Automatic Flight Plan Construction Along Boundary Lines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computer-controlled navigation systems lack the ability to automatically generate flight plans or offset flight plans, requiring pilots to manually enter each waypoint, which is tedious and challenging, especially for missions along geographical boundaries like rivers or mountains.
Innovation Solution
A processor-implemented system that automatically constructs a flight plan for an aerial vehicle using a geographical database, selecting and refining geo-coordinate waypoints based on turn initiation and completion distances, course changes, and lateral offsets to align with boundary lines, allowing for efficient flight path generation and course reversals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual waypoint entry is used, then flight plan construction is possible, but pilot workload increases and time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically generating flight plans using geographical database information and boundary line data. The processor selects waypoints, calculates courses and distances, and constructs the complete flight plan without pilot intervention, allowing the system to serve itself in the flight planning task.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of waypoint entry with an automated computational system. The processor-based system substitutes the pilot's manual operations with automated algorithms that select waypoints, calculate flight parameters, and generate the flight plan electronically.
2Manufacturing precision
If existing search patterns are used, then standard missions can be performed, but coverage precision along geographical boundaries is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by generating flight paths that are specifically adapted to follow geographical boundaries. Instead of using uniform search patterns, the flight plan is locally optimized to align with rivers, coastlines, or other boundary features, ensuring precise coverage where it is most needed for monitoring or search missions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the flight path adaptable to different geographical boundaries and mission requirements. The system can dynamically generate different flight plan configurations based on the specific boundary line geometry, allowing the same system to adapt to various mission types and geographical contexts.
3Productivity
If automated flight plan construction is implemented, then pilot workload decreases and productivity increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by designing a multi-functional processor-based system that can handle various boundary line types (rivers, coastlines, political boundaries), different mission types (search, monitoring, patrol), and multiple waypoint selection strategies. This universal system replaces multiple specialized tools, increasing productivity while consolidating complexity into a single integrated platform.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system for automatically constructing a flight plan that aligns with a boundary line is provided. The system has a controller that is configured to: automatically select a set of geographical (geo) coordinate waypoints along a boundary line using waypoints from the geographical database responsive to flight crew input; refine the set of geo coordinate waypoints using a calculated turn initiation distance and a turn completion distance for every waypoint; further refine the refined set of geo coordinate waypoints based on the course change between waypoints; generate a set of courses and distances between waypoints through computing, for each set of two consecutive waypoints in the further refined set of geo coordinate waypoints, the course and distance between the two consecutive waypoints; and construct the flight plan based on the waypoints in the further refined set of geo coordinate waypoints and the set of courses and distances between waypoints.