Flight Deck Preference Recall Using Pilot Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flight deck systems fail to comprehensively retain and recall pilot preferences across various aircraft systems and missions, leading to inefficient and error-prone reconfiguration for different pilots.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes a tangible, non-transitory memory to store and retrieve pilot preferences, allowing seamless configuration of aircraft systems such as seat position, lighting levels, display settings, and external strobe lights based on pilot identification, enabling quick recall and adaptation to mission-specific requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flight deck systems save the most recently used settings on power down, then the saved settings may appear on the next power up, but the settings must be changed should a new pilot be assigned the aircraft, resulting in loss of time for reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses pilot identification (via data card, RFID, or biometric) to trigger automatic recall of saved preference settings. When a pilot identifies themselves, the system feedbacks the previously saved configuration for that specific pilot, eliminating manual reconfiguration and resolving the time loss issue while maintaining setting accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically configures the flight deck based on the identified pilot's saved preferences without requiring manual intervention. The pilot simply needs to identify themselves, and the system self-adjusts all relevant settings (display illumination, seat position, pedal position, etc.), thereby eliminating reconfiguration time for new pilots.
2Quantity of substance
If flight decks house pilot preferences on a data card, then a limited amount of data may be saved to properly configure the aircraft, but the number of settings recalled is limited to a single function due to lack of flight deck system integration
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a universal data card format that can store multiple types of preference data across different aircraft systems (displays, lighting, seats, pedals, etc.). The integrated controller reads this universal data structure and distributes the preferences to multiple subsystems simultaneously, enabling comprehensive configuration across all flight deck systems rather than limiting to a single function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple preference settings for different aircraft systems into a single integrated data structure stored on the data card. The controller combines and processes all these preferences together, coordinating multiple subsystems (display units, lighting systems, seat positions, pedal positions) to work in unison based on the unified preference set, thereby achieving multi-system configuration from a single data source.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and method for retention of flight deck preferences operates to control a comprehensive combination of aircraft systems and system configurations enabling a pilot to seamlessly retain and recall the desired preferences based on a plurality of mission related factors. With system control of flight deck physical settings including seat position and shape, display illumination and color and internal and external lighting configurations, the system allows a pilot to save time, effort, and minimize errors of system set up and configuration. With a short entry, or short-range sensing, of the pilot ID, the pilot commands the system and method for retention of flight deck preferences to configure each of the plurality of aircraft systems according to the recalled pilot preference.