the two or more routes is acquired as recommended route information. Also, for example, if a factor related to the magnitude of motion is specified, and the corresponding recommended condition is that the magnitude of motion that may occur is smaller than the others, then information about the route that can be said to have the smallest magnitude of motion that may occur among the two or more routes is acquired as recommended route information. The recommended conditions to be used can be set by the user, so for example, the recommended conditions can be set according to each situation, such as when prioritizing shorter flight time, when prioritizing less turbulence, or when prioritizing lower fuel consumption. Therefore, recommended route information tailored to the status of the target aircraft 810 can be easily obtained.

[0155] Furthermore, determining whether a route meets the recommended conditions based on the specified information is a concept that may include not only prioritizing the scores of each factor in order of their corresponding information to determine whether the conditions are met, but also calculating the score of each factor with weights corresponding to the specified information. For example, weights may be assigned to each score when aggregating the scores for each factor based on the specified information. In other words, the recommended conditions may be constant, while the score calculated for the route changes according to the specified information. Even in such a case, recommended route information tailored to the status of the target aircraft 810 can be easily obtained.

[0156] The related information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to acquire related information including information regarding the maintenance costs of the target aircraft 810. In this case, for example, the related information acquisition unit 151 acquires an estimated result of the combustor outlet temperature (Tt4) of the target aircraft 810's engine by applying route-based input information to learning information corresponding to information regarding the properties of the target aircraft 810's airframe. Then, the related information acquisition unit 151 acquires related information including information regarding the maintenance costs of the target aircraft 810 using the acquired information and the engine operating time when flying the route. For example, by multiplying the combustor outlet temperature (Kelvin) by the engine operating time (seconds), information regarding the amount of engine usage in the engine maintenance cycle, i.e., information regarding the time until maintenance timing arrives, can be obtained. Based on the related information obtained in this way, recommended route information that can keep maintenance costs low can be acquired with high accuracy. That is, the route that minimizes the value obtained by multiplying the engine's combustor outlet temperature by the engine operating time is recommended in terms of keeping maintenance costs low.

[0157] Specifically, information regarding maintenance costs can be obtained, for example, as follows. That is, as input information for the learning information used to estimate the combustor outlet temperature, information such as ambient static temperature, ambient total temperature, compressor pressure to fan pressure ratio, flight Mach number, fuel flow rate, and maximum fuel flow rate can be used. Here, the fuel flow rate can be estimated using separate learning information or calculations. The pressure ratio information can be estimated by predicting it using separate learning information, with the engine's low-pressure shaft rotation speed (%) as an intermediate parameter. Alternatively, the total inlet pressure and sound velocity information calculated and estimated based on such parameters can be used. Furthermore, the combustor outlet temperature can be evaluated by multiplying it by a certain index.

[0158] Furthermore, the term "relevant information" is not limited to information including recommended route information. Relevant information may also include, for example, scores obtained regarding the route, i.e., scores obtained by the route evaluation unit 155.

[0159] Furthermore, the relevant information may include congestion information for the destination itself, or atmospheric forecast information for the airspace related to the route.

[0160] Furthermore, the relevant information may also include information indicating whether or not there are problems with the flight path that the aircraft intends to fly, as shown in the flight plan, etc. Problems may include, for example, passing through airspace with high turbulence intensity along the path, or the existence of a more cost-effective route. In other words, the relevant information may also include information that includes the predicted turbulence intensity in the area corresponding to the path. The relevant information acquisition unit 151 can, for example, acquire the predicted turbulence intensity in the area corresponding to the flight path of the target aircraft 810 as relevant information, based on meteorological information that includes the predicted turbulence intensity over a relatively wide area.

[0161] Furthermore, the relevant information may include, for example, information about the surrounding environment of the flight path. That is, it may indicate the positions of other aircraft 820, 830 that will be in close proximity along the flight path indicated by the flight plan, etc., based on position prediction information.

[0162] Furthermore, the relevant information may also include information indicating the speed, attitude, etc., necessary for more efficient flight along the route to be flown, as shown in the flight plan, etc.

[0163] Furthermore, related information may include information about two or more recommended routes. By presenting information about two or more routes as options, users can choose the more preferable route.

[0164] Furthermore, the relevant information may also be information relating to changes in the flight path of the target aircraft 810. The relevant information may also be information indicating that the flight path to be flown in the future, as shown in the flight plan, may need to be changed in the future. For example, when certain conditions are met under which a flight path change is expected, information indicating that fact may be acquired as relevant information.

[0165] The specified conditions include, for example, cases where the future route will pass through airspace with high turbulence intensity, potentially requiring a change, but are not limited to these.

[0166] The predetermined conditions may include, for example, cases where it is determined that there is a possibility of interference with the paths of other aircraft 820, 830, or other predetermined relationship conditions concerning the future relationship between the target aircraft 810 and other aircraft 820, 830. In other words, while the target aircraft 810 is in flight, the relationship information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to acquire information regarding changes to the target aircraft 810's path as relationship information if it determines, based on position prediction information, that the future relationship between the target aircraft 810 and other aircraft 820, 830 will satisfy predetermined relationship conditions. Information regarding changes to the path may also be called information regarding changes in flight status. Information regarding changes to the path may include the possibility of needing to change the path, recommended path information regarding a recommended path after the change, or information suggesting a method for changing the path. Examples of methods for changing the path include, but are not limited to, the need for acceleration or deceleration, the need for altitude adjustment, or instructions for appropriate descent points.

[0167] Here, the relational conditions are preferably based on the history of issuing control instructions in air traffic control. In this embodiment, the relational conditions are preferably related to the similarity between the future relationship between the target aircraft 810 and other aircraft 820 and 830, and the relationship between the aircraft and the positions of other aircraft 820 and 830 nearby in situations in the past when the aircraft received control instructions from air traffic control. Whether or not such predetermined relational conditions are met can be determined, for example, by using learning information configured with learning input information such as information on the positional relationship between one aircraft and other aircraft nearby in a specific past situation, and information on the flight status of each of those aircraft, and learning output information such as whether or not the aircraft received control instructions from air traffic control. In this case, if information indicating that the aircraft will receive control instructions is obtained using the learning information, it is sufficient to determine that the relational conditions are met. The configuration and use of the learning information can be done by machine learning, acquisition by correspondence tables, acquisition by functions, etc. In this way, by obtaining information on changes in the route of the target aircraft 810 as relational information, it is possible to output information on changes in the flight status based on the history of the aircraft receiving instructions from air traffic control. If aircraft 810 is likely to receive air traffic control instructions in relation to other aircraft 820 and 830, it can take preventative measures such as changing its route to a recommended path. Therefore, it becomes possible to fly aircraft 810 more efficiently.

[0168] When output information based on recommended route information is output, the result information acquisition unit 157 acquires information regarding the operational results of the target aircraft 810 based on the output information. For example, if the goal is to reduce fuel consumption, the result information acquisition unit 157 acquires the fuel consumption measured by the target aircraft 810's instruments, etc., as the operational results of the target aircraft 810 based on the output information. The result information acquisition unit 157 stores the acquired operational results in the storage unit 110, associating them with an identifier that identifies the target aircraft 810 or an identifier that can identify the flight.

[0169] Furthermore, the related information acquisition unit 151 may compare the information acquired by the result information acquisition unit 157 with various types of information predicted based on the recommended route information. The result information acquisition unit 157 may also be configured to perform a correction process using the comparison results when acquiring new recommended route information, for example, when evaluating candidates, and then acquire the recommended route information based on those results. For example, if the goal is to reduce fuel consumption as described above, and fuel consumption is predicted based on the recommended route information, the method for predicting fuel consumption based on the recommended route information may be changed based on the comparison result between the predicted fuel consumption and the fuel consumption acquired as an operational result. In such a case, the related information acquisition unit 151 can be said to acquire information regarding the route of the target aircraft 810 using the information acquired by the result information acquisition unit 157. This makes it possible to acquire information regarding the route of the target aircraft 810 more accurately.

[0170] The learning information acquisition unit 159 generates learning information using machine learning techniques. The use of machine learning techniques can be as described above. The learning information acquisition unit 159 stores the constructed learning information in the learning information storage unit 111. The learning information may be prepared for each scenario in which information is acquired using the learning information, such as for each aircraft, or for each aircraft type, engine type, weight class, size group, flight route, season, related region, landing airport, or takeoff airport. In this case, the learning information acquisition unit 159 should generate learning information for each scenario using a set of input information and acquired information (output information) for learning in that scenario.

[0171] Furthermore, the learning information acquisition unit 159 may regenerate the learning information using the results obtained by the information processing device 100 when the results obtained using the information acquired using the learning information are newly acquired. For example, when output information based on recommended route information acquired using the learning information is output, and information regarding the flight results of the target aircraft 810 based on the output information is acquired, the learning information acquisition unit 159 may regenerate the learning information using the flight results. The related information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to acquire new recommended route information using the learning information generated in this way using the flight results. In this case, it can be said that the related information acquisition unit 151 acquires the recommended route information of the target aircraft 810 using the flight results acquired by the result information acquisition unit 157.

