Aircraft Navigation Display Integrating NOTAM Text
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pilots face inefficiencies in interpreting and evaluating Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) information due to its traditional paper or fixed electronic format, which is not effectively integrated with navigation data, leading to potential hazards going unnoticed during flight.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft system that processes navigation data and NOTAM information to generate display signals, rendering a navigation map with linked textual NOTAM messages, allowing pilots to scroll through the list while visually identifying impacted locations on the map, reducing the need for manual decoding and improving situational awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If NOTAM information is presented in traditional paper or fixed electronic format, then the information can be transmitted to the aircraft, but the interpretation and evaluation by the pilot becomes inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms NOTAM information from traditional two-dimensional text-based presentation to a three-dimensional spatial representation by plotting NOTAM-related locations directly on the navigation display map. This dimensional transformation allows pilots to visually perceive hazard locations and relationships in the context of the flight path, eliminating the need to mentally map text descriptions to geographic locations and significantly improving interpretation efficiency while reducing evaluation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges NOTAM information display with the navigation display by integrating hazard location markers directly onto the map that shows the flight path, terrain, and navigation data. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate NOTAM documentation and manual cross-referencing, allowing pilots to evaluate all relevant information (flight path, hazards, and context) in a single integrated view, thereby improving productivity and reducing time loss.
2Loss of information
If multiple NOTAMs are provided in fixed page presentation format, then comprehensive hazard information can be transmitted, but the information requires manual parsing and deciphering that increases cognitive workload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a visual copy or representation of NOTAM hazard locations directly on the navigation display map, translating text-based hazard descriptions into graphical markers at their corresponding geographic positions. This visual copying preserves all hazard information while transforming it into an intuitive visual format that eliminates manual parsing and deciphering, significantly improving ease of operation while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses different colors or visual characteristics to differentiate various types of hazards and their severity levels on the navigation display. This visual encoding allows pilots to quickly categorize and prioritize hazards without reading detailed text descriptions, reducing cognitive workload while maintaining complete hazard information through color-coded classification.
3Reliability
If NOTAM information is transmitted after flight planning, then updated hazard data can be provided, but the pilot must interrupt flight tasks to review and evaluate the new information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges updated NOTAM information directly into the active navigation display that the pilot is already using for flight operations. By integrating hazard markers into the existing flight path and navigation context, the system allows pilots to review updated hazard information without interrupting flight tasks or switching between separate documents and displays, thereby maintaining reliability of hazard information while preserving flight operation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous monitoring and evaluation of hazard information by displaying NOTAM markers directly on the navigation display that updates in real-time with flight progress. This allows pilots to maintain continuous awareness of hazards without discrete interruptions, as the hazard information remains continuously visible and integrated with the flight path, maintaining both reliability and productivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
An aircraft system includes a processing unit configured to receive navigation data and notice to airmen (NOTAM) information and to generate display signals based on the navigation data and the NOTAM information. The system further includes a display device coupled to the processing unit and configured to render an image according to the display signals with a first area depicting a navigation display based on the navigation data and a second area depicting a list of NOTAM text messages.