3D Digital Map System for Aircraft Terrain Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Ground Proximity Warning Systems (GPWS) are ineffective in detecting obstacles or terrains in the flight direction or at the side of an aircraft, leading to a high risk of Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents, as they primarily rely on radio-altimeter measurements for ground distance detection.
Innovation Solution
A 3D digital map system incorporating a Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) module, Collision Avoidance Warning (CAW) module, Terrain Following (TF) module, and Passive Ranging (PR) module, which utilize EGI, radio-altimeter, and 3D terrain databases to provide accurate navigation, collision warnings, and terrain-following trajectories, while also considering obstacles and line-of-sight information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a radio-altimeter is used to measure distance between aircraft and ground, then the distance measurement is accurate, but obstacles or terrain in flight direction or at the side of the aircraft cannot be recognized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional ground proximity measurement (radio-altimeter measuring vertical distance only) to three-dimensional terrain information representation. The 3D digital map system incorporates elevation data, horizontal position, and terrain morphology to provide comprehensive spatial awareness, enabling detection of obstacles and terrain features in all directions around the aircraft, not just below it.
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the terrain information into discrete 3D map units with specific elevation data points. The digital terrain model segments the continuous terrain into manageable data elements that can be processed and analyzed individually, allowing the system to detect and represent various terrain features and obstacles throughout the flight path.
2Reliability
If 3D terrain information and multiple modules are integrated, then navigation and collision prevention accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The 3D digital map system serves multiple functions through a unified architecture: terrain following navigation, collision avoidance warning, passive ranging for target acquisition, and trajectory prediction. By creating a universal 3D terrain database that all modules access, the system achieves high reliability across multiple functions without proportionally increasing complexity, as the core 3D mapping infrastructure supports all applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines previously separate systems (terrain following, collision avoidance, ranging) into an integrated 3D digital map system. The modules share common data structures, processing algorithms, and the central 3D terrain database, reducing overall system complexity compared to having separate independent systems while maintaining enhanced reliability through cross-validation and comprehensive terrain awareness.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a three-dimensional (3D) digital map system for implementing a navigation and ground collision preventing method using 3D terrain information. The 3D digital map system includes a terrain referenced navigation module configured to receive data from EGI (Embedded GPS/INS), a radio-altimeter (RALT) and a map database, corrects the data to perform accurate navigation computation, and outputs the corrected data, a collision avoidance warning module configured to generate a warning against collision of an aircraft with the ground or an obstacle using the corrected data, a 3D terrain database and an obstacle database, a terrain following module configured to generate a terrain following trajectory of the aircraft using the same information, and a Passive Ranging module configured to receive the 3D terrain database and line-of-sight (LOS) information of a target and calculate distance and position information of the target located on the ground.