Active Voice Tags for ATC Instructions on Flight Path Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flight crew members face increased workload due to the need to record or memorize air traffic control (ATC) instructions related to future maneuvers, which are often not needed at the time of receipt but later during planning.
Innovation Solution
A flight deck system that generates active voice tags on a graphical display unit, allowing flight crew to access ATC instructions on demand by identifying specific instructions from received messages, determining the appropriate location for their display relative to the aircraft's flight path, and providing them as voice messages when actuated by the crew or automatically at predetermined locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If ATC instructions are provided in advance to flight crew, then flight crew have time to plan for future maneuvers, but flight crew workload increases due to the need to record or memorize instructions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically extracting ATC instructions from received messages and placing them on the graphical display unit at predetermined locations along the flight path before the flight crew needs them. This eliminates the need for flight crew to manually record or memorize instructions, reducing workload while ensuring timely access to information when reaching each designated location.
2Ease of operation
If ATC instructions are displayed continuously, then flight crew can access information easily, but irrelevant information increases during periods when maneuvers are not needed
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by displaying ATC instructions at specific predetermined locations along the flight path rather than continuously throughout the cockpit. Each instruction is placed at the location where it becomes relevant to the flight crew's operations, ensuring that information is displayed neither too early nor too late, thereby maintaining high relevance while improving accessibility.
3Reliability
If manual recording of ATC instructions is required, then flight crew maintain awareness of all communications, but time and cognitive resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically extracting, processing, and displaying ATC instructions without requiring flight crew intervention for recording or memorization. The controller automatically identifies specific instructions from received messages, determines appropriate display locations based on flight plan data, and presents information in a structured format on the graphical display unit, freeing flight crew to focus on flight operations while maintaining awareness of all communications.
Data Source
AI summary
A method on an aircraft for producing active voice tags on a flight path displayed on a graphical display unit is provided. The method comprises: identifying a specific instruction from a received message from ATC; determining, for the specific instruction a location relative to a planned flight path of the aircraft at which the specific instruction should be provided to flight crew; generating, for the specific instruction, a voice message configured to recite the specific instruction; associating with the voice message an actuatable graphical element that is actuatable to cause the voice message to be provided to flight crew; rendering the actuatable graphical element at or near the determined location on a depiction of the planned flight path that is displayed on the graphical display unit; and providing the voice message associated with the actuatable graphical element as an aural message responsive to actuation of the actuatable graphical element.