Helicopter Precision Landing System Using 3D Spatial Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing precision landing systems for helicopters in offshore oil exploration fail to provide comprehensive situational awareness during adverse weather conditions, leading to incorrect landings and aborted procedures due to insufficient information about the oil rig and helipad position relative to obstructions.
Innovation Solution
A precision landing system that includes a processor to receive and assign geographical coordinates to three-dimensional geometric structural information of a landing site, using position information from receivers and radar systems, and displays a real-time three-dimensional representation on a cockpit display device, providing full situational awareness to pilots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If existing precision landing systems are used, then basic landing guidance is provided, but comprehensive situational awareness including obstructions is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional plan views to three-dimensional immersive virtual reality representations of the landing site. This dimensional enhancement allows pilots to perceive obstructions, terrain features, and helipad geometry in spatial context, providing comprehensive situational awareness that prevents wrong-rig landings while maintaining basic guidance functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of the landing site environment using pre-acquired three-dimensional geometric structural information. This virtual representation is geo-referenced to match the actual physical landing site, allowing pilots to view the environment from multiple perspectives including bird's-eye and ground-level views without leaving the cockpit, thereby preventing information loss while maintaining landing reliability.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive three-dimensional geometric structural information is displayed, then situational awareness is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by acquiring and storing three-dimensional geometric structural information of the landing site before the helicopter arrives. This pre-processing includes creating virtual reality models and geo-referencing them to the actual coordinates, so that when the helicopter approaches, the information is already prepared and can be rapidly displayed without real-time processing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual reality environment as an intermediary between the actual landing site and the pilot's perception. This virtual representation acts as a mediator that simplifies the display of complex three-dimensional geometric information by presenting it in an intuitive, immersive format that the pilot can easily interpret, reducing the cognitive complexity while maintaining comprehensive information delivery.
3Manufacturing precision
If real-time three-dimensional representation is displayed, then precision landing capability is improved, but data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary geo-referencing of three-dimensional geometric structural information to actual landing site coordinates before the helicopter arrives. Pre-acquired virtual reality models are prepared and stored, allowing real-time display during landing without intensive real-time processing. The heavy computational work is completed in advance, reducing real-time data processing requirements while maintaining high landing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of processing raw sensor data in real-time to create three-dimensional representations, the system uses pre-acquired virtual copies of the landing site environment. These virtual models are geo-referenced to match actual coordinates and can be rapidly displayed with minimal processing, reducing data processing load while providing accurate real-time spatial awareness for precision landing.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods of precision landing in adverse conditions are provided. In one embodiment, a precision landing system comprises a vehicle including: a receiver configured to receive position information for structures and a landing zone of a landing site and a processor coupled to a memory, the memory includes three-dimensional geometric structural information for a landing site. The processor configured to: receive the position information from the receiver; assign geographical coordinates to the three-dimensional geometric structural information using the position information for the structures and the landing zone of the landing site; send the three-dimensional geometric structural information and graphical rendering information to a display device. The vehicle further includes a display device, wherein the display device is configured to render and display a three-dimensional representation of the landing site in real-time based on the three-dimension geometric structural information and the graphical rendering information from the processor.