Cockpit Weather Display for Radar and Transmitted Data Cross-Check
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Solution Overview
Problem
The abundance of weather data sources for flight crews creates a complex information set, leading to increased workload and the risk of incorrect decisions due to delayed and difficult-to-process data, with challenges in cross-referencing real-time radar and transmitted weather data.
Innovation Solution
A cockpit display system that integrates real-time radar and transmitted weather data by highlighting significant weather conditions on a flight plan, allowing pilots to easily compare and verify data using a cursor-interactive approach, with radar data dimming when significant weather conditions are selected for detailed display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple weather data sources are integrated to provide comprehensive weather information, then the completeness and reliability of weather data is improved, but the complexity of information processing and display increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display system segments weather data by source (radar weather data vs. transmitted weather data) and presents them in separate graphical maps. The flight plan is segmented with notification graphics at specific locations where significant weather conditions exist. This segmentation allows pilots to access comprehensive weather information while maintaining a clear, organized display structure that reduces processing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a temporal dimension to weather data display by showing both real-time radar data and delayed transmitted data in separate layers. When a notification graphic is selected, the system transitions from a single-time display to a multi-time comparison view, allowing pilots to assess weather evolution while maintaining organizational clarity through structured presentation.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive weather data from multiple sources is displayed simultaneously, then the information completeness is improved, but the ease of operation and data processing by flight crew deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the most relevant weather information and presents it through notification graphics placed at specific locations on the flight plan. Rather than displaying all weather data uniformly, the system extracts significant weather conditions and highlights them at their geographical locations, allowing pilots to quickly identify critical information without being overwhelmed by complete data sets.
Solution Approach 2:
The display system dynamically adjusts its presentation based on pilot interaction. The basic display shows only notification graphics at significant weather locations. When a pilot selects a notification graphic, the system dynamically expands to show both radar and transmitted weather data maps. This dynamic behavior allows the system to provide comprehensive information on-demand while maintaining a simple, low-workload display during normal operation.
3Measurement precision
If real-time radar weather data is displayed, then the current weather situation accuracy is improved, but the geographical coverage and range are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges radar weather data and transmitted weather data into a unified display interface. Both data sources are integrated through the same notification graphic selection mechanism, allowing pilots to compare real-time radar information with broader coverage transmitted data in the same geographical context. This merging provides both local accuracy and extended coverage without requiring separate display systems.
4Area of stationary object
If transmitted weather data is displayed, then the geographical coverage is improved, but the data timeliness and real-time accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The notification graphic serves as an intermediary that links both radar and transmitted weather data. By selecting the notification graphic, pilots access both data sources simultaneously through a single interface element. This intermediary approach allows the system to present both delayed transmitted data and real-time radar data without requiring pilots to switch between separate systems, making the time delay less impactful through easy comparison and verification.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems of displaying weather data for a cockpit display system of an aircraft. The methods and systems include generating a display to include a first graphical map of real-time weather data from a weather radar. The display further includes a notification graphic associated with a portion of part of a displayed flight plan in which a significant weather condition exists. When the notification graphic is selected, the display includes the first graphical map of the real time weather data based on weather data from the weather radar and a second graphical map of significant weather conditions data derived from transmitted weather data.