Flight Data Recorder Wireless Tracking for Disabled Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft tracking systems can be disabled by flight crews, making it difficult for air traffic controllers to monitor and track aircraft, especially in crowded airspace or beyond the range of primary and secondary radar stations.
Innovation Solution
A flight data recorder (FDR) system that autonomously streams aircraft data via wireless communication, using an essential electrical bus for power and embedded communication equipment, ensuring continuous tracking even if other systems are shut down, and incorporating a GPS receiver for accurate location information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional tracking systems (primary radar, secondary radar, GPS) are used, then aircraft can be tracked within radar range, but tracking is lost beyond 150 miles from radar stations or when systems are disabled by flight crew
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-records flight data in a flight data recorder before any disablement event occurs. This preliminary action ensures that tracking information is captured and stored in advance, allowing authorities to retrieve and analyze the data later even if the aircraft's active tracking systems are disabled or the aircraft goes beyond radar range.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight data recorder acts as an intermediary device that independently captures and stores tracking information separate from the aircraft's primary tracking systems. This intermediary recording mechanism ensures that data preservation is not dependent on the operational status of GPS, transponders, or radar systems, providing a backup layer of tracking reliability.
2Ease of operation
If flight crews can disable tracking systems, then operational control is maintained, but air traffic controllers lose the ability to monitor aircraft position and course
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and separates the data recording function from the aircraft's controllable tracking systems. By placing an independent flight data recorder that continuously captures tracking information, the system removes the vulnerability where crew-controlled system disablement would result in complete loss of tracking data. The extracted recording function operates independently of crew-controlled system states.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight data recorder continuously pre-records tracking data in advance of any potential disablement event. This preliminary data capture ensures that even if crews disable active tracking systems, the information has already been captured and stored, preventing loss of tracking data while maintaining crew operational flexibility.
3Reliability
If ADS-B satellite communication is used for global tracking, then real-time surveillance is achieved, but communication costs become prohibitively expensive
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on expensive continuous satellite communication, the system uses a low-cost flight data recorder that stores tracking data locally. The data can be transmitted using inexpensive methods such as store-and-forward communication when the aircraft is within range of ground stations, or the data can be analyzed from recorded information without requiring continuous expensive satellite uplinks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits or accesses tracking data periodically rather than continuously. Authorities can retrieve recorded data at periodic intervals when the aircraft is within communication range, or analyze the pre-recorded data without requiring continuous expensive satellite communication, thereby reducing communication costs while maintaining global tracking capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures real-time tracking and monitoring of aircraft, preventing loss of tracking data and enabling authorities to determine new courses and destinations, even when conventional systems are disabled.
Implementation Method 1
a GPS receiver to receive satellite signals and to determine a geographic location of the aircraft
Implementation Method 2
an embedded transmitter to autonomously and wirelessly transmit selected aircraft data to a remote location
Data Source
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AI summary
Flight data recorder receives from an aircraft a data stream specifying values for flight data parameters while an aircraft is in flight. The flight data recorder stores the values in a crash survivable non- volatile memory unit of the flight data recorder. The flight data recorder determines an occurrence during flight of an exception condition based on an evaluation of at least one exception parameter. Responsive to determining the occurrence of the exception condition, the flight data recorder wirelessly communicates selected aircraft data to a remote location external of the aircraft using a wireless transmitter under the exclusive control of the flight data recorder.