[0172] The output unit 161 outputs information by transmitting it to other devices using the transmission unit 170, etc., or by displaying the information on a display device provided on the information processing device 100, for example. The output unit 161 may or may not be considered to include output devices such as displays and speakers. The output unit 161 may be implemented by driver software for an output device, or by driver software for an output device and an output device, etc.

[0173] In this embodiment, the output unit 161 outputs output information to an output destination terminal 700 used by a ground user or an output destination terminal 700 which is an electronic flight bag used by the pilot of the target aircraft 810. A ground user is, for example, a ground operations manager, a pilot before departure, or an airline representative, but is not limited to these. This makes it possible for pilots or ground users to check the output information using the output destination terminal 700 and utilize it in their operations.

[0174] The output unit 161 includes an output information acquisition unit 163. The output unit 161 is capable of outputting output information based on the information acquired by the relational information acquisition unit 151. The output unit 161 is also capable of outputting output information based on motion information. The output information is acquired by the output information acquisition unit 163. The output information may be information related to the recommended route, i.e., the relational information itself, or the information acquired by the relational information acquisition unit 151 itself. Alternatively, the output information may be information constructed by the output information acquisition unit 163 using the relational information, etc. The output information may be output by the relational information acquisition unit 151 passing the output information to other processing performed by the processing unit 140, etc.

[0175] The output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire flight setting information used for instrument flight of the target aircraft 810 as output information, based on the recommended route information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 151. Flight setting information is, for example, information that the pilot uses to perform operations such as inputting data to the target aircraft 810 for flight. However, it is not limited to this, and if the target aircraft 810 is capable of receiving information transmitted from the information processing device 100, flight setting information that is transmitted to the target aircraft 810 and reflected in the flight may be acquired as output information. The output unit 161 outputs the acquired flight setting information. However, the output information is not limited to this. The output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire output information in a different format using route information. Also, the output unit 161 may acquire route information and output it as output information as is. Also, the output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire output information using evaluation information based on a score acquired by the route evaluation unit 155 corresponding to the route information. For example, the output information may be structured so that information such as images showing the score and its corresponding rank are displayed together with information showing the route.

[0176] The output information acquisition unit 163 may be configured to acquire output information for displaying the future positions of other aircraft 820 and 830 on a map, along with the future route of the target aircraft 810, when position prediction information of other aircraft 820 and 830 acquired by the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143 is acquired as related information. For example, this may be information about the surrounding environment of the route. In this case, it is preferable that the positions of other aircraft 820 and 830 that are relatively close to the target aircraft 810 are shown based on the position prediction information. That is, the output information can be said to be information for displaying on a map the positions of one or more other aircraft 820 and 830 after a first time period and after a second time period, along with the positions of the target aircraft 810 after a first time period and after a second time period. By configuring in this way, it becomes possible to easily grasp the prediction results of the future positions of other aircraft 820 and 830, and the positional relationship between the other aircraft 820 and 830 and the target aircraft 810. The position prediction information may include information indicating the range in which other aircraft 820 and 830 may be located at a predetermined time. In this case, the positions of the other aircraft 820 and 830 at a predetermined time may be shown on the map with a width, such as a so-called forecast circle. By configuring it in this way, the possibility of the other aircraft 820 and 830 approaching the target aircraft 810 can be reduced more reliably.

[0177] The output unit 161 outputs output information based on the information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 151 whenever a predetermined output condition is met during the flight of the target aircraft 810. Here, the output condition may be that new route information is acquired by the related information acquisition unit 151. The related information acquisition unit 151 can output output information in real time during the flight of the target aircraft 810 based on the acquired route information.

[0178] Note that the output conditions may differ from those described above. For example, when route information is acquired and output information is output, the output condition may be that it is detected that the target aircraft 810 is flying a route different from the route corresponding to the output information. By re-outputting the output information when the aircraft deviates from the route, the pilot can be prompted to change the route. Alternatively, the output condition may be that a request for output information from the output destination terminal 700 has been received. Note that the output unit 161 may be configured to acquire information so that output information is output in predetermined cases, regardless of whether the output conditions are met or not.

[0179] In this embodiment, the output unit 161 may be configured to output output information based on congestion information when congestion information is acquired as related information. More specifically, for example, the output unit 161 outputs output information corresponding to the timing of the target aircraft 810's arrival at its destination, based on the congestion information and the status information of the target aircraft 810. The output information may be, for example, congestion information which is a prediction of the congestion level at the destination during the time period including the timing of arrival at the destination, and the time periods before and after that. By outputting such congestion information, it becomes possible to fly to the destination based on the prediction of the congestion level at the time of arrival at the destination. In this case, information regarding changes in the flight status of the target aircraft 810 may be used as output information. For example, suppose that if the aircraft continues flying at the current pace, the destination will be congested upon arrival, and it will be necessary to wait for a suitable landing time. In such a case, the congestion information may be configured to output information that allows the aircraft to slow down or take a slightly detour route so that it arrives near the destination at a time when congestion is predicted to occur.

[0180] Furthermore, although not limited to the above, when congestion information is acquired, the output information acquisition unit 163 may be configured to acquire output information that includes information for visually displaying the degree of congestion at a particular destination. Such information preferably indicates the degree of congestion for each time of day when aircraft arrive. By displaying such output information, users such as pilots and administrators can more easily check the congestion status of their destination.

[0181] In this embodiment, the output unit 161 may be configured to output output information in a predetermined output mode (which may also be called a notification mode) that is different from the output mode (normal mode) when the notification condition is not met, when a predetermined notification condition regarding the information acquired by the route information acquisition unit is met. The notification condition may be that route information is newly acquired by the related information acquisition unit 151, or it may be something other than this. For example, the notification condition may be that there is a predetermined difference between the route information acquired this time and the previously acquired route information, or that the route information acquired this time requires a predetermined amount of change in the flight state from the current flight state of the target aircraft 810, or that the status information of the target aircraft 810 is in a predetermined state. A predetermined difference may be, for example, a difference in speed or altitude that is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, or that the position to be passed at the time a predetermined period of time has elapsed is further than a predetermined distance. A predetermined amount of change in the flight state may be, for example, that it is necessary to change the speed, attitude, etc., by a predetermined amount or more from the current state. Furthermore, the state information being in a predetermined state means, for example, that a predetermined flight time has elapsed, the remaining fuel amount has reached a predetermined level, or the distance to a destination or target waypoint, calculated based on the state information, has reached a predetermined value. In addition, the acceptance of a request for output information from the output destination terminal 700 may also be a notification condition. Note that if the output conditions are met, the notification conditions may also be met.

[0182] The differences between the normal mode and the predetermined notification mode are, for example, as follows: differences in the destination terminal 700 to which the information is output, the presence or absence of information such as color, text, and predetermined images when displayed on the destination terminal 700, the presence or absence of audio output, and differences in the output means. Differences in the output means may include, for example, displaying the information on a screen in one case and sending a message using a predetermined message sending means in the other, or whether or not so-called push notifications are made in conjunction with the output of the output information.

[0183] In this way, the system is configured to output information in a different output manner than usual in certain cases, making it easier for pilots, flight managers, etc., to recognize that output information has been output in those cases.

[0184] In addition to the above, the output unit 161 may be configured to output output information for each of the multiple recommended routes when multiple recommended route information is obtained, or to output output information for a route corresponding to a selection instruction to choose one of the multiple routes transmitted via the destination terminal 700.

[0185] In this embodiment, the output unit 161 may be configured to output output information based on the predicted turbulence intensity when relational information including the predicted turbulence intensity in a region corresponding to the route is acquired. In this case, it is preferable that the output information acquisition unit 163 acquires output information that associates the predicted turbulence intensity with the route of the target aircraft 810. This allows the aircraft to fly using information about points on the route where high turbulence intensity is predicted. The output information acquisition unit 163 may also acquire information as output information for displaying an image that illustrates the predicted turbulence intensity overlaid on the route. By viewing this image, the pilot or other users can easily associate and understand each point on the route of the target aircraft 810 with the predicted turbulence intensity. Therefore, for example, it is easy to prepare to respond when approaching a point where high turbulence intensity is predicted, or to change the route to avoid such a point.

[0186] Furthermore, the output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire output information relating to motion information, based on motion information of a single aircraft, in which the progression of the motion information is associated with the position of the aircraft. For example, the output information relating to motion information is information that associates the aircraft's route with the progression of the motion information. For example, the output information can be information showing the magnitude of turbulence at each point along the aircraft's route. Alternatively, the output information can be information that displays such information on a map. Information showing the route and the magnitude of turbulence on a map is highly convenient information that allows users to intuitively grasp locations with large or small turbulence. Note that the output information may also be map-related information used to display the information shown on the map. The output information relating to motion information may be information that is output or used in a similar form to information called PIREP (In-flight Weather Report, Pilot's Report).

