Ground-Based Flight Re-Routing System for In-Flight Path Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current in-flight re-routing systems are limited by their cost, scalability, and inability to predict upcoming issues along the flight path, relying on costly on-board systems and labor-intensive ground-based monitoring, with pilots often initiating re-planning based on current position and not anticipating weather or air traffic changes.
Innovation Solution
An automated system that provides re-routing options and micro flight plans to in-flight aircraft based on preconfigured pilot preferences, using a data store module for evaluating weather, airspace, and flight restrictions, and an incursion alert processing module to generate alerts and transmit re-routing options directly to the on-board flight management system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ground based systems manually monitor aircraft for re-routing needs, then re-routing decisions can be made with human judgment, but the system becomes labor intensive and costly with limited scalability
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables aircraft to self-monitor their flight paths against weather, airspace, and traffic data. The automated module continuously evaluates flight plan data against current conditions and generates re-routing recommendations without requiring manual intervention for each aircraft, thus achieving both high reliability through comprehensive monitoring and high productivity through automation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical human monitoring system with an automated computer-based system that uses algorithms to evaluate flight paths, weather conditions, airspace restrictions, and air traffic data. This substitution eliminates labor constraints while maintaining or improving decision quality through consistent automated analysis
2Adaptability or versatility
If pilots initiate re-planning requests based on current position, then pilots maintain control over re-routing decisions, but the system cannot predict upcoming issues along the flight path
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary evaluation of the entire flight path against weather forecasts, airspace restrictions, and predicted air traffic conditions before the aircraft encounters problems. By continuously monitoring and pre-assessing upcoming conditions along the planned route, the system can proactively generate re-routing recommendations, allowing pilots to maintain control while having advance information about potential issues
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes continuous feedback loops where flight path data, weather updates, airspace changes, and air traffic information are constantly fed back to the automated module. This real-time feedback enables the system to detect upcoming issues and generate timely re-routing recommendations while preserving pilot authority to accept or reject suggestions
3Extent of automation
If on-board systems are used for in-flight re-planning, then re-routing can be performed autonomously, but the systems are costly and have limited range
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex computational and data processing functions from the aircraft and relocates them to ground-based infrastructure. The automated module on the ground performs all heavy lifting of evaluating flight paths, analyzing weather data, checking airspace restrictions, and generating re-routing options. The aircraft receives simplified recommendations, thereby achieving autonomous re-routing capability without requiring expensive onboard systems
Solution Approach 2:
The ground-based automated system serves multiple aircraft simultaneously, providing a universal re-routing service that benefits the entire fleet. By consolidating computational resources and data processing capabilities on the ground, the system achieves economies of scale that reduce per-aircraft costs while maintaining comprehensive automated re-routing functionality
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus are provided for transmitting re-routing options to a plurality of in-flight aircraft in accordance with preconfigured pilot preferences. The apparatus comprises a data store module containing data sets against which the pilot preferences are evaluated during flight, including weather, airspace and flight restrictions, ground delay programs, and air traffic information. The apparatus further includes a flight path module containing route and position information for each aircraft. An incursion alert processing module evaluates the flight path, data store, and pilot preferences and generates incursion alerts which are transmitted to each aircraft during flight. Upon receipt of an incursion alert or, alternatively, independent of an incursion alert, the pilot may request re-routing options. Once received and reviewed, the pilot selects the optimum re-routing option, and an associated micro flight plan is uplinked and loaded into the FMS (Flight Management System).