Aircraft Mesh Network for Real-Time Weather Threat Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for warning pilots of weather-related threats, such as clear air turbulence, are delayed and unreliable, relying on manual reports from other pilots and ground stations, which are impractical for real-time information sharing among aircraft.
Innovation Solution
A self-organizing mesh network of aircraft equipped with computers and meteorological sensors that automatically share and process weather-related data in real-time, using software-defined radios to establish and maintain connections among nodes, enabling immediate threat forecasting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual reporting by pilots to ground stations is used, then weather threat information can be collected, but the system introduces delay and is not real-time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual system of pilot reporting to ground stations with an automated electronic mesh network. Aircraft computers automatically collect meteorological data from sensors and share it with neighboring aircraft through wireless communication, eliminating human intervention delays and enabling real-time threat detection and forecasting.
2Loss of time
If continuous transmission and listening of weather information is implemented, then real-time information sharing is achieved, but the system complexity and energy consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential meteorological data from the aircraft's sensors and transmits only this processed information through the mesh network, rather than continuously transmitting all aircraft data. This selective data extraction reduces communication overhead and system complexity while maintaining real-time weather threat sharing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Each aircraft computer autonomously collects meteorological data from its sensors, processes the data to identify weather threats, and automatically shares relevant information with neighboring aircraft without requiring continuous manual control or complex centralized coordination. This self-service approach simplifies the overall system architecture.
3Device complexity
If ground stations are used for weather information dissemination, then centralized processing is achieved, but ground stations cannot detect invisible or out-of-range threats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized ground station function into distributed aircraft computers forming a mesh network. Each aircraft independently processes its own sensor data and shares it with neighbors, creating multiple localized processing nodes. This segmentation enables detection of invisible or out-of-range threats because each aircraft can process data from its own sensors and receive data from nearby aircraft, without relying on ground station coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for forecasting weather related threats aboard an aircraft includes a computer for sending and receiving meteorological data to and from other aircraft in a self-organizing mesh network of aircraft. The computer isolates meteorological sensor data originating from the other aircraft in a region along the flight path of the aircraft and uses that data to forecast weather related threats along the aircraft's flight path.