[0187] The output unit 161 is configured to output information related to vibration information in this manner, for example, when it determines that the output conditions described above have been met. However, it is not limited to this, and the output unit may be configured to output information related to vibration information in predetermined situations, regardless of whether the above output conditions are met or not.

[0188] In this embodiment, the output information acquisition unit 163 acquires output information based on the motion information of two or more aircraft 810 that flew during a predetermined time period. For example, the output information acquisition unit 163 acquires motion information from the motion information stored in the storage unit 110 that corresponds to flights during the predetermined time period, and acquires output information based on the acquired motion information. If two or more aircraft 810 were flying during the predetermined time period, the output information acquisition unit 163 acquires motion information corresponding to the flight of each aircraft 810. That is, the output information acquisition unit 163 acquires the motion information of each of the two or more aircraft 810. Note that if only one aircraft 810 was flying during the predetermined time period, the output information acquisition unit 163 may be configured to acquire output information based on the motion information of that aircraft 810. Here, the predetermined time period may be, for example, a time period specified by the user, or a time period specified by the output information acquisition unit 163. The time period specified by the output information acquisition unit 163 may be, for example, a time period specified in relation to the situation in which the output information is used. For example, when acquiring output information, a predetermined period in the past from that point in time can be designated as the predetermined time period. Alternatively, when a request to acquire information about an aircraft is received, the predetermined time period may be set to a time period identified based on the aircraft's route. For example, the predetermined time period may be set to be set based on recommended route information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 151. Alternatively, for example, the predetermined time period may be set to a time period associated with the aircraft's scheduled departure time or scheduled landing time. Furthermore, the output information acquisition unit 163 may set the predetermined time period to be set based on information regarding the location of the destination terminal 700 to which the output information is to be output.

[0189] Furthermore, the output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire output information in a predetermined area based on the motion information of two or more aircraft that flew during a predetermined time period. Here, the predetermined area may be, for example, an area specified by the user, or an area identified by the output information acquisition unit 163. For example, the output information acquisition unit 163 may identify the area associated with a given route as a predetermined area based on the recommended route information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 151.

[0190] Furthermore, the output information acquisition unit 163 may be configured to select motion information to be used for acquiring output information according to information regarding the location of the output destination terminal 700.

[0191] Based on motion information for a predetermined time period, output information can be easily used to identify locations and times where turbulence is likely to have occurred during that time period. Based on output information from two or more motion information sources for a predetermined time period, locations and times where turbulence is likely to have occurred during that time period can be identified with higher accuracy. By using motion information for each of aircraft that flew different paths, regions where turbulence is likely to have occurred during a predetermined time period can be identified in two dimensions. Such information is useful for subsequent aircraft in increasing the likelihood of avoiding turbulence. When outputting output information based on two or more motion information sources, it is preferable that the output information acquisition unit 163 acquires information as output information to show the paths of two or more target aircraft 810 on a map along with the changes in motion information for each target aircraft 810. This allows users to grasp regions where turbulence is likely to have occurred more intuitively.

[0192] As an example, consider a scenario where recommended route information is obtained for a target aircraft 810 that is currently in flight or is about to fly, and output information that can be used to assist the flight of the target aircraft 810 is obtained based on this information. In this case, the output information acquisition unit 163 identifies the area around the route that the target aircraft 810 is scheduled to fly as a target area based on the recommended route information, and acquires motion information of aircraft that flew in that target area during a predetermined time period from the present to the past (for example, the past hour) from the storage unit 110. Then, output information is obtained using the acquired motion information. The output information can be used, for example, to indicate the locations where turbulence was observed on a map with pins, or to overlay a heat map according to the intensity of the turbulence.

[0193] The output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire output information related to turbulence information so that a route can be displayed on a map based on recommended route information. It may also acquire output information based on weather information (e.g., atmospheric forecast information) so that weather-related information such as predicted locations of turbulence causing turbulence and their probability of occurrence can be displayed on the map along with the route. In other words, the output information acquisition unit 163 may acquire output information based on both weather information and turbulence information. This allows users to consider avoiding areas where turbulence is likely to occur, or to pilot their aircraft based on turbulence predictions.

[0194] Figure 6 shows an example of output information produced by the information processing device 100.

[0195] Figure 6 schematically shows, as an example of output information, map information that includes information on the intensity of turbulence measured over a predetermined period in the past as a heatmap. The map information shows areas where turbulence was detected, superimposed on the terrain and colored according to the intensity of the turbulence. The map information also shows the position of the target aircraft 810 in flight with icon A. The map information also shows the recommended route R with a dashed line. Based on such map information, it is possible to easily understand the route R of the target aircraft 810 and information on the magnitude of turbulence detected in its vicinity. The map information may also include information on the displayed time period. The system may accept instructions to change the time period and change the content of the displayed output information accordingly.

[0196] The transmitting unit 170 transmits information to other devices that can communicate via the network. The transmitting unit 170 also transmits output information, for example, that is output by the output unit 161.

[0197] While non-volatile recording media are preferred for the aforementioned storage unit 110 and terminal storage unit 610, volatile recording media can also be used. These units store information acquired by each device, but the process by which information is stored is not limited to this. For example, information may be stored via a recording media, information transmitted via a communication line, or information input via an input device.

[0198] Furthermore, the aforementioned processing unit 140 and terminal processing unit 640 can typically be implemented using an MPU, memory, etc. The processing procedures of the processing unit 140 and terminal processing unit 640 are usually implemented in software, and this software is recorded on a recording medium such as ROM. However, they may also be implemented in hardware (dedicated circuitry).

[0199] Furthermore, any input method can be used to input information that can be received by the reception unit 130 or the terminal reception unit 630, such as a numeric keypad, keyboard, mouse, or menu screen. The reception unit 130 and the terminal reception unit 630 can be implemented using device drivers for input methods such as numeric keypads and keyboards, or control software for menu screens.

[0200] Furthermore, while the receiving unit 120 and the terminal receiving unit 620 are usually implemented by wireless or wired communication means, they may also be implemented by means of receiving broadcasts.

[0201] Furthermore, while the transmitting unit 170 and the terminal transmitting unit 670 are usually implemented by wireless or wired communication means, they may also be implemented by broadcasting means.

[0202] Next, the operation flow of the information processing device 100 will be explained. The information processing device 100 performs various operations, for example, as follows. These operations are performed by the processing unit 140 executing control operations and the like using each part.

[0203] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing device 100.

[0204] (Step S101) That is, the processing unit 140 determines whether or not the target aircraft 810 is in flight. If it is in flight, proceed to step S104; otherwise, proceed to step S102.

[0205] (Step S102) The processing unit 140 determines whether or not it has acquired the schedule information for the target aircraft 810. For example, if a flight plan for the next flight has been entered, the processing unit 140 determines that it has acquired the schedule information. If it determines that it has acquired the schedule information, it proceeds to step S103; otherwise, it terminates the process.

[0206] (Step S103) The processing unit 140 stores the acquired schedule information in the aircraft information storage unit 115. Proceed to step S104.

[0207] (Step S104) The processing unit 140 determines whether or not the information acquisition timing has arrived. For example, it is determined that the information acquisition timing has arrived when a user gives an instruction, when scheduled information is acquired, or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the last acquisition during flight. If it is determined that the information acquisition timing has arrived, the process proceeds to step S105; otherwise, it proceeds to step S106.

[0208] (Step S105) The processing unit 140 acquires status information, etc. Information acquisition can be performed, for example, as described above. Other information such as information on other aircraft, weather information, congestion information, and airspace information may also be acquired. Information regarding flight results may also be acquired. Furthermore, the generation and updating of each learning information may be performed. Proceed to step S106.

[0209] (Step S106) The processing unit 140 determines whether the acquisition conditions are met. If it determines that the acquisition conditions are met, the process proceeds to step S107; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S108.

[0210] (Step S107) The processing unit 140 acquires information about the route. That is, the processing unit 140 performs the process of acquiring related information. This process will be described in detail later. Proceed to step S108.

[0211] (Step S108) The processing unit 140 determines whether the output condition is met. If it determines that the output condition has been met, the unit proceeds to step S109; otherwise, it proceeds to step S110.

[0212] (Step S109) The processing unit 140 acquires output information based on the relational information. Then, the processing unit 140 outputs the output information. Proceed to step S110.

[0213] (Step S110) The processing unit 140 determines whether the notification conditions are met. If it determines that the notification conditions are met, it proceeds to step S111; otherwise, it terminates the process.

[0214] (Step S111) The processing unit 140 constructs output information using the relevant information and outputs it. In this case, the processing unit 140 ensures that the output information is output in a predetermined notification manner. After that, the process ends.

[0215] Such processing is initiated periodically and repeatedly. The order of these processes is not limited to this. Furthermore, for example, if output information has already been configured for a particular flight, it may be used to generate further output or output in a predetermined notification format.

[0216] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the information acquisition process of the information processing device 100.

[0217] The following describes an example of the process when recommended route information is obtained as related information.

