Aircraft Hover System with Video Overlay and Magnification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft systems lack a dedicated solution to enable precise hovering at a target spatial location, particularly for Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft used in operations like firefighting, where repeated returns to a specific location are necessary.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft hover system that utilizes a display screen to overlay live video feed of terrain with marks representing the aircraft's position and target location, providing aural alerts and adjustable magnification to ensure accurate alignment within a predetermined tolerance, integrated with GPS and Terrain Awareness Warning Systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If terrain awareness systems and altimeters are used to ascertain target spatial location, then rough location information is obtained, but precise hovering capability is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides continuous visual feedback through a display showing the aircraft's current position (first mark) relative to the target location (second mark) on a live video feed of the terrain. This feedback loop allows the pilot to see the distance between marks and make real-time adjustments to achieve precise hovering, directly resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary hover system that includes a display, video feed system, and mark overlay technology. This intermediary system acts as a mediator between the basic terrain awareness systems and the pilot, transforming rough location information into precise hovering guidance by displaying the relative position of first and second marks, thereby enabling accurate position control without directly modifying the existing terrain awareness infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If a dedicated hover system with visual feedback is implemented, then precise hovering is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hover system is designed to integrate with and utilize existing aircraft systems including GPS receivers, terrain awareness warning systems (TAWS), and video feed systems. By making these existing components multi-functional—using GPS for both navigation and precise hover positioning, using TAWS for both terrain awareness and hover guidance—the system achieves precise hovering without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages the aircraft's own existing infrastructure (GPS receiver, display screens, video systems) to provide hover functionality. Rather than requiring entirely new dedicated components, the system makes the aircraft's existing systems serve the additional function of precise hover control, thereby reducing the net increase in device complexity while achieving high measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft hover system for enabling an aircraft to hover at a target spatial location represented by GPS location coordinates. The hover system includes a display screen rendering a display including live video feed of the terrain below the airborne aircraft, a first mark overlaying the video feed, the first mark representing the current position of the aircraft relative to the terrain, and a perimeter surrounding the first mark, the portion of the terrain within the perimeter being substantially magnified compared to that of the terrain outside of the perimeter. The hover system is configured such that, as the aircraft approaches the target spatial location, the distance between the first mark and a second mark on the display gradually decreases until and finally the first and second marks coincide; the second mark representing the target spatial location.