Aircraft Control Margin Display for Effector Saturation Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern aircraft, particularly vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, lack intuitive control margin feedback due to the complexity of independent effectors providing lift, propulsion, and attitude control, making it difficult for pilots to assess the remaining control margin before input command saturation.
Innovation Solution
The system obtains current aircraft and actuation state information, uses a flight dynamics model to identify effector limits, and determines the range of potential effective input commands for user input devices, providing a graphical indication of the control margin on a display device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple independent effectors are used to provide lift, propulsion, and attitude control, then the aircraft's control capability and versatility are improved, but the control margin becomes non-intuitive and difficult to assess
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring effector positions, aircraft state, and control inputs, then displaying real-time control margin information to the pilot. The graphical user interface shows the relationship between current control input and available control margin, enabling the pilot to assess remaining control authority despite the complexity of multiple independent effectors.
Solution Approach 2:
The control margin display system acts as an intermediary between the complex effector system and the pilot. It translates the intricate relationships between multiple effectors (lift fans, propellers, rotors, flight control surfaces) and aircraft state into intuitive visual information, bridging the gap between system complexity and pilot understanding.
2Device complexity
If a shared or common inceptor is used for controlling multiple effectors, then the control system's simplicity is improved, but the ability to provide intuitive control margin feedback deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system adds a new dimension to the control interface by displaying control margin information graphically on a user interface. Instead of trying to encode control margin information in the physical properties of the shared inceptor, the system uses visual representation in a different dimension (display screen) to convey the relationship between control input and available margin.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces mechanical feedback mechanisms (which would be complex to implement with multiple independent effectors) with electronic computation and visual display. The control margin is calculated through flight dynamics models and presented graphically, substituting mechanical information transfer with electronic information processing and display.
3Measurement precision
If real-time control margin calculation is implemented using flight dynamics models, then the accuracy of control margin assessment is improved, but the computational requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations by pre-computing effector limits as a function of aircraft state using flight dynamics models. This allows the control margin to be determined through simpler look-up table queries and interpolation during real-time operation, rather than performing complex flight dynamics calculations at every control update cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic updating of control margin information based on current aircraft state and effector positions. The graphical display is refreshed in real-time as the aircraft state changes, providing continuously updated control margin assessment without requiring complete recalculation of flight dynamics models at every moment.
Data Source
AI summary
Vehicle systems and methods are provided for assisting operation by providing indication of remaining control margin with respect to actuation of a user input device to adjust an inertial rate of a vehicle. An exemplary method involves identifying one or more effector limits for one or more effectors associated with an aircraft based at least in part on current aircraft state information and current actuation state information for the one or more effectors using a flight dynamics model associated with the aircraft, determining a range of potential effective input commands for a user input device associated with the one or more effectors to adjust one or more inertial rates of the aircraft based on the one or more effector limits, the current aircraft state information and the current actuation state information, and providing a user indication of the range of potential effective input commands.