[0218] (Step S121) The relationship information acquisition unit 151 sets counter i to 1.

[0219] (Step S122) The related information acquisition unit 151 acquires multiple routes using status information, other device information, and weather information, etc., with the route acquisition unit 153.

[0220] (Step S123) The relationship information acquisition unit 151 obtains a score corresponding to the i-th route from the route evaluation unit 155.

[0221] (Step S124) The relationship information acquisition unit 151 adds 1 to counter i.

[0222] (Step S125) The relationship information acquisition unit 151 determines whether or not the i-th path exists. If it exists, the unit returns to step S123; otherwise, it proceeds to step S126.

[0223] (Step S126) The relationship information acquisition unit 151 determines the route with the highest score among all the routes. In other words, the relationship information acquisition unit 151 selects the route that satisfies the predetermined condition of having the highest score as the route to be acquired.

[0224] (Step S127) The related information acquisition unit 151 acquires the determined route as recommended route information. Then it returns to the higher-level processing.

[0225] (Explanation of specific examples)

[0226] The information processing device 100 according to this embodiment, configured as described above, can acquire information regarding the route of the target aircraft 810 and output output information in the following specific scenarios, for example.

[0227] (Advanced configuration support)

[0228] The information processing device 100 can output output information for optimizing the altitude of the target aircraft 810 in flight. In this case, the output information may include, for example, recommended route information including altitude setting and speed information when transitioning altitudes.

[0229] Output information for altitude setting can be performed, for example, as follows: The relational information acquisition unit 151 acquires a route, including altitude setting and speed information when transitioning altitudes, from the route acquisition unit 153. Then, the relational information acquisition unit 151 acquires recommended route information for each route based on the score acquired by the route evaluation unit 155. The output unit 161 outputs output information based on the acquired recommended route information.

[0230] The route acquisition unit 153 takes as input information, for example, equipment characteristic information, the history of the target aircraft 810's position information, information about the target aircraft 810's flight status, the target aircraft 810's flight information, weather information, i.e., past weather information and atmospheric forecast information, position forecast information, and fuel consumption information. Using this input information and learning information, it acquires the route of the recommended route information (information about the trajectory) as acquired information. In addition, the acquired information may be used to perform calculations or make judgments based on other criteria, etc., to output information that allows for the acquisition of a route.

[0231] Figure 9 illustrates a specific example of the operation of the relationship information acquisition unit 151 in the information processing device 100 when setting the level.

[0232] Figure 9 shows specific examples of input information and acquired information used for route acquisition when setting altitude. By using input information including each attribute value and pre-prepared learning information, the relationship information acquisition unit 151 can output each attribute value of the acquired information.

[0233] As shown in the figure, for example, attribute values ​​such as aircraft name, aircraft type, aircraft characteristics, and engine type may be used as equipment characteristic information. For example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, latitude, longitude, and altitude may be used as location history information for the target aircraft 810. For example, attribute values ​​such as mode (climbing, flying, descending, etc.), aircraft weight, aircraft center of gravity position, flight speed, flight Mach number, climb / descent speed, bank angle, pitch angle, and flight acceleration may be used as information about the flight status of the target aircraft 810. For example, attribute values ​​such as departure and arrival locations, departure and arrival times, planned arrival location, planned arrival time, and planned flight path may be used as flight information for the target aircraft 810. For example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, wind, temperature, pressure, weather, and turbulence intensity may be used as weather information. For example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, latitude, longitude, and altitude may be used as location prediction information. For example, attribute values ​​such as fuel consumption rate may be used as fuel consumption information. As information related to the route, which is acquired information, attribute values ​​such as altitude settings and transition speed may be used.

[0234] When recommended route information regarding altitude settings is obtained and output information is output, the user can utilize the information processing device 100 in the following procedure.

[0235] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of using the advanced setting support function in the information processing device 100.

[0236] (Step S151) Before the flight, the user (pilot, flight operations manager, etc.) inputs information regarding the flight plan and weight of the target aircraft 810. The aircraft information acquisition unit 141 in the information processing device 100 acquires this information.

[0237] (Step S152) During cruising, the relevant information acquisition unit 151 uses information acquired as appropriate to perform the process of acquiring recommended route information for setting altitude. That is, the necessity of changing altitude is calculated. Note that, for example, output information will not be output until output conditions or notification conditions are met, but is not limited to this.

[0238] (Step S153) When the output conditions or notification conditions are met, the output information is output to the destination terminal 700. Here, for example, the output information is output to and displayed on an electronic flight bag that can be viewed by the pilot.

[0239] (Step S154) The pilot reviews the output information and decides whether or not to change the altitude. If the altitude is to be changed, the pilot applies to Air Traffic Control (ATC) for an altitude setting, and if approved, sets the altitude in the Flight Management System (FMS) of the aircraft 810.

[0240] (Step S155) During cruising, the sequence from Step S152 to Step S154 is repeated. When cruising ends, the use of the altitude setting support function is completed.

[0241] Because such altitude setting support functions are available, this embodiment offers the following specific advantages. Specifically, it is possible to output information on the cruising altitude at which the aircraft can operate more efficiently at that stage, taking into account the traffic volume of other aircraft 820 and 830 in flight, and based on atmospheric forecast information and the status information of the target aircraft 810. Conventionally, when an aircraft is cruising, it has been difficult to determine the best route considering the actual traffic flow. Also, unless there is a need due to weather or traffic conditions, adjustments to the cruising altitude have been limited or have been performed in a predetermined manner. In this embodiment, it is possible for the user to grasp information on the cruising altitude at which the aircraft can operate efficiently in real time during flight, and the user can apply to ATC in a timely manner. Therefore, the target aircraft 810 can be operated actively and efficiently.

[0242] (Short-circuit path setting support)

[0243] The information processing device 100 can output output information (Direct-to information) for changing the course of the target aircraft 810 in flight and flying along a short-circuit route. In this case, the output information may include, for example, recommended route information that includes information about the short-circuit route, information about the set altitude, and information about the transition speed.

[0244] Output information for flying a shortcut route can be performed, for example, as follows: The related information acquisition unit 151 acquires a route from the route acquisition unit 153, which includes information about the shortcut route, information about the set altitude, and information about the transition speed. The related information acquisition unit 151 then acquires recommended route information for each route based on the score acquired by the route evaluation unit 155. The output unit 161 outputs output information based on the acquired recommended route information.

[0245] The route acquisition unit 153 takes as input information, for example, equipment characteristic information, the history of the target aircraft 810's position information, the flight information of the target aircraft 810, information about the flight status of the target aircraft 810, weather information, i.e., past weather information and atmospheric forecast information, position forecast information, and fuel consumption information. Then, using this input information and pre-prepared learning information, it acquires the route as acquired information. In addition, the acquired information may be used to perform calculations or make judgments based on other criteria, etc., to output information that allows for the acquisition of a route.

[0246] Figure 11 illustrates a specific example of the operation of the relationship information acquisition unit 151 when setting a short-circuit path in the information processing device 100.

[0247] Figure 11 shows specific examples of input information and acquired information used for obtaining candidate routes for flying along a short-circuit path. By using the input information, which includes each attribute value, and the learned information, the relationship information acquisition unit 151 can output each attribute value of the acquired information.

[0248] As shown in the figure, for example, attribute values ​​such as aircraft name, aircraft type, aircraft characteristics, and engine type may be used as equipment characteristic information. For example, attribute values ​​such as departure and arrival locations, departure and arrival times, planned arrival locations, planned arrival times, and planned flight paths may be used as flight information for the target aircraft 810. For example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, latitude, longitude, and altitude may be used as location information history for the target aircraft 810. For example, attribute values ​​such as mode (climbing, flying, descending, etc.), aircraft weight, aircraft center of gravity position, flight speed, flight Mach number, climb / descent speed, bank angle, pitch angle, and flight acceleration may be used as information about the flight status of the target aircraft 810. For example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, wind, temperature, pressure, weather, and turbulence intensity may be used as weather information. For example, attribute values ​​such as date and time, latitude, longitude, altitude, and aircraft type may be used as location prediction information. For example, attribute values ​​such as fuel consumption rate may be used as fuel consumption information. As information about the candidates that are acquired, attribute values ​​such as the short-circuit path, set altitude, and transition speed may be used.

[0249] Furthermore, the route acquisition unit 153 may be configured to acquire a route including a shortcut route using various route search algorithms, etc., based on the flight information of the target aircraft 810, taking into account the waypoint structure, airway structure, controlled airspace, restricted areas, transit fees such as airspace facility usage fees for each segment to the destination, traffic flow conditions (such as the positions and predicted positions of other aircraft 820, 830), and past flight paths. The related information acquisition unit 151 may identify candidate points where a Direct-to application (route shortcut application) can be made based on the acquired route and output that information to the user. Here, the related information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to recommend a shortcut route that can be flown efficiently by utilizing tailwinds, recommend a shortcut route that is less likely to encounter turbulence, or acquire information as related information about points suitable for a route shortcut application to fly a shortcut route, based on weather information.

