Aircraft Flight Display Timeline Marker Workload Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for displaying information related to an aircraft's flight do not allow crew members to efficiently evaluate the workload associated with various events and tasks throughout the flight, as they lack the ability to visualize and modify the timeline of events effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a display device with a timescale representing the flight period, where markers indicate the time position and duration of events, allowing operators to modify the series of events and their timing via a man-machine interface, enabling better visualization and workload assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a graphic window with a time scale and events is displayed in the cockpit, then the crew can see the sequence of events during the flight, but the crew cannot rapidly evaluate the work burden implied by the different events over the duration of the flight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a second visual dimension to the existing time scale display. Instead of only showing events positioned along a linear time axis, the invention introduces a vertical dimension where the size, position, or visual weight of event markers correlates with the workload intensity. This dimensional transformation allows the crew to simultaneously perceive temporal sequence and workload magnitude without adding temporal complexity, enabling rapid visual assessment of work burden across the flight profile.
2Loss of information
If detailed information about each event is displayed facing the time scale, then the crew can see event details, but the overall workload assessment becomes difficult due to information density
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the display information into hierarchical levels. The primary visual layer presents a simplified overview where event markers are sized or positioned according to workload intensity, allowing immediate global assessment. Detailed event information is segmented into secondary, on-demand layers that can be accessed individually without cluttering the main view. This segmentation enables the crew to maintain awareness of overall workload while accessing specific event details only when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the workload assessment function from the detailed event information display. Instead of presenting all event details simultaneously, the system separates the workload evaluation metric (visualized through marker size/position) from the descriptive event information. This extraction allows the crew to rapidly assess workload independently of detailed event data, reducing cognitive load while preserving access to complete information when required.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for displaying information relative to an aircraft flight and related method are provided. This system comprises a display device, and a module for managing the display on the display device, the management module being configured for controlling the display, on a window of the display device, of a timescale representative of a time period of the flight, and for controlling the display, facing the timescale, of pieces of information relative to a series of events intended to occur in a time window comprised in the time period. The module for managing the display is configured for determining a position in time of the time window comprised in the time period and a duration of the time window, and for controlling the display, along the timescale, of a marker representative of the position in time and of the duration of the time window.