eVTOL Landing Zone Sensing for Low-Visibility Safety Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Navigating electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to a landing zone poses challenges due to the pilot's inability to clearly see environmental factors, potentially leading to hazards or damage to the aircraft.
Innovation Solution
A system equipped with sensors that measure and transmit data about the landing zone to a flight controller, which determines safety parameters and displays them to the pilot through an output device, including a locator component to identify a safe landing zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the pilot relies on visual observation to identify safe landing zones, then the pilot can directly perceive environmental factors, but the pilot's ability to clearly see environmental factors is insufficient leading to hazards or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sensors as intermediary devices that detect environmental factors at the landing zone and transmit this information to the pilot. The sensors act as mediators between the pilot and the environment, capturing data about surface conditions, obstacles, and other hazards that the pilot cannot visually observe, thereby resolving the visibility limitation while maintaining landing safety
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the pilot's visual observation system with an electronic sensing and display system. Instead of relying on human vision to detect environmental factors, the system uses sensors to detect physical conditions and electronic displays to present this information to the pilot, substituting a mechanical/biological sensing system with an electronic one that overcomes visibility limitations
2Measurement precision
If the system collects comprehensive environmental data about the landing zone, then the accuracy of safety assessment is improved, but the complexity of the monitoring system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monitoring system into separate functional modules: sensors for detecting specific environmental parameters, a processor for analyzing the collected data, and a display system for presenting information to the pilot. This segmentation allows comprehensive data collection while managing system complexity through modular design, where each component has a dedicated function
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs sensors and processing capabilities that can evaluate multiple environmental factors (surface conditions, obstacles, weather conditions) using a unified system architecture. The flight controller and display system serve multiple functions including data collection, analysis, and presentation, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive monitoring accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
A system for monitoring the landing zone of an electric aircraft, the system including an electric aircraft wherein the electric aircraft includes at least a sensor configured to measure a plurality of data of regarding a first potential landing zone and transmit the plurality of data to at least a flight controller. The flight controller is designed and configured to receive the plurality of data from at least a sensor, determine a landing safety datum as a function of the plurality of data and at least a safety parameter range, and transmit the landing safety datum to an output device. The output device is designed and configured to receive the plurality of data from the flight controller, and display, to the pilot, the landing safety datum and a locator component designed and configured to capture a second potential landing zone that is distinct from the first potential landing zone.