Aircraft Cabin Lighting Scheduling With GMT-Offset Time Scaling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft lighting programs struggle to accurately adjust cabin lighting in polar regions due to the inapplicability of arbitrary sunrise and sunset times, which reduces their effectiveness in mitigating jetlag.
Innovation Solution
The system uses epoch time format for scheduling lighting events and adjusts departure and arrival times with GMT offsets, generating a simulation ratio modifier to scale lighting durations based on flight time, and sets the duration between sunrise and sunset to zero if there is no actual sunrise or sunset, ensuring accurate lighting conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If arbitrary sunrise and sunset times are used in polar regions, then the lighting program can be implemented, but the accuracy of lighting adjustment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the sunrise and sunset time parameters based on geographic location and season. Instead of using fixed arbitrary values, the system calculates actual sunrise/sunset times using astronomical algorithms that account for the specific latitude, longitude, and date of the flight, thereby maintaining lighting accuracy in polar regions where sunrise/sunset times vary dramatically throughout the year
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary calculation layer between the arbitrary time input and the lighting control output. This intermediary layer uses flight information (departure/arrival locations, dates, times) to compute the actual sunrise and sunset times at the specific geographic locations, serving as a mediator that translates general time inputs into location-specific accurate lighting schedules
2Ease of operation
If fixed arbitrary times are used for sunrise and sunset, then the system operation is simplified, but the effectiveness in reducing jetlag is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically calculating the actual sunrise and sunset times based on the flight's departure and arrival locations and dates. The lighting control system queries flight information, computes the astronomical data for sunrise/sunset at those locations, and generates the appropriate lighting schedule without requiring manual intervention or arbitrary time setting, thereby maintaining both simplicity and effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculation of sunrise and sunset times before generating the lighting program. By pre-computing the actual sunrise/sunset times at the departure and arrival locations based on the flight schedule, the system prepares accurate timing parameters in advance, ensuring that the lighting program is both easy to operate and effective in reducing jetlag
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method for controlling lighting in an interior of an aircraft, a lighting control system, and computer program product. The method includes: determining a departure time adjusted for an offset from GMT at a departure location and an arrival time adjusted for an offset from GMT at an arrival location as epoch times; generating a flight time with GMT offsets based on subtracting the departure time from the arrival time; determining an FMS flight time representing the expected time that the aircraft will be in flight between the departure location and the arrival location; generating a simulation ratio modifier based on dividing the FMS flight time by the flight time with GMT offsets; applying the simulation ratio modifier to periods of a day to generate scaled durations for periods of the day in a lighting program; and applying the program to control the cabin lighting on the aircraft.