Fallback Flight Control Switching for eVTOL Actuator Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric aircraft, such as eVTOLs, face safety risks due to potential component malfunctions that can lead to unsafe flight modes, compromising the safety of passengers and cargo, as existing systems lack effective fall-back flight control mechanisms to maintain aircraft integrity during such failures.
Innovation Solution
A fall-back flight control system that includes an input control, a flight controller, and an actuator, which can detect loss of communication with the flight controller and switch to a fall-back mode, allowing the aircraft to continue safe operation by directly responding to pilot inputs or raw data, ensuring continued control of the aircraft's movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a flight controller is used to process pilot inputs and generate control commands, then the aircraft control precision is improved, but the system reliability deteriorates when communication is lost between the flight controller and actuators
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into two independent pathways: a primary digital pathway through the flight controller for normal precision control, and a secondary direct pathway from input controls to actuators for fail-safe operation. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliability by bypassing the flight controller when communication is lost, while preserving control precision during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator's operational parameters are changed based on the communication status with the flight controller. When communication is established, the actuator operates in high-precision mode using processed commands from the flight controller. When communication is lost, the actuator switches to a direct control mode that prioritizes reliability over precision, accepting raw pilot inputs directly to maintain basic control functionality.
2Reliability
If direct connection between input control and actuator is implemented, then the system reliability is improved during communication loss, but the control precision deteriorates due to lack of flight controller processing
Solution Approach 1:
The control architecture dynamically switches between two operational modes based on communication status. In normal mode, the system uses the flight controller for precise control processing. In fail-safe mode, the system dynamically reconfigures to use direct pilot input-to-actuator connections, sacrificing some precision but ensuring continued operational reliability when the flight controller becomes inaccessible.
3Reliability
If a fall back mode is added to the actuator, then the system reliability is improved during communication loss, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is designed with self-service capabilities to detect communication loss and autonomously switch between control modes without requiring external intervention or complex system-wide reconfiguration. The actuator monitors its own communication status and independently transitions to fall-back operation, which adds some complexity to the individual actuator but avoids even greater system-level complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system of fall back flight control configured for use in electric aircraft includes an input control configured to receive a pilot input and generate a control datum. System includes a flight controller communicatively coupled to the input control and configured to receive the control datum and generate an output datum. The system includes the actuator having a primary mode in which the actuator is configured to move the at least a portion of the electric aircraft as a function of the output datum and a fall back mode in which the actuator is configured to move the at least a portion of the aircraft as a function of the control datum. The actuator configured to receive the control datum, receive the output datum, detect a loss of communication with the flight controller, and select the fall back mode as a function of the detection.