[0250] When recommended route information for flying along a short-circuit path is obtained and output information is output, the user can utilize the information processing device 100 in the following procedure.

[0251] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of using the short-circuit path setting support function in the information processing device 100.

[0252] (Step S191) Before the flight, the user inputs the flight plan for the target aircraft 810. The information processing device 100's self-aircraft information acquisition unit 141 acquires the input information.

[0253] (Step S192) Before the flight, the information processing device 100 uses the input information and other acquired information to output output information regarding the shortcut route to an output terminal 700 used by the flight operations manager, etc. The flight operations manager and the pilot of the target aircraft 810 can use the output information for briefing. For example, the output information can be printed out and carried as a proposed revised report before the flight. The output information may be shown in the form of an illustration on a map showing when and where the course should be changed, or it may be string information showing a combination of waypoints and airways.

[0254] Figure 13 shows an example of output information regarding short-circuit paths in the information processing device 100.

[0255] The diagram shows an example of output information that can be displayed in a table format. This output information shows the starting waypoint and the waypoints to be passed through for each possible shortcut route. Furthermore, for each shortcut route, values ​​for various factors such as flight time, flight distance, fuel consumption, and tolls are shown as differences compared to flying the original route. Users can use this output information to consider flying shortcut routes.

[0256] Figure 14 shows an example of output information regarding short-circuit paths in the information processing device 100.

[0257] The diagram shows an example of output information indicating altitude for a recommended route. This output shows the progression of the recommended altitude, with the horizontal axis representing distance from the starting point and the vertical axis representing altitude. It also indicates airspace where flight is prohibited, as well as the upper and lower limits of the flyable altitude. Users can easily determine the appropriate altitude to fly using this output information.

[0258] Return to Figure 12.

[0259] (Step S193) During flight, especially during cruising, the information processing device 100 acquires position information of the target aircraft 810. The relevant information acquisition unit 151 then acquires candidate short-circuit routes and repeatedly determines whether or not they meet predetermined conditions.

[0260] (Step S194) During cruising, if the relevant information acquisition unit 151 acquires a short-circuit route that satisfies predetermined conditions, the information processing device 100 outputs output information regarding the short-circuit route to the output destination terminal 700. Here, for example, the output information is output and displayed on an electronic flight bag that can be viewed by the pilot.

[0261] (Step S195) The pilot reviews the output information and decides whether to change course. If a course change is necessary, the pilot requests a course change (Direct-to) from ATC, and if approved, changes the route of aircraft 810.

[0262] (Step S196) During cruising, the sequence from Step S193 to Step S195 is repeated. When cruising ends, the use of the short-circuit route setting support function is completed.

[0263] Since this shortcut route setting support function is available, this embodiment offers the following specific advantages. Specifically, it becomes possible to easily apply for a shortcut route flight when possible, allowing for efficient operation of the target aircraft 810. Conventionally, it has always been possible to apply for a shortcut route flight depending on traffic flow, weather, etc., but doing so on a case-by-case basis, taking various factors into consideration, relied heavily on the individual user's experience. Furthermore, flying a shortcut route based on such user experience did not necessarily lead to a reduction in costs such as fuel consumption and flight time. In contrast, by using the information processing device 100, output information is provided when a shortcut route flight is possible and efficient, taking into account the conditions of the own aircraft, other aircraft, and weather, etc., so that users such as pilots can easily apply for an appropriate shortcut route flight.

[0264] Furthermore, it is believed that there are points along aircraft flight paths where applications for shortcut routes are more likely to be approved. In this embodiment, by generating learning information using information on past aircraft flight routes and information on past traffic flow in those cases, and by analyzing this information and setting predetermined conditions, the information processing device 100 can recommend shortcut routes in points and situations where applications are more likely to be approved. In other words, the information processing device 100 can output information useful for flying shortcut routes that effectively utilize weather conditions, taking into account traffic flow and ATC characteristics for each area. Therefore, users will be able to fly shortcut routes even more easily.

[0265] Figure 15 is the first diagram illustrating the results of using the short-circuit path in the information processing device 100. Figure 16 is the second diagram illustrating the results of using the short-circuit path in the information processing device 100.

[0266] Each figure shows the same route, but with two scenarios: one where a shortcut route is proposed without considering weather information (top panel), and another where a shortcut route is proposed with weather information in mind to reduce fuel consumption (bottom panel). In both cases, it can be seen that flying the shortcut route, which takes weather information into account, results in greater fuel savings.

[0267] Furthermore, it is preferable that the output information regarding such shortcut routes includes not only a two-dimensional path (longitude, latitude, etc.) but also the flight path including altitude and speed. It is even more preferable that weather conditions such as turbulence forecasts and wind distribution along the flight path are also output so that pilots and other personnel can confirm them. This allows for obtaining more information about flight path conditions that were not initially anticipated, thereby improving visibility. In addition, as mentioned above, it is preferable to consider the weight changes of the aircraft during flight when acquiring shortcut routes.

[0268] (Avoiding turbulence)

[0269] The information processing apparatus 100 can output output information for superimposing and displaying the route of the target aircraft 810 and the acquisition result or prediction result of the turbulence intensity. The output information may be configured using information such as wind shear handled in general weather forecasts, for example. Further, the output information may be configured in consideration of other turbulence generation factors such as mountain waves. In this case, the output information may be displayed on an output terminal 700 used for pre-flight briefings or the like, or an output terminal 700 that is an electronic flight bag, for example, or may be printed out and used.

[0270] FIG. 17 is a first diagram showing an example of output information regarding the turbulence intensity in the information processing apparatus 100. FIG. 18 is a second diagram showing an example of output information regarding the turbulence intensity in the information processing apparatus 100.

[0271] In FIG. 17, the current route of the target aircraft 810 and the recommended route are shown on a map. Also, on the map, the prediction result of the turbulence intensity is shown as a heat map, and the wind strength at each location is shown by symbols.

[0272] In FIG. 18, with the horizontal axis being the distance from the departure point and the vertical axis being the altitude, the transition of the altitude that the target aircraft 810 should fly is shown together with the positions of the waypoints. Also, in the figure, the prediction result of the turbulence intensity is shown as a heat map.

[0273] The user can easily confirm the relationship between the route of the target aircraft 810 and the prediction result of the turbulence intensity and the like using such output information.

[0274] Information regarding whether or not the aircraft has flown stably is useful information for the flight of the aircraft. For example, such information can be used to predict whether or not it is important for the operation of the aircraft to be able to fly stably.

[0275] For example, when strong shaking occurs in an aircraft during flight, it can be understood that there may be factors such as turbulence at that location that affect the stable flight of the aircraft. When an aircraft in flight encounters turbulence or the like, the aircraft may shake or it may be necessary to correct the attitude of the fuselage, and passengers may feel uncomfortable. If it is possible to identify in advance locations where there may be turbulence or the like, by taking a route that avoids such locations, subsequent aircraft can increase the possibility of flying stably.

[0276] So far, forecasts of turbulence have been made using historical reports called discrete PIREPs and simple turbulence prediction indices that evaluate only the wind speed difference in the height direction, but there has been a problem of low accuracy in predicting future situations. If, during flight, an aircraft encounters turbulence at a location different from the forecast or the turbulence intensity is different from the forecast, it becomes necessary to consider or execute a route change, such as changing the altitude at that time. Since such a route change is based on the on-site situation judgment of individual pilots, there have been problems such as the effect of the route change being unclear or the inability to perform efficient flight.

[0277] In contrast, in the present embodiment, it is possible to predict in advance the occurrence of turbulence with high accuracy, and based on the specified information about the priority factors, each aircraft can fly an appropriate route suitable for the operating situation it is placed in. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the dependence on the personal judgment of pilots in the selection of turbulence avoidance means, and it becomes possible to easily perform efficient flight.

[0278] Furthermore, in this embodiment, information predicting the magnitude of turbulence that may occur due to turbulence may be acquired and included in the output information. Considering that the influence of airflow on turbulence and the operation of actuators, etc., differs for each aircraft type, it is preferable to acquire information predicting the magnitude of such turbulence for each aircraft type or for each aircraft size group. For example, this can be acquired by the route evaluation unit 155. More specifically, for example, it is possible to acquire this information using training information constructed with training data, such as flight record data called QAR data, in an appropriate blending ratio for altitude of various diagnostic quantities (turbulence elements) predetermined for each aircraft type or aircraft size group. Alternatively, information regarding the magnitude of turbulence felt may be predicted and acquired from the turbulence intensity using training information constructed with training data that associates turbulence intensity, which is a weather information, with the intensity of turbulence felt by passengers when flying in that airspace. Note that the creation of training data can be performed by extracting the vibration component of vertical acceleration from the output of inertial sensors such as acceleration sensors using a high-pass filter, but is not limited to this.

[0279] In this way, by outputting information on the likelihood of turbulence for each aircraft based on turbulence predictions that cover a wide range of turbulence elements, the magnitude of turbulence can be predicted with greater accuracy. This allows for more efficient flight depending on the operational conditions of each aircraft, such as the acceptable level of turbulence.

