Attitude Differentiation in Enhanced Vision Cockpit Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern avionics systems face challenges in intuitively and quickly conveying the relative altitude and attitude of features in real-time images captured by onboard imaging devices without distracting pilots, especially in low-visibility conditions, due to limitations in synthetic terrain display integrity and the need for seamless integration with synthetic vision systems.
Innovation Solution
The system visually partitions real-time images using distinguishable characteristics such as colors or transparency levels, dynamically chosen based on flight phase, image quality, and user preferences, to overlay captured images onto synthetic perspective views, allowing pilots to intuitively identify altitude and attitude while maintaining situational awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If real-time images are overlaid on synthetic terrain displays without visual partitioning, then the information density is high, but the pilot cannot quickly determine relative altitude and attitude
Solution Approach 1:
The captured image is divided into multiple portions based on attitude reference and altitude reference. The portion below attitude reference and below altitude reference is displayed with first visual characteristics, while other portions use different visual characteristics. This segmentation allows pilots to quickly identify relative altitude and attitude without processing the entire image, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and time loss.
2Reliability
If enhanced vision systems provide detailed terrain imagery, then terrain awareness is improved, but situational awareness may be distracted or overwhelmed
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the captured image are displayed with different visual characteristics based on their spatial relationship to attitude and altitude references. This local differentiation provides detailed terrain information where needed while maintaining overall situational awareness, preventing information overload while preserving reliability.
3Ease of operation
If synthetic terrain display is used, then a forward-looking cockpit viewpoint is provided, but the integrity is limited by pre-stored database accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges synthetic terrain display with captured real-time images. The synthetic terrain provides the intuitive forward-looking cockpit viewpoint while the captured images augment it with actual terrain features not in the database, combining the advantages of both systems to achieve both ease of operation and reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for displaying information on a flight deck display (200) onboard an aircraft (130). An exemplary method comprises obtaining image data (206) for an imaging region and displaying, on the display device (102), a graphical representation of a first portion (208) of the image data (206) using a first visually distinguishable characteristic and a graphical representation of a second portion (210) of the image data (206) using a second visually distinguishable characteristic. The first portion (208) corresponds to a portion of the image data (206) above an attitude reference and the second portion (210) corresponds to a portion of the image data (206) below the attitude reference, and the first visually distinguishable characteristic and the second visually distinguishable characteristic are different.