Aircraft Display Trend Data Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pilots face challenges in quickly understanding historical aircraft data due to limitations in digital readouts and analog gauges, which do not allow immediate observation of historical measurements, especially in emergency situations where time is critical and distractions are present.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a processor receiving signals from avionics sensors, storing them in memory, and displaying historical data points on a flight display alongside a linear scale, allowing pilots to visually comprehend trends and historical information more efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If digital readouts are used to display aircraft sensor data, then information can be displayed in a compact format, but pilots cannot immediately observe historical measurements and must mentally retain values over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms historical data from a temporal dimension (requiring mental retention over time) into a spatial dimension by displaying multiple data points along a linear scale. This allows pilots to see historical measurements immediately as visual positions on the display, eliminating the need for mental retention and reducing observation time.
2Ease of operation
If analog style gauges are used to show rate-of-change through indicator motion, then pilots can observe trends, but a period of observation time is required before conclusions can be drawn
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous analog gauge into discrete data points displayed along a linear scale. Each data point represents a specific historical measurement, allowing pilots to immediately compare multiple values and draw conclusions without requiring prolonged observation of indicator motion.
3Loss of information
If multiple historical data points are stored and displayed, then situational awareness is enhanced, but memory requirements and processing power increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential trend information needed for situational awareness by displaying a limited number of data points along a linear scale, rather than storing and processing complete historical datasets. This provides sufficient trend visibility while minimizing memory and processing requirements.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A system and related methods for storing data from avionics sensors (106) and displaying the data on flight display (102). The data is received from the avionics sensor (106). The data is recorded in a memory (112) according to a storage period, the storage period based on at least in part on a sampling rate of the signal. Furthermore, the memory (112) may be limited to a fixed amount of data, with the oldest data being replaced with newer data. The data is further displayed on a flight display (102) adjacent to a linear scale, with an orientation and position such that the data corresponds to values on the linear scale. By the data displayed on the flight display (102), an aircraft operator may visually determine trends regarding in-flight data in minimal time, thereby reducing cognitive workload.