Aircraft Image Sharing System With User Selection Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Passengers on aircrafts cannot easily access or share images captured by on-board cameras due to technical hurdles and airlines' reluctance to relinquish control over data.

Innovation Solution

An aircraft computing device with a processor unit and storage unit that receives and processes images from cameras, allowing users to select and transmit them to a terrestrial communication network, while maintaining operator control through user input interfaces and transmission units.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If passengers are given direct access to camera images for sharing, then ease of operation is improved, but operator control over data is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccess to imagesVSAvoidoperator control
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces an intermediary access control mechanism between passengers and camera images. A server acts as a mediator that receives access requests from client devices, validates them against authorization data, and grants or denies access accordingly. This resolves the contradiction by enabling passenger access while maintaining operator control through the intermediary authorization layer.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple users can simultaneously access and share images, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemulti-user accessVSAvoidsystem architecture
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system resolves multi-user access complexity by transitioning from a single-device architecture to a distributed client-server architecture. Multiple client devices can simultaneously connect to the server, each user experiencing simple local interfaces while the server handles the complexity of authorization management, image distribution, and user coordination in the network dimension.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP3182686B1Camera capture posting
Publication Date: 2019.11.06 AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH
  • EP3182686B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3182686B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3182686B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

An aircraft computing device for providing image information from an aircraft to a party of a terrestrial communication network is described. The aircraft computing device comprises a processor unit and a storage unit storing program code which, when executed by the processor unit, configures the computing device to receive a sequence of pictures acquired by a camera of the aircraft, output the received pictures towards a user of the aircraft, receive user input, the user input indicating a selection by the user of at least one picture from the sequence of pictures and a party of a terrestrial communication network, and output the at least one picture selected by the user for transmission towards the party of the terrestrial communication network. Further described are a system, an aircraft, a method, a computer program product, and a storage medium.