[0280] The diagram shows an example of output information indicating altitude for a recommended route. This output shows the progression of the recommended altitude, with the horizontal axis representing distance from the starting point and the vertical axis representing altitude. It also indicates airspace where flight is prohibited, as well as the upper and lower limits of the flyable altitude. Users can easily determine the appropriate altitude to fly using this output information.

[0281] (User interface)

[0282] For example, when assisting with setting the aforementioned short-circuit route, checking weather conditions, or obtaining other recommended route information, the following user interface may be made available.

[0283] Figure 19 shows an example of a user interface for selecting a recommended route that can be provided by the information processing device 100.

[0284] In the figure, as an example, the display content of the display screen of the output terminal 700 for setting a short-circuit route is shown (step G110). The display screen shows information on turbulence intensity as a heat map on a map, representing the weather conditions in the airspace in which the target aircraft 810 is flying. In addition, it may be configured to display wind speed, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric pressure, etc. Furthermore, it is configured to display the changes in such weather information over time. It may be possible to display the trends in weather information up to now based on past weather information, or it may be possible to display the predicted trends in future weather information based on atmospheric forecast information.

[0285] The display screen can show candidate shortcut routes. For each shortcut route, the name of the waypoint to which the shortcut ends, and the values ​​for fuel consumption, flight time, and transit fees are shown as differences from the original flight plan. The user can select their desired shortcut route based on this information. Note that only the most recommended shortcut route may be displayed. Alternatively, as shown in the figure, two or more route candidates may be displayed. Here, the two or more route candidates may be sorted or the displayed routes limited according to the values ​​of factors such as fuel consumption, flight time, and transit fees that correspond to the specified information provided by the user. In other words, the priority displayed route candidates may change depending on the specified information. The specified information may be input, for example, by accepting an operation to select a predetermined factor (attribute) on the display screen. Alternatively, the priority of each factor may be intuitively input using, for example, a radar chart with each factor as an axis, or a slider bar that allows the priority of each factor to be set individually.

[0286] Here, the display screen is provided with an interface for inputting the assumptions of the operating environment of the target aircraft 810. For example, the user can input information such as the permissible turbulence intensity (the magnitude of the turbulence that can be tolerated) and the permissible transit fee when changing the route. When the user performs an operation to specify the permissible turbulence intensity, a screen for selecting available candidates is displayed (step G120). On the candidate selection screen, options for permissible turbulence intensity are shown. The user can easily select the permissible turbulence intensity by performing an operation to select an option. Also, when the user performs an operation to specify a policy regarding permissible transit fees, a policy selection screen for selecting a policy regarding transit fees is displayed (step S130). The user can select a policy to adopt from options such as "reduce transit fees," "allow similar transit fees," or "allow an increase in transit fees."

[0287] Such a user interface is only necessary if it can be used on output terminals 700 used for pre-flight briefings, etc., or on output terminals 700 that are electronic flight bags. This allows pilots and dispatchers to easily and intuitively use the functions of the information processing device 100.

[0288] (Traffic flow and congestion information visualization tool)

[0289] The information processing device 100 can output information including the flight path of the target aircraft 810 and predicted position information of other nearby aircraft 820 and 830. The output information is, for example, information for showing the positions of each aircraft in chronological order on the same map, but is not limited to this. The map itself does not have to be displayed. The output information can be displayed on, for example, an output destination terminal 700 used for pre-flight briefings, or an output destination terminal 700 that is an electronic flight bag, or can be printed out and used.

[0290] Such output information may be configured to show, for example, the future positional information of other nearby aircraft 820 and 830 using a frame indicating a high probability of their presence. Furthermore, the position of each aircraft may be displayed using an aircraft icon or the like. This makes it easy to confirm the positional relationship between the target aircraft 810 itself and the other aircraft 820 and 830. It is preferable that information such as the aircraft type, flight number, altitude, and departure / arrival locations be included for each aircraft.

[0291] Figure 20 shows an example of a traffic flow visualization screen that can be provided by the information processing device 100.

[0292] In the visualization screen shown in the figure, icon A representing the target aircraft 810, and icons C and D representing the other aircraft 820 and 830, are shown on the map. For the target aircraft 810, the current path R, icon A2 showing its position after a predetermined first time has elapsed, and icon A3 showing its position after a predetermined second time has elapsed are also shown. In addition, for the aircraft represented by icon C and the aircraft represented by icon D, a line segment showing the current direction of travel and speed, and a forecast circle showing the predicted position after the first time has elapsed and the position after the second time has elapsed are shown. The forecast circle can be said to be an area that shows the predicted range of position after a predetermined time. The altitude is shown in text for each aircraft at present, as well as for its position after the first time has elapsed and its forecast circle. Through this traffic flow visualization screen, users can easily understand the current positional relationship between the target aircraft 810 and the other aircraft 820 and 830, as well as the predicted future positional relationship of each aircraft.

[0293] Here, the visualization screen includes a pace indicator bar S as pace information, which shows information about the pace of the target aircraft 810. The pace indicator bar S indicates whether the current pace of the target aircraft 810 is faster than the ideal pace, based on, for example, the recommended route for the target aircraft 810 and the current state of the target aircraft 810. That is, if the aircraft is flying ahead of schedule, or if, for example, the destination is congested and flying at the current pace may result in instructions for vectoring or holding, an indication that the pace is too fast will be displayed. In this case, an indication that the aircraft should fly at a reduced speed may also be displayed. Conversely, if the aircraft is behind schedule, or if it is predicted that the destination will become congested if the aircraft arrives late, an indication that the pace is too slow will be displayed. In this case, an indication that the aircraft should fly at an increased speed may also be displayed. Note that in the figure, an example is shown where pace information indicating the need to accelerate is displayed as a pace indicator bar S, but the display method of pace information is not limited to this. For example, pace information may be displayed using text or other types of indicators. Users can easily use output information, including this pace information, to check whether they are flying at an appropriate pace or if they need to change their pace.

[0294] Furthermore, as pace information, information indicating whether vectoring or holding instructions are likely to be received if the aircraft continues flying in its current position may be displayed. If there is a possibility of interference between the target aircraft 810's path and the paths of other aircraft 820 and 830, this may be indicated using text, graphics, or other means. In addition, the visualization screen may accept operations to output information regarding recommended paths. The visualization screen may also be a screen displayed using the user interface described above.

[0295] In addition, the information processing apparatus 100 can output output information based on congestion information regarding the destination of the target aircraft 810. The output information is information that indicates, for example, the degree of congestion caused by aircraft attempting to arrive at the destination, by time period, using the congestion information acquired as described above. The output information may be displayed, for example, on an output terminal 700 used for pre-flight briefings or the like, or an output terminal 700 that is an electronic flight bag, or may be printed out and used as long as it is available.

[0296] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of output information based on congestion information that can be provided by the information processing apparatus 100.

[0297] In the figure, for one destination, output information based on congestion information indicating the prediction result of the degree of congestion in the near future is shown. The output information is a graph with the degree of congestion on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis, showing the degree of congestion for each time period (for example, every 10 minutes). The output information may be updated as appropriate, but it does not have to be updated. In the example shown in the figure, the prediction result of the degree of congestion using information such as the traffic flow of aircraft related to the destination is reflected. Note that the degree of congestion for each time period may be displayed in a manner that allows comparison with past statistical values. It is possible to visualize whether the current situation is rising or falling.

[0298] In addition, in the example shown in the figure, the level of congestion that serves as a criterion for generating avoidance instructions such as vectoring and holding is also displayed. Such a display of the criterion may be performed by the processing unit 140 based on past situations. The user can grasp whether the degree of congestion is such that there is a possibility of receiving instructions such as vectoring and holding, in light of the criterion.

[0299] Furthermore, the output information may include not only information that visualizes the predicted future congestion levels based on the current situation, but also information that the target aircraft 810 can use to avoid congestion. Information to avoid congestion can be displayed, for example, based on the target aircraft 810's recommended route information and congestion information. Information to avoid congestion may include, for example, indications of the need for aggressive acceleration and deceleration, or the need for altitude adjustment. It may also include indications of the need for aggressive adjustment of takeoff time to avoid congestion.

[0300] Generally, pilots try to adjust their movements to make their aircraft advantageous, while anticipating the possibility of air traffic control instructions whenever possible. While aircraft radar and ADS-B systems can identify aircraft in front of the aircraft, it is difficult to identify aircraft approaching from other directions. Traditionally, because it was difficult for each aircraft to fully grasp the situation of other aircraft around it, pilots often flew in a hurry, even if the necessity was unclear, in order to get into the earliest possible landing slot. Furthermore, it was difficult for ground operations managers to predict when and how much delay would occur, and they were forced to take ad-hoc responses only after congestion occurred.

