Flight Deck Chart Display with Dynamic Label Decluttering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current aviation charts, both paper and electronic, face challenges in providing a to-scale depiction that minimizes pilot workload while ensuring safety-critical information is easily accessible, as they often require pilots to memorize cluttered and non-scale representations, which can be overwhelming and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a dynamic label placement algorithm that organizes information labels around the procedure geometry, using sequential zoom scale decluttering to smoothly move and remove procedural information, ensuring labels are placed near relevant points without occlusion, and employing priority-based display conflict resolution to maintain readability and reduce cognitive load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If paper charts or traditional electronic charts are used with hand-drawn label placement, then the procedural information can be displayed with artistic license to maximize readability, but the chart cannot be displayed to scale and requires pilot memorization of cluttered layouts
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts label placement based on the current zoom level and view state. At different magnifications, labels are automatically repositioned to optimize readability while maintaining geometric accuracy of the underlying chart data. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by allowing the chart to be both to-scale and readable across multiple viewing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the placement parameters of labels based on zoom level and view configuration. By adjusting label position, size, and visibility parameters dynamically, the system maintains both geometric fidelity and readability. The label placement is recalculated according to mathematical models that consider the current view state, enabling the chart to satisfy both scale accuracy and readability requirements.
2Ease of operation
If electronic charts use not-to-scale maps to ensure procedural information is easily accessible, then label placement can be optimized for readability, but the chart loses geographic accuracy and requires memorization
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides different views that are dynamically switchable: a geographic view that maintains scale accuracy for situational awareness, and a procedural view that optimizes label placement for readability. The system dynamically adapts label placement based on which view is active, allowing both geographic accuracy and information accessibility to be satisfied in their respective contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The chart display is segmented into multiple layers: the base geographic layer that maintains to-scale accuracy, and an overlay layer that contains procedurally optimized label placement. This segmentation allows the geographic accuracy to be preserved in the base layer while the overlay layer provides optimized information accessibility without compromising the underlying geometric fidelity.
3Loss of information
If more procedural information labels are displayed on the chart, then completeness of information is improved, but the chart becomes cluttered and increases pilot cognitive load
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically controls label visibility and placement based on the current zoom level and active procedure. At higher zoom levels, more labels are displayed with optimized positioning. At lower zoom levels, less critical labels are hidden or consolidated. This dynamic filtering maintains information completeness when needed while reducing display clutter during normal operation, thereby reducing cognitive load.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the chart receive different levels of label detail based on their importance and the current view state. Critical procedural information maintains high visibility and detailed labeling, while less critical areas use simplified or condensed labeling. This local differentiation ensures information completeness for critical elements while minimizing overall display clutter.
4Loss of information
If labels are placed close to relevant points on the chart, then information association is improved, but labels may occlude the procedure geometry or other important information
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically calculates optimal label positions that balance proximity to relevant points with avoidance of occlusion. Using mathematical models, the system determines the best placement that maintains strong information association while preventing overlap with procedure geometry. If occlusion would occur, the system automatically adjusts label position, orientation, or size to eliminate the harmful effect while preserving information association.
Solution Approach 2:
When label placement in the two-dimensional plane would cause occlusion, the system uses leading lines and indirect placement strategies that guide the pilot's eye from the label to the relevant point without direct overlap. This dimensional approach to label placement maintains information association while avoiding the harmful occlusion effect.
Data Source
AI summary
An aviation navigation display can include a screen, a processor, and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor. A selected portion to be flown of a charted aviation procedure can be displayed on the screen with information labels while excluding an unselected portion not to be flown. The information labels have priority ratings and include leg labels and point labels. Leg labels indicate leg procedural information about a corresponding leg on the chart. Point labels indicate point procedural information about a corresponding point on the chart. The information labels can be decluttered for a zoomed out view and resulting display conflicts can be resolved between the information labels in favor of those with a relatively higher priority rating.