eVTOL Flight Controller Positioning Beyond GPS Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft face challenges in determining air position due to inaccurate navigational systems, such as GPS, which are disrupted by flight components like propellers and rotors, and are further complicated by obstacles like buildings and structures in their airspace.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using a flight controller that receives topographical data, identifies air position through sensors and similarity functions, and determines commands to initiate safe flight operations, incorporating reconfigurable hardware and machine-learning algorithms to process sensor and topographical data for precise positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS is used for navigation, then position information is obtained, but accuracy deteriorates due to disruption by propellers and rotors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of ground-based transmitters and sensors that mediate the position determination process. Instead of relying directly on GPS signals that are disrupted by propellers and rotors, the system uses ground-based transmitters to send signals and sensors on the aircraft to receive and process these signals, providing an alternative pathway that avoids the disruption issue while maintaining position determination accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the electromagnetic GPS-based navigation system with a ground-based transmitter and sensor system. This substitution eliminates the vulnerability to propeller and rotor disruption by using a different physical approach: ground-based transmitters send signals that are received by sensors on the aircraft, and position is determined through signal processing rather than direct GPS satellite communication.
2Measurement precision
If traditional navigational systems are used, then position data is obtained, but accuracy deteriorates due to buildings and structures in airspace
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces ground-based transmitters as intermediaries that send signals through the airspace. These transmitters are positioned on the ground and send signals that can penetrate through and around buildings and structures, providing a more reliable pathway for position determination compared to satellite-based GPS signals that are blocked or distorted by urban structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the satellite-based GPS system with a ground-based transmitter and sensor system. This replacement addresses the issue of signal distortion by buildings and structures by using ground-level transmitters that can provide signals less affected by urban canyons and obstacles, with sensors on the aircraft receiving and processing these signals for accurate position determination.
3Measurement precision
If sensor data and topographical data are processed using similarity functions, then air position identification accuracy is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing and storing topographical data in a structured format before flight operations. The topographical data is organized and prepared in advance, allowing the flight controller to efficiently compare sensor data with pre-organized reference data using similarity functions, thereby reducing real-time computational complexity while maintaining high position identification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a digital representation (copy) of the topographical data that can be efficiently stored and compared against sensor data. This copied topographical information serves as a reference model that the flight controller can rapidly compare with real-time sensor readings using similarity functions, enabling accurate position identification without requiring complex real-time processing of raw geographical data.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for initiating a command of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft includes a flight controller configured to receive a topographical datum, identify an air position as a function of a sensor and the topographical datum, wherein identifying further comprises obtaining a sensor datum as a function of the sensor, and identifying the air position as a function of the sensor datum and the topographical datum using a similarity function, determine a command as a function of the air position, and initiate the command.