Aircraft Intent Data Structure for Validated Multi-Thread Trajectories
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Air Traffic Management systems lack a common shared data structure and unified interface for handling aircraft instances in Aircraft Intent Description Language (AIDL), leading to issues in trajectory definition, execution, and validation, which hinders the introduction of higher levels of automation and autonomy in air vehicle operations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a Common Runtime Aircraft Intent Data Structure (CRAIDS) centralizes and unifies the different interfaces for aircraft trajectories, providing a standardized encoding and validation mechanism for AIDL instances, ensuring coherent and valid instructions for air vehicle operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a common shared data structure is introduced to handle aircraft instances in AIDL, then the reliability and consistency of trajectory definition and execution is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for standardized encoding and validation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The CRAIDS data structure is segmented into multiple independent threads, each representing a specific degree of freedom (longitudinal, lateral, vertical, configuration). This segmentation allows each thread to be validated and processed independently, improving reliability without overwhelming system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
CRAIDS acts as an intermediary data structure between trajectory definition modules and execution modules. It standardizes the representation of aircraft intents and provides a common interface for validation, prediction, and control functions, thereby improving consistency while managing complexity through abstraction.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple threads are used to define aircraft trajectory across different degrees of freedom, then the manufacturing precision of trajectory definition is improved, but the ease of operation decreases due to increased validation complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The trajectory definition is divided into multiple threads, each responsible for a specific degree of freedom (longitudinal, lateral, vertical, configuration). This segmentation improves precision by allowing specialized validation rules for each thread while managing operational complexity through modular processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary validation of each thread independently before executing the complete trajectory. This preliminary action ensures that each degree of freedom is correctly defined and consistent with aircraft constraints before full trajectory execution, improving accuracy while simplifying the overall validation process through incremental checking.
3Extent of automation
If automated flight control is implemented based on validated AIDL instructions, then the extent of automation is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring trajectory compliance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the actual aircraft state is continuously compared against the commanded trajectory defined in CRAIDS. This feedback enables automated detection of trajectory compliance by monitoring whether the aircraft follows the intended path across all degrees of freedom, thereby supporting high-level automation while maintaining verifiable compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
CRAIDS serves multiple functions including trajectory definition, validation, prediction input, and compliance verification reference. This multi-functionality enables automated flight control while simplifying compliance detection, as the same data structure used for command generation is also used for verification, eliminating the need for separate measurement systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
Air vehicle navigation method comprising the following steps: a) establishing initial conditions; b) establishing constraints; c) editing an aircraft trajectory, and; d) flying the air vehicle; wherein editing an aircraft trajectory comprises: i) determining a number of degrees of freedom; ii) establishing as many trajectory threads as degrees of freedom, wherein each thread comprises a series of instruction nodes comprising instructions; iii) determining, for each thread, the instructions satisfying the flight constraints; iv) determining the validity of each instruction in each thread; v) establishing a trigger node associated to each instruction node in each thread, wherein each trigger determines the end of validity of the instruction to which it is associated and the start of validity of the next instruction within the thread; vi) putting in order the instructions and triggers, so that when flying the air vehicle, the latter satisfies all flight constraints at every stage throughout the flight.