Autoland Fault Correction via 3D Cockpit Instructions
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Solution Overview
Problem
In aircraft autoland systems, when a pilot becomes incapacitated, manual intervention by a non-pilot to correct subsystem or component failures is difficult due to unfamiliarity with the cockpit layout, especially during critical flight phases.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an aircraft autoland system, a health monitoring system, and a fault condition database that provides a 3D cockpit view with graphical and textual instructions to assist non-pilots in identifying and correcting faults, enabling them to take corrective action effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual intervention is required during critical flight phases, then corrective action can be taken to restore autoland system operation, but the non-pilot's unfamiliarity with cockpit layout makes timely and accurate intervention difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a health monitoring system as an intermediary between the autoland system and the non-pilot. This mediator detects faults, determines correctability, and provides guided instructions through display devices, bridging the knowledge gap between complex system failures and non-expert operators during critical flight phases
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-determining which faults are correctable and preparing guided instructions in advance. The health monitoring system continuously monitors system health and has predetermined correction procedures ready, allowing the non-pilot to take immediate corrective action without needing to diagnose complex failures during the time-critical landing phase
2Measurement precision
If complex fault diagnosis and correction procedures are provided to non-pilots, then accurate corrective action can be taken, but the time required to understand and implement corrections increases during critical flight phases
Solution Approach 1:
The health monitoring system implements feedback by continuously monitoring autoland system health, comparing actual state against expected parameters, and providing real-time guidance to the non-pilot. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures accurate fault identification while minimizing response time through automated detection and instruction provision
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies or representations of complex fault conditions through predetermined correction procedures. Instead of requiring the non-pilot to understand complex system diagnostics, the health monitoring system provides simplified, step-by-step correction instructions that replicate the expertise needed without requiring the time investment to develop it
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and method to assist a non-pilot in taking corrective action includes monitoring, in a health monitoring system, a state of health of an enabled aircraft autoland system to determine if a subsystem or component of the autoland system is in a fault condition that will inhibit operation of the autoland system. When the subsystem or component of the enabled autoland system is inoperable, The health monitoring system determines if the fault condition can be corrected by the non-pilot, by comparing the fault condition to a set of fault conditions in a fault condition database. When the fault condition can be corrected by the non-pilot, a display device is commanded, via the health monitoring system, to render a three-dimensional (3D) cockpit view of instructions for correcting the fault.