Aircraft Taxi Monitoring With Auto Braking for Runway Incursion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Pilots face a high workload during the taxi phase of aircraft operation due to the need to monitor and avoid incursion-risk areas, such as runways, requiring manual intervention to ensure safety, which can be error-prone.

Innovation Solution

A monitoring equipment with a human-machine interface provides context-dependent guidance and automatic braking to prevent aircraft from entering incursion-risk areas, initiating braking if the pilot fails to confirm clearance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the pilot manually monitors and confirms clearance of incursion-risk areas, then the aircraft can safely enter runways, but the pilot workload increases and human error may occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety of runway entryVSAvoidpilot workload
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring equipment automatically detects when the aircraft approaches an incursion-risk area and initiates the confirmation process without requiring continuous pilot attention. The system serves itself by autonomously monitoring position, detecting thresholds, and managing the confirmation workflow, thereby reducing pilot workload while maintaining safety

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides continuous feedback to the pilot through the human-machine interface, displaying confirmation requests and status information. This automated feedback loop ensures the pilot is informed of the clearance status without requiring active monitoring, resolving the contradiction between safety confirmation and workload reduction

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If the monitoring equipment waits for pilot confirmation before entering incursion-risk areas, then safety is improved, but the taxiing process time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprevention of unsafe entryVSAvoidtaxiing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection and warning actions by notifying the pilot in advance before the aircraft reaches the critical entry point. By initiating the confirmation process early and providing advance notice, the system allows the taxiing operation to proceed efficiently while ensuring safety confirmation is obtained timely

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the confirmation process based on the aircraft's approach rate and distance to the incursion-risk area. When the aircraft is approaching quickly, the system provides more urgent warnings and may initiate automatic braking, thereby optimizing the balance between safety confirmation and maintaining taxiing speed

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If automatic braking is initiated when the aircraft fails to stop, then unsafe entry is prevented, but the complexity of the monitoring system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprevention of incursionVSAvoidmonitoring equipment complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies preliminary anti-action by initiating automatic braking as a preventive measure when the aircraft fails to respond to confirmation requests. This counter-action is prepared in advance and automatically executed when safety conditions are not met, preventing unsafe entry without requiring complex real-time decision-making algorithms

Inventive Principle:
Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Solution Approach 2:

The human-machine interface acts as an intermediary between the monitoring logic and the automatic braking function. It manages the confirmation workflow and triggers braking only when specific conditions are met, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture by separating the monitoring, decision-making, and execution functions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4657410A1Aircraft's monitoring equipment and method for Anti-incursion protection
Publication Date: 2025.12.03 AIRBUS (SAS)
  • EP4657410A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4657410A1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP4657410A1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A method for managing an anti-incursion function is implemented by a monitoring equipment embedded in an aircraft. A human-machine interface (100) displays a guidance tile (130) that presents context-dependent information as the aircraft taxies within an airport environment. When the aircraft approaches near an entry point (Q2) to an incursion-risk area (121), the human-machine interface (100) updates the context-dependent information to include a warning indicator, and the monitoring equipment waits for a confirmation that the incursion-risk area is cleared. When the aircraft approaches nearer the entry point (Q2) to the incursion-risk area prior to receiving the confirmation that the incursion-risk area (121) is cleared, the human-machine interface updates the context-dependent information to include a message indicating automatic braking of the aircraft, and the monitoring equipment initiates an automatic braking function of the aircraft when the aircraft fails to stop at most at the entry point to the incursion-risk area.