Federated System Manager for Multi-Asset Mission Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing complex missions involving multiple assets, both manned and unmanned, face challenges in integrating disparate data sources and formats, leading to inefficiencies in real-time control and status monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A federated system manager that converts situational awareness, mission constraint, and control data into a central format, using adapters to interface with various assets and databases, and maintains a universal data model for real-time tracking and graphical rendering, enabling unified mission control across different platforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple disparate data sources and formats are integrated without a central format, then each asset can maintain its native data format, but system complexity increases and real-time control efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central data format as an intermediary layer between disparate asset data sources and the mission management system. Asset adapters convert native asset data formats into this central format, enabling unified processing without requiring each asset to understand every other asset's format. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by maintaining adaptability through format conversion while reducing system complexity through standardization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the data integration function into separate asset adapters, each responsible for converting a specific asset type's data format into the central format. This segmentation allows each adapter to handle format conversion independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining versatility across multiple asset types.
2Productivity
If real-time control data is processed across multiple platforms with different formats, then comprehensive mission control is achieved, but processing time and operational efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-defining a central data format and creating adapters that automatically convert asset data into this format before processing. This preparation work is done in advance, allowing real-time control data to be processed efficiently without format conversion delays during critical mission operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies parameter changes by transforming data from various native formats into a standardized central format with consistent parameters and structures. This parameter standardization enables efficient real-time processing across all platforms without the time loss associated with format conversion during mission execution.
3Loss of information
If a universal data model is maintained for all mission assets, then real-time tracking and visualization are improved, but data model complexity and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal data model that serves multiple functions: it tracks real-time asset states, stores mission constraints, and provides data for visualization across all platforms. This single multi-functional data model maintains complete situational awareness while reducing complexity by eliminating the need for separate data models for different asset types or functions.
Data Source
AI summary
One example includes a federated system manager. Asset adapters receive situational awareness data from a respective plurality of mission assets and convert the situational awareness data into a central data format. Mission constraint adapters receive mission constraint data associated with real-time mission constraints from a respective plurality of mission constraint databases and convert the mission constraint data into the central data format. A mission control adapter receives control data from a mission control station to convert mission control data into the central data format and to provide mission status data to the at least one mission control station for real-time control of the mission. A data model repository maintains a universal data model tracking real-time interactive states of the plurality of mission assets, the real-time mission constraints, and the mission control data. The data model repository also generates the mission status data in real-time based on the universal data model.