[0301] In contrast, this embodiment allows for accurate understanding of traffic flow around the target aircraft 810 and accurate prediction of future traffic flow. Therefore, based on recommended route information tailored to the aircraft's current situation, it is possible to descend at the appropriate timing and proactively adjust the distance from other aircraft 820 and 830. Furthermore, accurate future predictions of traffic flow, including around the destination, and future congestion at the destination can be made, enabling planned preparations for delays and measures to mitigate them. Consequently, the operation of a large number of aircraft can be carried out systematically and stably.

[0302] (Small summary)

[0303] As explained above, according to this embodiment, output information based on information about the aircraft's route is output, and the aircraft can be flown using this output information. Since route information that satisfies predetermined conditions is obtained, the aircraft can be flown efficiently. In other words, since route information that satisfies predetermined conditions is obtained, the aircraft can be flown in a way that achieves the intended objective.

[0304] In this embodiment, since route information is obtained using meteorological information, the aircraft can be flown efficiently according to the output information even if atmospheric conditions change. Meteorological information may include atmospheric forecast information predicted using atmospheric measurement information measured by a preceding aircraft. Route information can be obtained using atmospheric forecast information that is likely to be more accurate, and output information that allows the aircraft to be flown more efficiently can be output.

[0305] Furthermore, highly accurate fuel consumption and position prediction information can be used to obtain route information. Therefore, more reliable output information can be generated to fly the aircraft efficiently. By obtaining real-time route information based on information about the target aircraft and other aircraft under the latest conditions, as well as the latest weather information, more reliable output information can be generated to fly the aircraft efficiently.

[0306] In this embodiment, route information is obtained using airspace information. Therefore, output information can be obtained for routes that are actually flyable. Even if there are limited places where it is possible to deviate from normal, standard routes, output information corresponding to those deviations can be obtained.

[0307] The output unit 161 can output information based on congestion information. By using such output information, it is possible to reduce time lost due to congestion at the destination and aim to fly efficiently and arrive at the destination smoothly.

[0308] The output unit 161 can output output information using motion information. Such output information can be said to be useful for following aircraft in increasing the likelihood of avoiding turbulence. Furthermore, the output unit 161 can output output information that can be used for the flight of a single aircraft using motion information acquired from multiple aircraft, each designated as a target aircraft 810. Such output information can be said to be useful in increasing the likelihood of avoiding turbulence.

[0309] The system can output information that displays the flight path of each aircraft on a map, along with the changes in aircraft motion information. Therefore, it can output useful information for aircraft flight in a format that allows pilots and flight managers to easily understand motion information that may affect each aircraft's flight path.

[0310] The processing in this embodiment may be implemented in software. This software may be distributed by software download or the like. Alternatively, this software may be recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disc and distributed. The software that implements the information processing device 100 in this embodiment is the following program. In other words, this program is a program that is executed on the computer of the information processing device 100, and is a program that causes the computer of the information processing device 100 to function as a self-aircraft information acquisition unit that acquires state information about the state of the target aircraft, a route acquisition unit that acquires possible routes that the target aircraft can take, a relationship information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information about the route based on the state information, and an output unit that outputs output information based on the relationship information.

[0311] (Explanation of variations)

[0312] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, motion information may be used to perform other processing. For example, processing to obtain the above-described recommended route information may be performed using two or more motion information items and corresponding position information. This may include providing assistance for setting altitude, assisting for setting continuous ascent or descent, and assisting for setting shortcut routes.

[0313] For example, the route acquisition unit 153 may use output information regarding ground motion when acquiring candidate routes. That is, the route acquisition unit 153 may acquire candidate routes based on output information regarding ground motion. For example, the output information regarding ground motion may include information on the magnitude of shaking in each predetermined region during a predetermined time period. If the magnitude of shaking in a predetermined time period (for example, a time period including a predetermined time before the scheduled time of passage) in a region containing a candidate route exceeds a threshold, the route is positioned as outside the candidates (discarded). This prevents routes that may experience significant shaking from being acquired as recommended route information.

[0314] Furthermore, for example, the route evaluation unit 155 may use output information regarding ground motion when acquiring scores for candidate routes. That is, the route evaluation unit 155 may acquire route scores based on output information regarding ground motion. For example, information regarding the magnitude of shaking in each predetermined area during a predetermined time period may be used as output information regarding ground motion. Then, in the area containing the route, a score for the route is acquired based on the magnitude of shaking during the predetermined time period. This makes it possible to acquire a score for each route that corresponds to the likelihood of increased shaking.

[0315] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, learning information may be constructed using motion information (which may also be output information related to motion information) to obtain predictive information regarding inertia, such as the magnitude of sway at each point along the aircraft's path. Alternatively, the learning information may be used to obtain predictive information regarding inertia for the aircraft's path. In this case, it is preferable to construct the learning information so that meteorological information is included as input information. The configuration of an information processing device 1100 according to one modification of this embodiment, configured in this way, will be described below.

[0316] Figure 22 is a block diagram of an information processing device 1100 according to one modified example of this embodiment.

[0317] The information processing device 1100 differs from the information processing device 100 according to the above-described embodiment in the following respects. Specifically, in the information processing device 1100, the processing unit 140 further includes a motion prediction unit (an example of a prediction information acquisition unit) 1158 and a motion prediction output unit (an example of a prediction information output unit) 1165.

[0318] In this modified example, the learning information acquisition unit 159 generates learning information related to the prediction of aircraft motion using machine learning techniques. The use of machine learning techniques can be as described above. That is, training data for two or more past flights of each aircraft can be used. The training data may include weather information related to the flight, state information of the aircraft that performed the flight, and information on motion at each point based on motion information acquired for the flight. For example, the learning information acquisition unit 159 acquires learning information using machine learning techniques by using multiple training data sets that include weather information and state information for each point along the flight path as learning input information, and information on the magnitude of motion (motion information) at each point along the flight path as learning output information. That is, the learning information acquisition unit 159 acquires learning information using two or more sets of learning input information including weather information and state information acquired for the flight of one aircraft and learning output information including motion information at each point along the flight path of the aircraft. Preferably, the weather information includes, for example, turbulence intensity.

[0319] The motion prediction unit 1158 applies the meteorological information acquired by the meteorological information acquisition unit 145 and state information regarding the state of the target aircraft 810, corresponding to each point along the aircraft's path, to the learning information configured as described above. This allows the motion prediction unit 1158 to acquire motion prediction information regarding the magnitude of turbulence at each point along the aircraft's path. The motion prediction information can also be described as prediction information regarding inertia. Alternatively, the motion prediction information can be described as information resulting from the prediction of motion information. The path may, for example, be the path related to recommended path information. That is, the path here can be described as the path that the target aircraft 810 is expected to follow. The motion prediction information is, for example, information corresponding to path information, i.e., position information.

[0320] The motion prediction output unit 1165 outputs prediction output information based on motion prediction information. The motion prediction output unit 1165 may be interpreted as being included in the output unit 161. The output of prediction output information may be performed when predetermined output conditions are met, or in other cases.

[0321] In this embodiment, the prediction output information is, for example, the tremor prediction information itself, but is not limited to this. For example, the prediction output information may include the maximum value or average value of tremors that may occur during a predetermined period or section of the route, based on the tremor prediction information.

[0322] Predictive output information may be output on its own, or it may be output together with output information based on recommended route information. For example, users such as pilots and flight managers can use the predictive output information to check information about the aircraft's route, taking into account turbulence prediction information, etc. Such predictive output information can be said to be useful in increasing the likelihood of avoiding turbulence during flight.

[0323] Furthermore, the prediction output information may be used to obtain a route score by the route evaluation unit 155. In this case, by using input information regarding each point on a candidate route, motion prediction information for the candidate route can be obtained, and prediction output information can be obtained. The relational information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to acquire relational information regarding the route of the target aircraft 810 by determining whether or not the recommended conditions are met based on the acquired prediction information, i.e., prediction output information, for the route of the target aircraft 810. Recommended conditions may include, for example, low motion. For example, the route acquisition unit 153 may acquire two or more routes that the target aircraft 810 can take, and the relational information acquisition unit 151 may be configured to determine whether or not each route meets the recommended conditions based on the prediction output information for each route, and acquire recommended route information for the target aircraft 810 based on the determination result. This makes it possible to output output information with the route that results in less motion as recommended route information.

[0324] Alternatively, the learning information may be constructed without using state information as input, or motion prediction information may be acquired.

[0325] (others)

[0326] Figure 23 is an overview view of the computer system 800 in the above embodiment. Figure 24 is a block diagram of the same computer system 800.

[0327] These figures show the configuration of a computer that executes the program described herein to realize the information processing device and the like of the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment can be realized with computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

[0328] The computer system 800 includes a computer 801 with an optical disc drive, a keyboard 802, a mouse 803, and a monitor 804.

[0329] Computer 801 includes, in addition to an optical disc drive (ODD) 8012, an MPU 8013, a bus 8014 connected to the optical disc drive 8012, a ROM 8015 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, a RAM 8016 connected to the MPU 8013 for temporarily storing instructions for application programs and providing temporary storage space, and a hard disk drive (HDD) 8017 for storing application programs, system programs, and data. Although not shown here, computer 801 may further include a network card for providing connectivity to a LAN.

