Aircraft Display Controller Automatic Sensor Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft display systems require manual intervention by pilots to select reliable sensors, increasing workload and potentially leading to degraded system performance due to the need for manual comparison and switching between sensor sets.
Innovation Solution
An automatic piloting assistance system with a display controller that selects the most integrity-rich sensor from a set of redundant sensors using algorithms like median-of-medians or ranking-based logic, ensuring accurate data display without pilot intervention, and harmonizing sensor sources across displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual sensor selection is used, then pilot control over data sources is maintained, but pilot workload increases and system response time deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-diagnosis and self-selection of sensor data automatically. The controller continuously monitors sensor status and autonomously switches between sensor sets without pilot intervention, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual operation for sensor selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures multiple sensor sets with known reliability characteristics and continuously monitors their status in advance. When a fault is detected or anticipated, the system has already prepared alternative sensor configurations, enabling rapid automatic switching without requiring pilot reaction time.
2Reliability
If redundant sensor sets are implemented, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is divided into distinct, modular sensor sets (primary and backup sets) that can be independently managed. Each sensor set is segmented with specific functions, allowing the controller to selectively activate appropriate segments based on reliability status without managing a monolithic complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary between the redundant sensor sets and the display system. It automatically mediates sensor selection and data routing, shielding the complexity of multiple sensor configurations from the rest of the system while maintaining reliable data flow to displays.
3Ease of operation
If automatic sensor selection is implemented, then pilot workload is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller continuously receives feedback from sensor status monitors and automatically adjusts sensor selection based on real-time system state. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables automatic sensor switching while keeping the control logic manageable through continuous monitoring and responsive adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller performs multiple functions including sensor status monitoring, fault detection, sensor selection, and data routing through a single integrated unit. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, managing system complexity while achieving automatic sensor selection.
Data Source
AI summary
A piloting assistance system for assisting the piloting of a vehicle, the piloting assistance system comprising at least one display and a plurality of sensors for each measuring a value of a given parameter, the at least one display being configured to display a symbol carrying the value, the plurality of sensors comprising redundant sensors with a redundancy of order three or higher. The piloting assistance system comprises a display controller configured to select, according to stored logic, a selected sensor from the plurality of sensors, the at least one display using the value of the parameter measured with the selected sensor to display the symbol.