Aircraft Display Perspective View for Spatial Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern aircraft map displays lack intuitive representation of terrain near the flight path, presenting a flat two-dimensional image that fails to convey the physical dimensions of the geographical area, leading to data overload and reduced spatial understanding for pilots.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft display system that generates perspective views of the terrain and flight path, using a processor to render a three-dimensional representation of the aircraft and terrain, providing pilots with enhanced spatial awareness and depth perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a flat two-dimensional vertical profile display is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the spatial understanding and vertical awareness for pilots deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the traditional two-dimensional vertical profile display into a three-dimensional perspective view by adding depth perception through stereoscopic rendering. The processor generates left-eye and right-eye image pairs that create a three-dimensional effect, allowing pilots to intuitively understand terrain elevation and vertical spatial relationships without increasing operational complexity of the display system.
2Loss of information
If more terrain information is presented, then the spatial awareness is improved, but the data overload increases
Solution Approach 1:
By presenting terrain information in three dimensions rather than two, the system conveys more spatial awareness information more efficiently. The three-dimensional perspective view naturally encodes elevation, distance, and terrain features in a way that reduces the cognitive load compared to traditional two-dimensional displays that require interpretation of scaled representations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs color coding to represent different terrain features and elevation levels in the three-dimensional display. This visual encoding allows pilots to quickly distinguish terrain characteristics without processing excessive numerical or textual data, reducing information overload while maintaining high spatial awareness.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional two-dimensional terrain representation is used, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the intuitive navigation information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements three-dimensional perspective views using standard avionics display hardware and processing capabilities. The three-dimensional rendering is achieved through software algorithms that generate stereoscopic image pairs from terrain database data, maintaining ease of manufacture while dramatically improving intuitive navigational information and reducing pilot workload.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft display system (100) includes a first device (102) providing (402) flight data of a selected flight path of an aircraft (214), a device (106, 114) providing (404) a plurality of data points representative of the terrain (302) below the selected flight path, a processor (104) generating (406) display commands from the flight data and the plurality of data points, and a display (116) coupled to receive the display commands and operable to render (408) in a perspective view an icon representative of the aircraft (214) and the terrain (302) near the aircraft (214).