Aircraft Sensor Image Overlay for Flight Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Primary Flight Displays rely on synthetic imagery that may not provide a completely accurate picture of the external environment, lacking information on potential obstacles or terrain features not represented in the database, which can impact flight safety and situational awareness.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that receive sensed image data from image sensors on board an aircraft, identify features within a display matrix, and generate display signals to include sensor-based images corresponding to this data, allowing for the display of detected electromagnetic energy from the external environment, enhancing the accuracy of the displayed external environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If synthetic imagery is used to display the external environment, then the display provides a comprehensive view based on navigational and terrain data, but it cannot provide accurate information about actual obstacles or terrain features not represented in the database
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines synthetic imagery from navigational and terrain databases with actual sensor-based images from image sensors. This merging allows the display to show both the comprehensive contextual view provided by synthetic imagery and the accurate real-time information captured by sensors, thereby recovering lost information about actual obstacles and terrain features while maintaining overall situational awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensor-based images as an intermediary element between the synthetic imagery and the flight crew. These sensor images act as a mediator that provides verification and补充 information about the external environment, allowing the crew to see both the database-based representation and the actual captured imagery to make more reliable decisions.
2Loss of information
If sensor-based images are displayed to provide accurate real-time information, then information accuracy and situational awareness are improved, but the display complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selectively displaying sensor-based images only in specific regions or areas of interest within the display, rather than uniformly across the entire display. This allows the system to provide detailed real-time information where needed while maintaining the simpler synthetic imagery in other areas, thereby reducing overall display complexity while still delivering accurate real-time information where critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the display into multiple regions, with some areas showing synthetic imagery and others showing sensor-based images. This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity by dividing the display content into manageable portions, processing only necessary sensor data for specific regions rather than handling the entire field of view at full resolution.
3Loss of information
If full sensor-based images are displayed to show the complete field of view, then comprehensive information is provided, but the display becomes cluttered and harder to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and highlights only the most relevant features and elements from the sensor-based images, displaying them separately or emphasizing them within the context of synthetic imagery. This extraction approach allows the system to provide comprehensive information about the external environment while maintaining display clarity by focusing attention on critical features rather than presenting the entire raw sensor image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by displaying only portions or selected regions of sensor-based images rather than the complete field of view. This allows the system to provide sufficient real-time information for decision-making without overwhelming the flight crew with excessive visual data, thereby maintaining ease of operation while still delivering comprehensive enough information for safety.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides a more accurate representation of the external environment by overlaying sensor-based images onto synthetic images, improving flight safety and situational awareness by including real-time data on obstacles and terrain features not accounted for in the synthetic view.
Implementation Method 1
receiving sensed image data from an image sensor on board the aircraft, wherein the sensed image data represents detected electromagnetic energy from a field of view of the external environment
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments include methods and apparatus for displaying images of an external environment, such as an external environment of an aircraft during flight. An embodiment of a display system includes an image sensor and a processing subsystem. The image sensor is adapted to produce sensed image data based on detected electromagnetic energy from a field of view of the external environment. The sensed image data registers within a first area of a display matrix, and the processing subsystem is adapted to identify a feature that registers within the first area. The processing subsystem is also adapted to determine parameters defining a second, smaller area of the display matrix that is positioned in proximity to the feature, and to generate a display signal to include information representing a sensor-based image corresponding to the sensed image data that registers within the second area.