Flight Path Connectivity Forecasting for In-Flight Internet Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Passengers on aircraft experience unpredictable interruptions in internet services during flights, leading to loss of communication and data, highlighting the need for a system to forecast and visualize internet connectivity along flight paths.
Innovation Solution
A connectivity forecast system that communicates with service providers to retrieve and store flight plans and service coverage data, generating an integrated flight path indicating available and unavailable internet services, which can be displayed to users through a web portal, allowing real-time updates and priority assignment to service providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If no connectivity forecast system is implemented, then the system remains simple, but passengers experience unpredictable internet service interruptions and data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by forecasting internet connectivity availability along the flight path before the aircraft departs. The connectivity forecast system retrieves flight plan data and service coverage data, then generates a visual indication of expected connectivity conditions ahead of time, allowing passengers to prepare for potential service interruptions before they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a connectivity forecast system as an intermediary between the aircraft's communication systems and passengers. This system acts as a mediator that processes flight plan data, service coverage data, and aircraft position information to generate connectivity forecasts, which are then displayed to passengers through a user interface, shielding them from the complexity of underlying data processing.
2Loss of information
If real-time connectivity forecasting is implemented, then passengers can anticipate service disruptions, but data processing and system operations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs connectivity forecasting in advance before the aircraft enters areas with poor or no coverage. By retrieving and processing service coverage data and flight plan information beforehand, the system generates connectivity forecasts that allow passengers to prepare for potential data loss situations before they occur, rather than reacting in real-time when connectivity is already compromised.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors aircraft position and compares it against the flight plan and service coverage data to update connectivity forecasts. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adjust predictions based on actual flight progress and provide updated information to passengers about upcoming connectivity conditions, enabling proactive data management.
Data Source
AI summary
System and method for forecasting availability of network services during flight is provided. The system of the disclosed invention utilizes flight plans and coverage data to provide users aboard aircraft with status of satellite Internet services. The system couples the flight plans with the coverage data to provide information regarding how the flight path of the aircraft will affect availability of Internet services during the flight. The method includes retrieving a flight plan to generate a flight path having one or more waypoints, transmitting one or more service coverage data from service providers, coupling the flight path with the service coverage data to determine portions of the flight path in which the network service is unavailable, and delivering to the users information about the service unavailable portions of the flight path.