Aircraft Warning System Using AIS Identity and Height Database
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for warning aircraft of obstacles on the Earth's surface, such as tall ships and structures, suffer from high false alarm rates due to the lack of height information in commercial Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) signals, which can lead to unnecessary alerts and ineffective collision avoidance.
Innovation Solution
A warning system on board the aircraft that receives AIS signals containing position, speed, and identity information, uses a database to retrieve obstacle height data based on identity, and generates warnings only when the aircraft's altitude is comparable to the obstacle's height, reducing false alarms by calculating potential coincidences in horizontal position and height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If commercial AIS signals are used to warn aircraft of obstacles, then collision avoidance capability is improved, but false alarm rate increases due to lack of height information
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-populates a database with height information for known obstacles (ships, offshore structures) before flight operations. This preliminary action allows the warning system to accurately assess collision risk without requiring real-time height measurements, thereby maintaining high reliability while minimizing false alarms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary database that bridges the gap between AIS position data and collision risk assessment. This database stores pre-collected height information and acts as a mediator, enabling accurate risk evaluation without modifying the original AIS signal structure or requiring additional height sensors on the aircraft.
2Measurement precision
If obstacle height information is obtained from a database using identity, then false alarms are reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The warning system is designed to handle multiple obstacle types (ships, offshore structures, tall land objects) through a single unified database interface. This multi-functionality allows the system to reduce false alarms across diverse scenarios without proportionally increasing complexity, as the same database retrieval mechanism serves all obstacle categories.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automatic database queries using obstacle identity information extracted from AIS signals or pilot input. This self-service approach eliminates the need for manual height data entry or complex real-time sensing, reducing operational complexity while maintaining high measurement precision for collision risk assessment.
3Device complexity
If warning system compares aircraft trajectory with obstacle position only, then system simplicity is maintained, but warning accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from two-dimensional horizontal trajectory comparison to three-dimensional collision risk assessment by incorporating vertical height information from the database. This dimensional enhancement maintains relatively simple system architecture while dramatically improving warning accuracy, as the additional vertical dimension is obtained through database lookup rather than complex sensing.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
AI summary
Apparatus (10) for warning an aircraft comprises a warning system (16), storage means (14) storing a database of ship identities and corresponding height data, and a ship position receiver (12). An Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal (22) emitted from a ship (20) carries information corresponding to the identity and the position of the ship. If the ship lies on, or within a pre-determined vicinity of, the horizontal trajectory of the aircraft, the warning system uses the ship's identity derived from the AIS signal to look up the height of the ship in the database. If the altitude of the aircraft does not exceed the height of the ship by more than a pre-determined value, the warning system generates a warning signal. The apparatus allows a commercial AIS signal to be used to warn an aircraft of a ship, but avoids false alarms in the event that the altitude of the aircraft significantly exceeds the height of the ship.