Confidence Display for Aircraft Trajectory Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air traffic management systems lack a real-time display of accurately scaled aircraft positioning and protective airspace, leading to pilot and controller uncertainty about aircraft separation, which can result in unnecessary maneuvers and inefficiencies as they override technological decisions due to discomfort with perceived separation estimates.
Innovation Solution
A display system and method that uses a processor to receive aircraft data and render a confidence display showing scaled images of protected airspace associated with projected trajectories, allowing users to assess separation quickly and accurately, with user-input driven image rendering and advisory indicia for potential conflicts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current minimum clearance standards are used with conservative error budgets, then safety and reliability are improved, but device complexity and airspace requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of separation standards from conservative fixed values to dynamic values based on actual aircraft position accuracy. By updating the error budget with modern GPS/Galileo accuracy data (3 meters), the system reduces protective airspace requirements while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring actual aircraft position accuracy and adjusting the error budget accordingly. This allows the protective airspace to be dynamically optimized based on real-time accuracy data, reducing unnecessary maneuvering while maintaining safety margins.
2Measurement precision
If modern GPS/Galileo accuracy is implemented, then measurement precision is improved, but pilot and controller confidence in automated systems decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The confidence display acts as an intermediary between the high-precision automated positioning system and the human operators. It translates complex accuracy data into visual representations that build operator confidence, allowing them to trust and accept automated separation decisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates visual copies or representations of the protected airspace and separation distances on the display. These graphical representations replicate the actual spatial relationships, allowing pilots and controllers to visually verify and trust the automated separation calculations.
3Productivity
If automated systems make separation decisions, then productivity is improved, but loss of time occurs when pilots and controllers override decisions due to uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The confidence display provides continuous feedback to pilots and controllers about the accuracy and validity of automated separation decisions. This feedback loop allows operators to quickly verify decisions and accept them without unnecessary overrides, maintaining productivity while reducing time loss from uncertain maneuvers.
4Reliability
If protective airspace is enlarged to account for poor position accuracy, then reliability is improved, but area of stationary object increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of position accuracy from poor (historical standards) to modern (GPS/Galileo 3-meter accuracy). This parameter change directly reduces the required protective airspace volume while maintaining separation standard compliance and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A display system and method for a display, in real-time, of a confidence display, displaying the protected airspace associated with a projected trajectory of a first aircraft and the protected airspace associated with a projected trajectory of at least one additional aircraft during a phase of flight. The system processes data representative of a phase of aircraft flight of a first aircraft and at least one additional aircraft and determines the protected airspace associated with a projected trajectory of each aircraft based at least in part on the processed data. An image representative of the determined protected airspace of each aircraft is displayed on the display system as a confidence display.