Aircraft Lateral Trajectory Calculation Around Polygon Obstacles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems require significant processing resources and computation time to automatically determine a safe trajectory for an aircraft in flight, considering terrain, weather, and operational status, particularly for drones, and there is a need for a solution that can quickly determine if such a trajectory exists.
Innovation Solution
An automatic trajectory generation system using electronic circuitry on board the aircraft that simplifies the search for a flyable trajectory by defining circles based on the aircraft's operational state and destination, and employing a cost function to evaluate candidate trajectories, while considering vertical and lateral margins and obstacle avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automatic trajectory determination considers terrain, weather, and operational status, then trajectory safety is improved, but computation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the trajectory determination process into discrete computational steps: obtaining aircraft status, determining geographical position, identifying obstacles, generating candidate trajectories, evaluating trajectories against constraints, and selecting the optimal trajectory. This segmentation allows the system to process complex safety considerations in manageable stages, improving computational efficiency while maintaining comprehensive safety checks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing constraint parameters (minimum altitude, no-fly zones, obstacle boundaries) and pre-defining evaluation criteria before actual trajectory computation. This preliminary setup enables rapid real-time trajectory generation by avoiding repeated complex calculations, thus reducing computation time while ensuring safety requirements are met.
2Speed
If real-time trajectory calculation is performed, then response speed is improved, but processing resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates only the essential computational elements required for trajectory determination: aircraft status parameters, geographical position data, obstacle information, and constraint conditions. By extracting only these critical elements and excluding unnecessary processing, the system achieves real-time response speed while minimizing processing resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts computational parameters based on aircraft operational state, such as modifying the number of candidate trajectories generated or the complexity of evaluation based on fuel levels, battery status, or emergency conditions. This parameter adaptation allows the system to maintain real-time responsiveness while optimizing processing resource usage according to actual operational needs.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5A~6B
AI summary
To guide an aircraft from its current position to a destination, an automatic trajectory generation system: obtains polygons representing potential obstacles, each polygon being associated with an altitude layer; defines two initial circles tangential to the aircraft's current flight direction, one centered to the right and the other to the left, relative to the aircraft's current position; defines two second circles tangential to a direction to be followed at the destination, one centered to the right and the other to the left, relative to the georeferenced position of the destination; defines a third circle around the vertices of said polygons;and searches for a flyable lateral trajectory between the aircraft's current position and the destination by skirting the polygons at their vertices, searching for tangential trajectories between said circles, respecting a pre-established vertical trajectory profile, as well as the lateral and vertical margins with the polygons. Thus, the trajectory calculation time is reduced.