Aircraft Visual Sensor System Hazard Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft pilots face challenges in identifying hazards such as collisions with rotors, propellers, and landing on dangerous surfaces, as these hazards may be outside their field of view or difficult to detect.
Innovation Solution
A visual sensor system that uses a combination of sensors and cameras positioned strategically on an aircraft to detect and display hazards, providing the pilot with a visual perspective of the aircraft and its surroundings, including graphical representations of detected hazards, and performing remedial measures to minimize risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pilots rely on their field of view to identify hazards, then the system is simple and requires no additional equipment, but hazards outside the pilot's field of view cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides hazard detection into multiple zones around the aircraft (front, rear, left, right, top, bottom) and assigns sensors to specific zones. This segmentation allows comprehensive coverage without requiring a single complex all-directional sensor system, resolving the contradiction between detection reliability and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensors and cameras as intermediary devices between the pilot and hazards. These intermediaries detect hazards outside the pilot's direct field of view and relay information to the pilot through displays, enabling hazard detection without requiring the pilot to physically see all areas, thus improving reliability while maintaining manageable system complexity.
2Reliability
If multiple sensors and cameras are positioned strategically on the aircraft to detect all hazards, then hazard detection capability is improved, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multi-functional sensors and cameras that serve multiple purposes. For example, cameras positioned for rotor protection also provide situational awareness for general hazard detection. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of devices needed while maintaining comprehensive hazard detection capability, resolving the contradiction between detection reliability and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines sensor data from multiple sources (proximity sensors, cameras, LIDAR) into a unified display system that presents integrated hazard information to the pilot. This merging approach consolidates multiple detection systems into a single coherent interface, reducing the effective complexity the pilot must manage while maintaining comprehensive detection capability.
3Loss of information
If the system provides comprehensive visual information of all aircraft portions, then situational awareness is improved, but the display becomes cluttered and difficult to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The display system presents information with local quality by showing different levels of detail in different display regions. Critical hazard information is highlighted with enhanced visual properties (color, size, position) while less critical information is shown with reduced prominence. This allows comprehensive information delivery while maintaining ease of interpretation through differential information presentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to the pilot about detected hazards through multiple channels (visual displays, auditory alerts). The feedback mechanism allows the pilot to request additional information about specific hazards, and the system responds by providing targeted details. This interactive feedback loop maintains situational awareness while preventing information overload by allowing on-demand detail retrieval.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a processing device configured to: obtain sensor data from one or more sensors associated with an aircraft, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect information associated with an operating environment of the aircraft; detect an object near the aircraft based on the sensor data; obtain a camera feed from a camera associated with the aircraft, wherein the camera feed comprises a camera view of at least a portion of the aircraft; generate a display output based on the camera feed and the sensor data, wherein the display output comprises a visual perspective of the object relative to the aircraft; and cause the display output to be displayed on a display device.