FMS Intent Strip for Pilot Situational Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pilots face distractions and loss of situational awareness when navigating with traditional flight management systems (FMS) due to the need to access multiple control display unit pages for current and future maneuvering information, making it difficult to understand and predict FMS intentions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing large format displays with an FMS intent strip and optional future intent strip that provide graphical and numerical representations of current and future lateral and vertical navigation intentions, allowing pilots to view all pertinent information in a heads-forward location, enhancing situational awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If pilots refer to multiple CDU pages to obtain FMS information, then they can access detailed navigation parameters, but their situational awareness decreases and distraction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple scattered FMS information elements (current intentions, future intentions, navigation parameters) into a single integrated display strip that presents all critical information in one location, eliminating the need for pilots to switch between multiple CDU pages
Solution Approach 2:
The display strip provides preliminary information about future navigation intentions and targets before the pilot needs to execute them, allowing the pilot to anticipate FMS actions and maintain situational awareness without last-minute information searches
2Loss of information
If pilots access detailed FMS pages for maneuvering instructions, then they obtain complete navigation data, but time is lost and cognitive load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments FMS information into distinct visual elements on the display strip (current intentions, future intentions, lateral/vertical navigation parameters), allowing pilots to quickly scan and comprehend critical data without wading through dense text pages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the presentation parameters of FMS data from traditional text-heavy CDU pages to a optimized visual strip format with icons, colors, and spatial arrangements that enable rapid comprehension and reduce information access time
3Device complexity
If traditional FMS display is used, then system complexity remains manageable, but pilot understanding of FMS intent is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs color coding and color-changing icons to represent different FMS intentions and navigation states (e.g., different colors for lateral vs. vertical navigation, current vs. future intentions), providing intuitive visual cues that enhance pilot understanding without significantly increasing system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A method of displaying flight management system (FMS) data, and an avionics system configured to implement the method, are provided. The method includes the step of providing FMS route data. The method also includes the step of using the FMS route data to display an FMS intent strip which represents current maneuvering intent of the FMS.