Aircraft Flight Control for Emissions and Cost Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flight management systems do not account for emissions levels and associated costs, leading to inefficiencies and potential penalties imposed by regulatory agencies.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that includes a user interface, sensors, and a control unit to optimize flight paths, altitudes, and airspeeds to reduce emissions and costs, utilizing a performance database and artificial intelligence to automatically adjust aircraft controls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If existing flight management systems are used to operate aircraft, then flight operations can be conducted, but emissions levels and associated costs are not accounted for leading to inefficiencies and potential penalties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines emissions monitoring sensors, performance databases, control units, and user interfaces into an integrated flight management system. This merging of previously separate components enables comprehensive emissions accounting and optimization without requiring entirely new systems, thereby improving emissions management capability while limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight management system is designed to perform multiple functions: traditional flight parameter management, emissions monitoring, emissions cost calculation, and automated optimization. By making the system universal and multi-functional, the patent avoids the need for separate dedicated emissions management systems, thus improving emissions accounting capability without proportionally increasing system complexity.
2Loss of energy
If flight parameters are optimized to reduce emissions, then emissions costs are reduced, but this requires real-time monitoring and adjustment increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors emissions levels through sensors and uses this feedback to automatically adjust flight parameters via the control unit. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables real-time optimization of emissions without requiring complex manual intervention, as the system self-regulates based on monitored performance data and pre-stored optimization algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The performance database stores pre-calculated optimization parameters and emission factor data before flight operations begin. This preliminary preparation allows the control unit to quickly make optimization decisions during flight without performing complex calculations in real-time, thereby reducing emissions costs while minimizing the computational complexity required during actual flight operations.
3Productivity
If automated control adjustments are implemented to reduce emissions, then fuel efficiency improves, but the extent of automation increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The flight management system performs automated emissions optimization and control adjustments without requiring continuous pilot intervention. The system monitors its own performance, calculates optimal parameters, and automatically adjusts flight controls to maintain optimization. This self-service capability improves fuel efficiency through continuous optimization while limiting the burden on operators, effectively managing the trade-off between automation extent and operational simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and a method include a user interface including a display and an input device. The input device is configured to be operated to provide parameters for a flight of an aircraft. A control unit is in communication with the user interface. The control unit is configured to receive the parameters from the user interface, and determine one or both of emissions of the aircraft during phases of the flight of the aircraft, or emissions costs for the flight of the aircraft.