Aircraft Emergency Triggering Using Adaptive Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current emergency measures in aircraft, such as Emergency Locator Transmitters and Deployable Flight Recorders, often fail to trigger early enough in emergency situations, leading to delayed Search And Rescue operations and potential damage from unintended deployments, due to reliance on acceleration sensors and malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A method that adjusts thresholds for triggering emergency measures based on the aircraft's position over ground, using fuzzy logic to evaluate flight and aircraft parameters, ensuring early detection of emergencies while preventing false activations, by differentiating thresholds for various geographic locations and situations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If acceleration sensors are used to trigger Emergency Locator Transmitters, then the transmitter is activated at the moment of crash detection, but the transmitter may be destroyed before detection or fail to send signals in time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by triggering the Emergency Locator Transmitter based on pre-crash parameters (flight path angle, acceleration patterns, altitude rate of change) rather than waiting for the crash moment. This allows the transmitter to be activated before the actual crash occurs, ensuring it is not destroyed and can send signals in time for rescue operations.
2Loss of time
If sensors trigger Deployable Flight Recorders early, then rapid accident investigation is enabled, but unintended deployments may cause damage to the aircraft and ground
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses parameter changes by continuously monitoring multiple flight parameters (flight path angle, acceleration, altitude rate) and only triggering the Deployable Flight Recorder when a specific combination of parameters indicates a genuine crash scenario. This multi-parameter threshold approach distinguishes between normal operations and actual emergencies, preventing false activations while enabling timely deployment when needed.
3Ease of operation
If a single threshold is used for emergency measure triggering, then the system is simple to operate, but it cannot differentiate between various geographic locations and situations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the trigger threshold adaptive rather than static. The system dynamically adjusts the trigger threshold based on the aircraft's geographic location (ocean vs. land), altitude, and flight phase. This allows the same system to operate simply with automatic adaptation to different conditions, enabling location-aware emergency response without complex manual configuration.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
In the present application a method for triggering a first emergency measure associated with an aircraft emergency comprising the steps of determining a risk level for an aircraft emergency and triggering the first emergency measure if the risk level exceeds a first threshold for the first emergency measure is described and claimed. The risk level is determined by evaluating a plurality of flight parameters and/or aircraft parameters using a predefined logic. The first threshold is adjusted according to a position of the aircraft over ground. Furthermore, a system for use onboard an aircraft for triggering a first emergency measure and an aircraft comprising such a system are described and claimed.