Airspace Deconfliction via Onboard Override Unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into navigable airspace poses challenges for collision avoidance, as they lack pilot sight and sophisticated sense-and-avoid equipment, which is expensive and weight-intensive, necessitating a more efficient airspace deconfliction system.
Innovation Solution
A registration system that assigns a defined, time-limited airspace to each aircraft, using an on-board override unit to ensure the aircraft remains within this registered airspace, preventing collisions by overriding pilot input if the aircraft breaches the assigned area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sophisticated sense-and-avoid equipment is used for collision avoidance, then safety is improved, but cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a ground-based airspace deconfliction system that acts as an intermediary between multiple aircraft. The system receives position reports from aircraft, calculates safe separation, and issues deconfliction instructions to pilots, thereby achieving collision avoidance without requiring sophisticated onboard sense-and-avoid equipment on each aircraft.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electronic sense-and-avoid equipment (radar, transponders, collision avoidance systems) with a communication-based system. Aircraft use simple position reporting (e.g., GPS coordinates transmitted via radio), and the ground system performs the complex separation calculations, substituting onboard mechanical systems with a centralized computational approach.
2Reliability
If sophisticated sense-and-avoid equipment is used for collision avoidance, then safety is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ground-based airspace deconfliction system serves as a cost-effective intermediary, centralizing the computational resources needed for collision avoidance. Instead of each aircraft carrying expensive sense-and-avoid equipment, the ground system performs all separation calculations, reducing per-aircraft costs while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground-based system serves multiple aircraft simultaneously, providing collision avoidance services to the entire fleet. This multi-functional approach distributes the cost across many users, making the system economically viable compared to individual expensive equipment on each aircraft.
3Device complexity
If pilot sight is used for collision avoidance, then equipment simplicity is maintained, but effectiveness is reduced in unmanned aircraft
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the human pilot's visual detection capability with an automated electronic position reporting system. Unmanned aircraft transmit their GPS coordinates automatically, and the ground system calculates separations, replacing the biological visual system with an electronic equivalent that works effectively without a human pilot.
Solution Approach 2:
The unmanned aircraft automatically report their position without human intervention, and the ground system automatically calculates deconfliction instructions. This self-service approach maintains equipment simplicity while achieving reliable collision avoidance through automation rather than human sight.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft deconfliction system including a registration system having an airspace database, a registered airspace, wherein registration details of the registered airspace are logged in the airspace database, and an aircraft assigned to the registered airspace, the aircraft including a flight control system, a guidance computer controlling the flight control system based on a pilot input, and an override unit in communication with the guidance computer, wherein the override unit overrides the pilot input when the aircraft breaches the registered airspace.