Airspace Partitioning for Real-Time Conflict Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air traffic management systems struggle to dynamically and real-time manage conflicts between diverse aircraft and entities in shared airspace, particularly in uncontrolled or heterogeneously used airspaces, without increasing the workload on human operators.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for monitoring conflicts in airspace by subdividing navigable airspace into discrete partitions, mapping entity usage information to these partitions, detecting concurrent usage conflicts, and providing real-time conflict notifications to clients, thereby accommodating heterogeneous data sources and usages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional air traffic control systems are used to manage conflicts between diverse aircraft and entities, then safety and separation between aircraft can be maintained, but the workload on human operators increases significantly and real-time dynamic management becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables entities to self-register their airspace usage by submitting flight plans and operational parameters to the block management system. The system automatically processes these registrations, maps them to airspace blocks, and manages conflicts without requiring constant human intervention, thus maintaining safety while reducing operator workload
Solution Approach 2:
The block management system acts as an intermediary between diverse airspace users and air traffic control. It receives usage information from various entities, standardizes the data, manages block allocations, and provides conflict detection and resolution recommendations, thereby reducing the complexity and workload on human operators while maintaining reliable conflict management
2Reliability
If traditional air traffic control services are applied to heterogeneous entities like UAMs, UAVs, and military aircraft, then standardized conflict management can be achieved, but the system cannot readily adapt to diverse airspace usages and uncontrolled airspaces
Solution Approach 1:
The airspace is divided into discrete three-dimensional blocks that can be independently managed and allocated. This segmentation allows the system to handle diverse entities and usage patterns by assigning specific blocks to different entities based on their requirements, enabling both standardized management and flexible adaptation to heterogeneous airspace users
Solution Approach 2:
The block management system is designed to universally accommodate multiple types of entities including commercial aircraft, UAMs, UAVs, and military aircraft. It provides a unified interface for registering airspace usage and manages conflicts across all entity types using the same block-based methodology, achieving both standardization and versatility
3Reliability
If real-time conflict detection and management is implemented for all airspace users, then safety can be improved, but the system complexity and computational requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing airspace into discrete blocks, the system simplifies conflict detection to checking for overlapping block allocations rather than complex spatial calculations between continuous aircraft positions. This segmentation reduces computational complexity while enabling real-time conflict detection through straightforward block assignment and validation
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary conflict detection during the flight plan registration and block allocation phases, before actual airspace usage begins. By detecting and resolving potential conflicts in advance through automated block management, the system reduces the need for complex real-time intervention while maintaining safety
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for managing potential conflicts between entities operating within a three-dimensional volume of navigable space, such as different aircraft operating within navigable airspace. One method involves obtaining usage information associated with a first entity, mapping the usage information to one or more partitions in a partitioned domain corresponding to the volume of navigable space that encompass an operating region for the first entity, and updating registered usage data associated with the one or more partitions to maintain an association between the one or more partitions and the first entity. The method detects a concurrent usage conflict associated with a first partition after updating the registered usage data based at least in part on a second association between the first partition and a second entity, and in response to detecting the concurrent usage conflict, updates conflict data to include an indication of the concurrent usage conflict.