Aircraft Obstacle Display Aggregation and Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional obstacle notification systems for urban air mobility vehicles fail to provide accurate and relevant obstacle information in complex urban airspaces, with mixed data sources containing verified and unverified information of varying accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that aggregates obstacle information from databases with real-time sensor data to provide aircraft operators with visually characterized, relevant obstacle information, filtering out irrelevant and inaccurate data based on current aircraft position and altitude.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional obstacle notification systems are used, then the system is simple, but the accuracy and relevance of obstacle information is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple obstacle information sources (databases and real-time sensor data) into a unified notification system. The system aggregates data from diverse sources including verified and unverified obstacles, then processes and presents this combined information to the operator, thereby improving information accuracy while managing complexity through integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary processing layer that receives raw obstacle data from multiple sources, verifies and validates the information, and presents processed results to the operator. This intermediary layer filters out unverified or irrelevant obstacles, improving information reliability without directly exposing the operator to the complexity of multiple data sources.
2Loss of information
If all obstacle data from multiple sources is displayed, then the information is comprehensive, but the relevance to current flight conditions decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by filtering and prioritizing obstacle information based on its relevance to the aircraft's current flight conditions. Instead of uniformly displaying all obstacles, the system selectively presents information that is locally relevant to the current position, altitude, and flight path, making the information more useful to the operator.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary filtering and validation of obstacle data before presenting it to the operator. By pre-processing the information to identify and prioritize relevant obstacles based on current flight conditions, the system reduces the cognitive load on the operator and ensures that the most critical information is presented first.
3Quantity of substance
If verified and unverified obstacle data are mixed, then the data coverage is extensive, but the reliability of obstacle information decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments obstacle information into verified and unverified categories, allowing it to maintain extensive data coverage while clearly distinguishing between different reliability levels. This segmentation enables the system to present comprehensive obstacle information while helping the operator understand the confidence level associated with each obstacle, thereby maintaining reliability awareness.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are methods, systems, and non-transitory computer-readable media for transmitting obstacle information to one or more operator displays associated with an aircraft. For instance, the method may include obtaining aircraft flight information including a current position and altitude; retrieving obstacle information for a flight area; scanning the flight area with environment sensors to identify observed obstacles and generate observed obstacle information. The method may further include aggregating the obstacle information with the observed obstacle information of the observed obstacles identified by the environment sensors to generate aggregated obstacle information identifying obstacles in the flight area; determining obstacle characteristics of the obstacles located in the flight area; assigning visual characteristics to each of the obstacles based at least in part on the determined obstacle characteristics; determining a subset of the obstacles relevant to the aircraft; and transmitting information on the relevant subset of obstacles to a display of the aircraft.