Onboard ILS Envelope Construction for Signal Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems and methods fail to provide adequate alerting and guidance for instrument landing system (ILS) critical areas, especially in low visibility conditions and at uncontrolled airports, where air traffic controllers are not available to protect these areas, leading to potential disruptions from mobile platforms and lack of ILS signal protection.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that includes an on-board controller for an aircraft, which processes ILS antenna information and traffic data to construct a three-dimensional ILS envelope, providing alerts and notifications to pilots and air traffic control when intruder traffic infringes on this envelope, and monitoring signal quality to prevent auto-pilot disconnects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air traffic controllers are used to protect ILS critical areas, then ILS signal protection is improved, but device complexity and operational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aircraft performs self-monitoring of ILS signal quality using onboard equipment to detect signal disruptions caused by intruder traffic in the critical area, eliminating the need for external air traffic controller intervention in normal operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors ILS signal quality and provides real-time feedback to the pilot through alerts when signal disruptions are detected, enabling dynamic response to changing conditions without requiring constant controller oversight
2Reliability
If air traffic controllers are deployed to monitor and protect ILS critical areas, then safety is improved, but operational cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aircraft autonomously monitors ILS signal quality and detects intruder traffic disruptions without requiring external air traffic controller resources, making safety functionality available at uncontrolled airports without additional operational costs
Solution Approach 2:
The onboard system serves multiple functions including navigation, signal quality monitoring, intruder detection, and alert generation, providing comprehensive safety coverage without requiring specialized additional equipment or personnel
3Adaptability or versatility
If ILS critical area protection is implemented with multiple alerting conditions, then coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system monitors changes in ILS signal quality parameters to detect intruder traffic, using signal strength and quality metrics as indicators of critical area intrusion without requiring complex multi-parameter analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and monitors only the critical ILS signal quality parameters needed to detect intruder traffic, filtering out unnecessary data to maintain simplicity while ensuring adequate coverage
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems for instrument landing system (ILS) alerting. The method may include: receiving an ILS localizer signal and traffic information; monitoring a signal-quality of the received ILS signal; annunciating on a display system onboard the aircraft an impending ILS auto-pilot disconnect alert when the signal-quality is determined to have decreased by more than a threshold; associating the ILS signal with stored ILS antenna information to thereby construct a three-dimensional ILS envelope with a point of origination at a location of an ILS localizer; presenting a map showing the aircraft at a current location, and the runway; and, using the traffic information to monitor a location and movement of an intruder traffic and predict an infringement of the intruder traffic on the ILS envelope. Responsive to the predicted infringement, the method may annunciate an ILS alert and transmit a notification to air traffic control or the intruder traffic.