Flight Management System Navigation Data Conversion and Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for updating aircraft navigation databases face challenges such as incomplete data formats, conversion errors, and the need for manual updates, which can lead to inefficiencies and inaccuracies in flight planning and trajectory prediction.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for facilitating data communication that involves extracting a subset of navigational data based on predetermined parameters, converting it to a binary format, performing quality checks, and using a controller module to verify digital signatures before creating aircraft loadable media for the Flight Management System (FMS).
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual updates are used for navigation databases, then personnel can directly update the database, but the process is time-consuming and prone to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic self-verification of digital signatures and automatic identification of duplicative or invalid instances without human intervention. The controller module autonomously validates received navigation databases by checking digital signatures and comparing data integrity, eliminating the need for manual verification while ensuring accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback mechanisms by automatically comparing received navigation databases with existing ones, identifying duplicative or invalid instances, and generating reports on database status. This feedback loop ensures continuous validation and maintains data integrity without manual intervention.
2Loss of information
If complete navigation databases are processed, then all data is available, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and processes only the essential validation elements from complete navigation databases - specifically digital signatures and key data fields. By focusing verification efforts on these critical components rather than processing every single data point, the system maintains data completeness while significantly reducing processing time and computational overhead.
3Reliability
If digital signature verification is performed on all databases, then data security is improved, but the verification process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Digital signatures are pre-applied to navigation databases before transmission. The verification process simply checks these pre-existing signatures against expected cryptographic keys, rather than performing complex validation operations. This preliminary signing action simplifies the verification complexity while maintaining strong security guarantees.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system (39, 49) and method (200, 300) for compiling and converting Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC) 424 or Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File (DAFIF) files into a binary database. The system (39, 49) and method (200, 300) include a controller module (36, 46) for receiving (202), extracting (210), converting (214), performing a set of quality checks (216), and directing (218) the output or communication of the binary database to a remote server (30, 40). The remote server (30, 40) can include a controller module (36, 46) that can verify validity (304) of the communicated binary database and create (314) aircraft loadable media (504) for a flight management system navigational database.