Aircraft Data Management System for Heterogeneous Fleet Telemetry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft avionics systems with different makes and models generate varying telemetry data, making it cumbersome and costly for airlines to implement uniform data processing logic across a heterogeneous fleet, and current methods require vendor assistance and aircraft grounding for updates.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that create and maintain an inventory of data elements across aircraft with different avionics equipment, allowing for the development and deployment of data processing logic that can run identically across different types of aircraft, independent of equipment, and enables wireless updates without grounding the aircraft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional avionics systems connect directly to data sources according to their unique data needs, then each system can access required data efficiently, but the ability to acquire different sets of data as systems evolve is severely restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a data bus as an intermediary layer between avionics systems and data sources. This mediator enables any system to access any data through standardized interfaces, eliminating the need for custom physical connections while maintaining efficient data access. The data bus architecture provides adaptability without increasing physical installation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The data bus provides universal access capabilities, allowing any avionics system to access any data source through common interfaces. This multi-functional approach replaces multiple specialized connection systems with a single universal data bus, enabling systems to acquire different data sets as needs evolve without additional physical infrastructure.
2Productivity
If data processing logic is written for specific aircraft types with identical avionics equipment, then the logic can run correctly on those aircraft, but it becomes cumbersome to apply similar logic across heterogeneous fleets requiring re-implementation for each aircraft type
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates abstract data models that represent data sources and processing logic in a standardized format. These abstract models can be copied and deployed across different aircraft types without modification. The system uses data dictionaries and configuration files that can be replicated fleet-wide, eliminating the need to rewrite processing logic for each aircraft type while maintaining compatibility with diverse avionics systems.
3Ease of operation
If new data processing instructions are created with vendor assistance and manually transferred using specialized data loaders, then the instructions can be added to onboard systems, but the process requires vendor assistance and aircraft grounding which is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical data loading process with wireless electronic transmission. Instead of using physical data loaders that require ground personnel to connect to aircraft systems, the system uses wireless communication interfaces to transfer data processing instructions and updates. This substitution eliminates the need for aircraft grounding and manual intervention, allowing updates to be deployed while aircraft are in operation.
Data Source
AI summary
In connection with processing asynchronous streams of aircraft telemetry data, data processing logic is developed to run on multiple aircraft, even if different avionics equipment are installed on the aircraft. An electronic inventory system tracks data available on affected aircraft. A set of “global” data elements applicable to aircraft in a fleet is defined and is tracked in the electronic inventory system, with relationship to the underlying native data elements and specific aircraft. The global units are derived as appropriate, for each specific aircraft avionics environment. An interface enables definition of data processing logic that is integrated with the electronic inventory system and ensures the general validity of the defined logic. The data processing logic is deployed to one or more aircraft in a function integrated with the electronic inventory system, to ensure the validity of the data processing logic for each aircraft specified as a deployment target.