Virtualized Aircraft Control with Safety Command Confirmation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing virtualized aircraft control architectures face a significant risk of command corruption, which can lead to improper execution of critical functions, jeopardizing aircraft integrity and passenger safety, and operator checks to verify commands increase workload during complex flight procedures.

Innovation Solution

A control architecture with a main command confirmation module and procedure management module generates a safety command based on the current flight procedure, ensuring the main command aligns with the suggested command before executing critical functions, using distinct byte configurations to minimize errors and incorporating redundancy for system failures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If operator check is used to verify main command, then command corruption risk is reduced, but operator workload increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommand execution reliabilityVSAvoidoperator workload

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs self-verification by automatically generating a safety command independently and comparing it with the main command, eliminating the need for operator intervention in the verification process while maintaining high reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements automatic feedback mechanisms where the safety command is generated, compared with the main command, and the result determines whether the functional element should be actuated, creating a closed-loop verification system

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Ease of operation

If virtualized control architecture is used, then ease of operation is improved, but command corruption risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol interface usabilityVSAvoidcommand integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The safety command acts as an intermediary verification layer between the main command and the functional element actuation, providing an additional check that maintains reliability while preserving the virtualized control interface

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The safety command is generated in advance and compared with the main command before the functional element is actuated, preventing corrupted commands from causing harmful effects

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12539978B2Virtualized aircraft control architecture and associated method

Publication Date: 2026.02.03 DASSAULT AVIATION SA

AI summary

A virtualized aircraft control architecture includes a human-machine interface configured for generating a main command for arranging a functional element into a target configuration among a plurality of configurations; a procedure management module configured for generating a suggested command depending upon a current step of a flight procedure; a command confirmation module generating a safety command associated with the main command when the latter corresponds to the suggested command; and an interface module configured for sending the main and safety commands to a control module. The control module arranges the functional element into the target configuration when the main command and the safety command, respectively, correspond to the expected main and safety commands for arranging the functional element into the target configuration.