Aircraft Data Processing System Ground-Based Terrain Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft face challenges in adapting to dynamic conditions during flight, particularly in adverse weather and terrain awareness, due to limitations in onboard systems and communication with ground control, leading to increased costs, fuel consumption, and inefficient wear of aircraft parts.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft data processing system that includes a main transceiver, data distributor, data processors, and a display page maker, which enables the real-time transmission and processing of aircraft data between client aircraft and a ground-based system, allowing for dynamic decision-making and improved situational awareness without relying solely on onboard systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pilots rely on onboard systems for terrain awareness and weather information, then the aircraft can operate independently, but the system adaptability to dynamic conditions deteriorates and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a ground-based processing system as an intermediary between the aircraft and the pilot. This system receives aircraft data, processes it with advanced algorithms, and returns enhanced information to the pilot, enabling better decision-making in dynamic conditions without requiring the aircraft itself to be more complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where aircraft data is continuously transmitted to the ground-based processing system, which analyzes the information and sends back processed results. This iterative feedback mechanism enables the pilot to adapt to changing conditions using real-time processed information from multiple data sources.
2Loss of information
If the aircraft continuously communicates with ground control, then situational awareness improves, but fuel consumption and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of maintaining continuous communication links, the system transmits aircraft data to the ground-based processing system at specific intervals or when certain conditions are met. The processing system then provides targeted information back to the pilot only when needed, reducing unnecessary communication overhead and fuel consumption while maintaining adequate situational awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts essential information processing functions from the aircraft and places them on the ground-based system. By taking out the heavy computational burden from the aircraft and performing it remotely, the system reduces the need for continuous high-bandwidth communication, thereby lowering fuel consumption while still providing comprehensive situational awareness through extracted and processed data.
3Reliability
If onboard terrain awareness systems are used, then safety improves, but the system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ground-based processing system acts as an intermediary that handles the complex data processing and terrain analysis functions. The aircraft only needs to transmit raw data, while the sophisticated processing algorithms and terrain databases are hosted remotely, significantly reducing onboard system complexity while maintaining high reliability through advanced processing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the terrain awareness processing from the traditional onboard dimension to a ground-based dimension. By relocating the complex processing functions to the ground, the system leverages more powerful computational resources available on the ground while keeping the aircraft systems simpler and lighter.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft data processing system includes a main transceiver, a data distributor, a plurality of data processors, and a display page maker. The main transceiver selectively receives aircraft data transmitted from a plurality of client aircraft and selectively transmits cockpit data to one or more client aircraft. The data distributor selectively receives the aircraft data received by the main transceiver and parses and distributes the aircraft data. The data processors receive a portion of the parsed aircraft data, process the aircraft data, and supply processed aircraft data. The display page maker receives the processed aircraft data from the plurality of processors and generates the cockpit data for selective transmission by the main transceiver to the one or more client aircraft. The cockpit data, when processed in a client aircraft, will render one or more images representative of at least portions of the processed aircraft data.