Decoupled Aircraft Hand Controls for Intuitive VTOL Flight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft hand controls are complex and require extensive training for novice users, making it difficult for amateur pilots to fly aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing and forward flight capabilities safely and intuitively.
Innovation Solution
The development of decoupled hand controls, including a single axis thumbwheel for vertical movement and a three axis fingertip joystick for plane-defined movements, allows pilots to control aircraft movements along orthogonal axes independently, simplifying the flying experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional integrated hand controls are used, then aircraft can perform complex maneuvers, but the control complexity increases and requires extensive training
Solution Approach 1:
The hand control system is segmented into two independent controls: a thumbwheel for vertical axis control and a joystick for lateral axis control. This segmentation allows each control to handle specific dimensions of aircraft movement independently, reducing the cognitive load on the pilot while maintaining full maneuver capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Each hand control device (thumbwheel and joystick) is designed to be multi-functional within its designated axis. The thumbwheel controls vertical movement including hover, ascent, and descent, while the joystick controls lateral movement including forward flight, banking, and turning. This universal design within constraints simplifies the overall control system.
2Ease of operation
If traditional hand controls are used, then full aircraft control is achieved, but the ease of operation decreases for novice users
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the control system into orthogonal segments (vertical thumbwheel and lateral joystick), the patent creates an intuitive mapping between human hand movements and aircraft response. Novice users can naturally understand that pushing the thumbwheel up moves the aircraft up, and pushing the joystick forward moves the aircraft forward, eliminating the need for complex training.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional helicopter control paradigm where one control affects multiple axes. Instead, each control affects only its designated axis independently, reversing the conventional approach to achieve greater intuitiveness for novice operators.
3Ease of operation
If decoupled hand controls are used, then novice users can fly more intuitively, but the control precision for complex maneuvers may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flight control system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor the aircraft's actual state and adjust the control responses accordingly. This feedback loop ensures that even with simplified decoupled controls, the aircraft maintains precise control for complex maneuvers by automatically compensating for any precision losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a flight control computer as an intermediary between the pilot's simple hand movements and the aircraft's complex response. This intermediary processes the decoupled control inputs and generates the coordinated commands needed for precise maneuver execution, bridging the gap between simplified controls and precise aircraft response.
Data Source
AI summary
A forward velocity associated with an aircraft is received. The aircraft includes a multicopter with a plurality of rotors which rotate in a substantially horizontal plane. A pitch offset is determined based at least in part on the forward velocity, where the pitch offset changes monotonically with the forward velocity. A desired pitch is determined based at least in part on the pitch offset and a pitch angle specified via a hand control. A plurality of control signals for the plurality of rotors is determined based at least in part on the desired pitch.