Dynamic Overlay Transparency for Aeronautical Chart Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic displays in aircraft struggle to depict weather information on aeronautical charts without obscuring underlying data, particularly when pilots need to quickly make informed decisions during flight, as existing technologies do not effectively manage transparency based on scale and significance.
Innovation Solution
A processor-implemented method and system that determine the scale and significance of overlay information, adjusting display transparency accordingly, allowing for intuitive and clear visualization of weather information on aeronautical charts by varying the transparency of overlay items based on scale and significance, ensuring underlying data remains visible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If weather information is overlaid on aeronautical charts, then pilots can access weather data, but the underlying aeronautical information becomes obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different transparency values to different regions of the display based on their significance. High-significance aeronautical information (such as critical navigation data) is displayed with higher transparency to ensure visibility, while lower-significance areas use lower transparency to allow weather information to be more prominent. This local differentiation of transparency quality resolves the contradiction by ensuring critical information remains visible while still displaying weather data effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the transparency parameter of overlay information based on the scale of the current view. At smaller scales where aeronautical details are less visible, the overlay transparency is increased to maintain visibility of weather patterns. At larger scales where chart details become more prominent, the overlay transparency is reduced to prevent obscuring critical aeronautical information. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction adaptively.
2Loss of information
If overlay transparency is increased to see underlying chart, then aeronautical information remains visible, but weather information becomes less distinct
Solution Approach 1:
Different transparency values are assigned to different overlay items based on their significance and the underlying chart features. Critical weather information (such as severe weather cells) maintains higher opacity for clarity, while less critical areas use lower opacity to reveal the chart underneath. This local quality differentiation allows the system to maintain weather information clarity where needed while revealing chart details in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparency of overlay information is not static but dynamically adjusted based on the current view scale and the significance of both the overlay and underlying information. As pilots zoom in or out, the system automatically recalculates optimal transparency values to balance the visibility of both weather and aeronautical information, resolving the contradiction adaptively rather than using a fixed transparency level.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple data categories are displayed simultaneously, then comprehensive information is provided, but the display becomes cluttered and difficult to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different transparency and visual emphasis to different data categories based on their significance and relevance to the current view. High-significance information (such as active weather cells or critical navigation data) is displayed with higher opacity and visual prominence, while lower-significance information uses lower transparency to appear as background context. This hierarchical local quality differentiation allows multiple data categories to coexist without creating visual clutter.
Solution Approach 2:
The system selectively emphasizes only the most relevant information at any given moment rather than displaying all available data with equal prominence. By applying partial action to high-significance items and reducing the visual weight of less critical information, the system provides comprehensive data while maintaining ease of interpretation through selective visual hierarchy.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of overlaying information onto a view for electronic display. A scale of the view is determined. A significance of the overlay information is also determined. A display transparency of the overlay information is selected based on the determined scale and the determined significance. This method makes it possible for a pilot to view weather imagery overlaid on an electronically displayed map without having to switch back and forth between overlay and underlying map to see detail information when zooming in or out of the map.