Autonomous Flight Safety System Using Navigation Hardware
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flight safety systems for vehicles face challenges in tracking and terminating flights when navigation systems fail, leading to potential off-course flights that endanger population centers and require costly range assets, with autonomous systems being prohibitive due to weight, packaging, and cost concerns, and failing to accommodate anomalous navigation failures effectively.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous flight safety system that utilizes existing vehicle navigation hardware to manage termination boundaries by comparing primary and secondary positional information, generating pass or fail indicators, and confining navigation within a series of termination boundaries offset from the range boundary, allowing for mission success even with intermittent GPS coverage and anomalous navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous flight safety systems are implemented to terminate off-course flights, then flight safety is improved, but the weight, packaging volume, and cost of additional hardware become prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the vehicle's existing navigation system perform dual functions: its original navigation function and the additional flight safety monitoring function. By using the same sensors and processing units for both navigation and safety monitoring, the system avoids adding separate hardware while achieving autonomous flight safety capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation system serves itself by monitoring its own positional data to detect off-course conditions. The system compares its current position against the planned flight path using its existing sensors and computation resources, eliminating the need for separate monitoring hardware.
2Reliability
If sensors off-board the vehicle are employed to mitigate navigation failure risk, then position measurement reliability is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the navigation function and flight safety monitoring function into a single integrated system. By merging these functions and sharing sensors, processing units, and data pathways, the system achieves reliable position measurement without increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The existing navigation sensors and processing units perform multiple functions: navigation guidance and flight safety monitoring. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate off-board sensors while maintaining position measurement reliability through the same hardware platform.
3Reliability
If autonomous flight safety systems use additional tracking hardware, then flight termination capability is improved, but cost of range assets and personnel increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle autonomously monitors its own position and detects off-course conditions using its existing navigation system. This self-service capability eliminates the need for external range assets to track and terminate flights, reducing costs for range equipment and personnel while maintaining flight termination capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical tracking systems and external range assets with an electronic/software-based autonomous monitoring system. By substituting physical tracking infrastructure with computational analysis of existing sensor data, the system achieves flight termination capability without costly range assets.
4Reliability
If the navigation system is not functioning properly, then position measurement becomes unavailable, but autonomous flight safety systems may terminate flight prior to reaching intended target
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic boundary adjustment where the termination boundaries are not fixed but adapt based on navigation system performance. When navigation anomalies are detected, the system dynamically modifies the boundaries to account for increased positional uncertainty, preventing premature termination while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the termination boundaries based on navigation system health and positional uncertainty. By adjusting boundary parameters dynamically according to navigation performance, the system maintains flight safety while avoiding false terminations that would reduce mission success.
Data Source
AI summary
System and methods for managing targets of a vehicle is provided. In some aspects, a system may include a boundary check module configured to receive boundary information from a flight safety system. The boundary information comprises a selected termination boundary of a plurality of termination boundaries confining navigation of the vehicle. Each of the plurality of termination boundaries is associated with a target of a plurality of targets of the vehicle. The system may further include a target modification module configured to select the target associated with the selected termination boundary, and a target guidance module configured to provide the selected target to a guidance and control system of the vehicle.