[0330] The program that causes the computer system 800 to execute the functions of the information processing device, etc., of the above-described embodiment may be stored on the optical disc 8101, inserted into the optical disc drive 8012, and then transferred to the hard disk 8017. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to the computer 801 via a network (not shown) and stored on the hard disk 8017. The program is loaded into RAM 8016 when executed. The program may also be loaded directly from the optical disc 8101 or the network.

[0331] The program does not necessarily have to include an operating system (OS) or third-party program that causes the computer 801 to execute the functions of the information processing device, etc., of the embodiment described above. The program only needs to include the instruction portion that calls the appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner and obtains the desired result. How the computer system 800 operates is well known, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0332] In the above program, the transmission step for sending information and the reception step for receiving information do not include hardware-based processing, such as processing performed by a modem or interface card in the transmission step (processing that can only be performed by hardware).

[0333] Furthermore, the computer running the above program may be a single computer or multiple computers. In other words, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0334] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, two or more components present in a single device may be physically realized in a single medium.

[0335] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each process (each function) may be implemented by centralized processing by a single device (system), or by distributed processing by multiple devices (in this case, the entire system composed of multiple devices that perform distributed processing can be understood as a single "device").

[0336] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the exchange of information between each component may, for example, be performed by outputting information from one component and receiving information from the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically different, or by moving from the processing phase corresponding to one component to the processing phase corresponding to the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically the same.

[0337] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, as well as information such as thresholds, formulas, and addresses used by each component in processing, may be temporarily or for a long period of time stored in a recording medium (not shown), even if not explicitly stated in the above description. The storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). The reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

[0338] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if the information used in each component, such as thresholds, addresses, and various setting values ​​used by each component in processing, can be changed by the user, then, even if not explicitly stated in the above description, the user may be allowed to change such information as appropriate, or not. If the user can change such information, the change may be implemented, for example, by a receiving unit (not shown) that receives change instructions from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in response to those change instructions. The receiving unit (not shown) may receive change instructions from an input device, receive information transmitted via a communication line, or receive information read from a predetermined recording medium.

[0339] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible, which are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0340] Some of the components and functions in the above-described embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, in acquiring information such as route information, weather forecast information, location forecast information, fuel consumption information, and motion forecast information, information different from the above-described information may be used, or none of the above-described information may be used.

[0341] Furthermore, the various types of information acquired by the information processing device 100 to output information regarding the target aircraft's route in the above-described embodiments and their modifications may be made useful for other purposes. For example, a providing device may be configured to store the information acquired by the information processing device 100 and provide the stored information for the operation of other aircraft or for other purposes. By using such a providing device, useful information can be provided to others. Specifically, for example, the providing device may be configured to output position prediction information acquired by the other aircraft information acquisition unit 143, atmospheric forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 145, and output information regarding motion information to other devices. [Industrial applicability]

[0342] As described above, the information processing device according to the present invention has the effect of being able to output information useful for aircraft flight, and is therefore useful as an information processing device. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0343] 1. Flight Support System 100, 1100 Information Processing Devices 110 Storage Unit 111 Learning Information Storage Unit 115 Aircraft Information Storage Unit 117 Weather Information Storage Unit 120 Receiver 130 Reception Department 140 Processing Unit 141 Self-Information Acquisition Unit 142 Consumption information acquisition department 143 Other aircraft information acquisition section 144 Route prediction unit 145 Weather Information Acquisition Department 146 Congestion Information Acquisition Unit 147 Airspace Information Acquisition Department 151 Related Information Acquisition Department 153 Route acquisition unit 155 Route Evaluation Unit 157 Result information acquisition section 159 Learning Information Acquisition Department 161 Output section 163 Output Information Acquisition Unit 170 Transmitter 700 Output terminal 1158 Motion prediction unit (an example of a prediction information acquisition unit) 1165 Motion prediction output unit (an example of a prediction information output unit)

Claims

1. A self-aircraft information acquisition unit that acquires status information relating to the status of the target aircraft, A route acquisition unit that acquires the possible routes that the aforementioned target aircraft can take, A relationship information acquisition unit acquires relationship information related to the route based on the status information, The system includes an output unit that outputs output information based on the aforementioned relational information, The aforementioned related information acquisition unit, By applying the input information based on the route to the learning information corresponding to the information regarding the properties of the aircraft body, acquired information including the estimated result of the combustor outlet temperature of the engine of the aircraft is obtained. An information processing device that uses the acquired information and the engine operating time when flying the aforementioned route to acquire the aforementioned related information, including information regarding the maintenance costs of the target aircraft.

2. A self-aircraft information acquisition unit that acquires status information relating to the status of the target aircraft, A route acquisition unit that acquires the possible routes that the aforementioned target aircraft can take, A relationship information acquisition unit acquires relationship information related to the route based on the status information, The system includes an output unit that outputs output information based on the aforementioned relational information, The route acquisition unit acquires two or more routes that the target aircraft can follow. The relational information acquisition unit determines whether each of the routes satisfies predetermined recommendation conditions based on the values ​​of two or more predetermined factors acquired for each of the routes and designation information specifying one or more of the two or more factors, and acquires relational information including information indicating a route recommended for the target aircraft based on the determination result.

3. A self-aircraft information acquisition unit that acquires status information relating to the status of the target aircraft, A route acquisition unit that acquires the possible routes that the aforementioned target aircraft can take, A relationship information acquisition unit acquires relationship information related to the route based on the status information, The system includes an output unit that outputs output information based on the aforementioned relational information, The system includes a path prediction unit that obtains location prediction information indicating the future positions of other aircraft different from the target aircraft in a time series by applying input information to a neural network having a recursive structure. The route prediction unit is configured to acquire position prediction information for two or more of the other aircraft by a prediction model that includes a pooling layer having an attention mechanism for sharing the state within the neural network used for each of the two or more other aircraft flying at the same time. The relational information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the relational information using the position prediction information, and is an information processing device.

4. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the route acquisition unit acquires a route that the target aircraft can follow based on a route flown by an aircraft in the past.

5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the related information acquisition unit acquires the related information based on information regarding airspace facility usage fees for the route.

6. The aforementioned related information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the aforementioned related information while the target aircraft is in flight. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the output information is information for displaying on a map the positions of one or more other aircraft after a first time period and after a second time period, and the positions of the target aircraft after a first time period and after a second time period.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the relational information acquisition unit, while the target aircraft is in flight, determines, based on the position prediction information, that the future relationship between the target aircraft and other aircraft will satisfy relational conditions based on the history of issuing control instructions in air traffic control, and acquires information regarding a change in the target aircraft's route as relational information.

8. The system includes a congestion information acquisition unit that acquires congestion information regarding the degree to which the destination is congested as a landing site for aircraft, based on information of aircraft heading to the destination of the aforementioned target aircraft. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output unit outputs the output information based on the congestion information.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output unit outputs output information corresponding to the timing at which the target aircraft arrives at the destination, based on the congestion information and the status information.

10. It includes a unit that acquires information on other aircraft, which are different from the aforementioned target aircraft. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the congestion information acquisition unit acquires congestion information for the destination in the future based on the other aircraft information relating to other aircraft currently in flight.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output unit outputs information relating to a change in the flight status of the target aircraft as output information, based on the congestion information and the status information, while the target aircraft is in flight.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output information includes information for visually displaying the degree of congestion at the destination according to the time of arrival of the aircraft.

13. It is equipped with a weather information acquisition unit that acquires weather information including information on atmospheric conditions, The related information acquisition unit acquires the related information, including the predicted turbulence intensity in the region corresponding to the path, based on the meteorological information. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output information is information relating the predicted turbulence intensity to the path.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the output information is information for displaying an image in which the predicted turbulence intensity is superimposed on the path.

15. It is equipped with a weather information acquisition unit that acquires weather information including information on atmospheric conditions, The aforementioned related information acquisition unit, Learning information constructed using a machine learning method, which consists of two or more sets of learning input information including the meteorological information and state information acquired in relation to the flight of one aircraft, and learning output information including inertial relationship information regarding the inertia of the aircraft measured at each point along the flight path of the aircraft, is then applied to input information including meteorological information acquired by the meteorological information acquisition unit and state information regarding the state of the target aircraft to obtain predictive information regarding the inertia at each point along the flight path of the target aircraft. An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which acquires the aforementioned related information based on the said prediction information.

16. The route acquisition unit acquires two or more routes that the target aircraft can follow. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the relational information acquisition unit determines whether each of the routes satisfies predetermined recommendation conditions based on the prediction information acquired for each of the routes, and acquires the relational information including information indicating a recommended route for the target aircraft based on the determination result.

17. An information processing method that causes a computer to perform all the processing performed by the information processing device described in any one of Claims 1 to 3.

18. Computers, A program for causing an information processing device to function as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

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