Certified Non-Certified Sensor Integrity Navigation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Certified navigation systems in urban air mobility and commercial aviation require high accuracy navigation outputs, but integrating non-certified sensors or aiding devices while meeting strict size, weight, power, and price requirements poses a challenge, necessitating a single, highly integrated navigation platform.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to ensure the integrity of integrated certified and non-certified sensors by calculating main and sub-solution filters within separate software threads, with certified filters operating under high certification requirements and non-certified filters under lower requirements, allowing for shared sub-filters and reduced computational load, while determining protection limits and executing fault detection and exclusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If non-certified sensors are integrated to achieve high accuracy navigation outputs, then navigation accuracy is improved, but system integrity and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the navigation system into separate certified and non-certified partitions, each with its own filter processing threads. The certified partition handles certified sensors while the non-certified partition handles non-certified sensors, allowing both to operate simultaneously without compromising each other's integrity guarantees. This segmentation enables high accuracy through non-certified sensors while maintaining reliability through certified sensor processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces protection limits as an intermediary mechanism that mediates between the certified and non-certified partitions. These protection limits are calculated based on the difference between certified and non-certified filter solutions and are used to determine when non-certified sensor data can be safely used, thus enabling integration while maintaining integrity.
2Device complexity
If a single highly integrated navigation platform is implemented to meet SWAP requirements, then device complexity is reduced, but certification cost and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the navigation platform into separate certified and non-certified partitions, allowing certification efforts to be focused only on the certified partition rather than the entire system. This reduces certification cost while still achieving high integration through the coordinated operation of both partitions through shared sub-filters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements multi-functionality by allowing certified sub-solution filters to serve dual purposes: they are used within the certified partition for integrity-critical processing and also reused within the non-certified partition to reduce computational load. This universal reuse of filter components achieves high integration without proportionally increasing certification cost.
3Reliability
If separate processing threads are used for certified and non-certified filters, then system integrity is improved, but computational load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges computational resources by reusing certified sub-solution filters within the non-certified partition. Instead of completely separate processing, the certified filters are shared and reused, reducing redundant computations while maintaining separate integrity assurance through the protection limit mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The certified sub-solution filters are designed with multi-functionality, serving both the certified partition and the non-certified partition. This universal reuse of computational resources reduces overall computational load while preserving integrity through the separate protection limit calculations in each partition.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to assure integrity of integrated certified and non-certified sensors or systems comprises calculating a certified main solution filter within a first software thread in a certified partition; calculating certified sub-solution filters, and sub-sub-solution filters within the first software thread; calculating a non-certified main solution filter within a second software thread in a non-certified partition; if applicable, reusing the certified main solution filter as a non-certified sub-solution filter, and reusing the certified sub-solution filters, as non-certified sub-sub-solution filters; calculating non-certified sub-solution filters, and sub-sub-solution filters, within the second software thread; based on the certified filters, determining protection limits of the certified partition, and/or providing execution of fault detection and exclusion; based on the non-certified filters, determining protection limits of the non-certified partition, and/or providing execution of fault detection and exclusion; outputting certified solutions from the certified partition; and outputting non-certified solutions from the non-certified partition.