Avionics Taxi Clearance Completion System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current avionics systems face challenges in automatically completing discontinuities in taxi clearances, increasing pilot workload and situational awareness issues due to incomplete or incorrect taxi instructions, especially when dealing with unavailable or non-existent taxiways.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically identifies and inserts optimal taxi routes between non-intersecting taxi paths using a graph data structure, considering criteria like route length, complexity, and runway crossings, to provide a complete and safe taxi clearance for aircraft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the system manually determines and displays incomplete taxi clearance segments, then the pilot must manually complete discontinuities, but this increases pilot workload and reduces situational awareness
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically detecting discontinuities in the taxi clearance and autonomously determining optimal routes to complete the clearance without requiring pilot intervention. The system monitors its own output and corrects its own deficiencies, eliminating the need for manual completion by the pilot.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-determining optimal routes between non-intersecting taxiways before the pilot needs to execute the clearance. The system proactively identifies and resolves discontinuities in advance, so that when the pilot receives the clearance, it is already complete and ready for execution without requiring manual completion.
2Ease of manufacture
If the system displays taxi clearance with discontinuities, then the graphical presentation is simplified, but this creates obstacles to accurate navigation and requires manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-determining optimal routes between non-intersecting taxiways before the pilot needs to execute the clearance. The system proactively identifies and resolves discontinuities in advance, so that when the pilot receives the clearance, it is already complete and ready for execution without requiring manual completion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms to continuously monitor the taxi clearance generation process and automatically adjust routes to ensure continuity. The system detects when a discontinuity occurs and automatically modifies the clearance to maintain reliability, creating a closed-loop system that ensures accuracy without manual intervention.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system includes all possible taxiways in the clearance, then the clearance is comprehensive, but this includes unavailable or non-existent taxiways that require additional pilot action
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by evaluating and selecting only the appropriate taxiways relevant to the current situation. Instead of including all possible taxiways, the system locally adapts the clearance to include only those that are available, operational, and suitable for the current aircraft position and destination, filtering out unavailable or non-existent routes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters such as taxiway availability status, operational restrictions, and current aircraft position to dynamically determine which taxiways should be included in the clearance. By adjusting these parameters, the system ensures that only valid, available taxiways are incorporated, eliminating the need for pilot intervention to correct improper or unavailable routes.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for completing and displaying a taxi clearance for an aircraft at an airport. One exemplary method involves receiving an input taxi clearance including a first taxi path of a plurality of taxi paths at the airport and a second taxi path of the plurality of taxi paths that succeeds the first taxi path in the input taxi clearance, and determining a plurality of possible taxi routes between the first taxi path and the second taxi path. The method continues by identifying an optimal taxi route from among the plurality of possible taxi routes, and graphically indicating that the taxi clearance for the aircraft includes the optimal taxi route between the first taxi path and the second taxi path.