Aircraft Component Tracking via Image Data Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern aircraft components, such as rotor blades, can deviate from their desired position during flight, leading to sub-optimal performance and potential damage due to interference with other components, which existing monitoring methods fail to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize an imaging device on the aircraft to acquire images of components, estimate their position by correlating pixel distances with actual distances, and calibrate before takeoff to accurately monitor blade positions and control aircraft operations to prevent interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing monitoring methods are used to track aircraft components, then the system complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision of component position is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an imaging device as an intermediary tool to capture visual data of aircraft components. This imaging device serves as a mediator between the component being monitored and the analysis system, enabling precise position tracking through image capture and processing without requiring direct complex sensor integration with the moving components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the aircraft component through imaging. By capturing images of the component at different positions and creating a visual representation, the system can analyze the component's position and movement without physically interfering with it, thus maintaining measurement precision while avoiding direct mechanical interference
2Measurement precision
If imaging devices are used to capture component positions, then the measurement precision improves, but the loss of time for image processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs calibration actions before actual flight operations. By pre-establishing the relationship between image coordinates and real-world positions during calibration, the system avoids complex real-time calculations during flight, thus reducing processing time while maintaining precision in blade position measurement
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously captures images of the rotating blade and compares the blade tip position in each image against the calibrated reference data. This feedback mechanism enables real-time position verification and allows for immediate detection of deviations from expected blade positions, maintaining precision without excessive processing delay
3Manufacturing precision
If calibration is performed before takeoff to correlate pixel width with actual distance, then the manufacturing precision of measurement is improved, but the loss of time during preparation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The calibration process is performed as a preliminary action before flight operations begin. During this phase, the imaging device captures images of the blade at known positions, and the system establishes the correlation between pixel measurements and actual distances. This pre-calibration approach ensures high measurement precision during flight while accepting the time investment upfront, as calibration needs to be performed only once before takeoff
Data Source
AI summary
A method of monitoring a location of a component of an aircraft includes acquiring an image of the component during flight by an imaging device disposed at a selected location relative to the aircraft and oriented along a selected direction relative to an aircraft structure, identifying a position of the component within the image, estimating a distance in the image between the component and a reference location depicted in the image, and estimating an actual location of the component based on the distance in the image. Estimating the actual location includes correlating the distance in the image with an actual distance between the component and the reference location.