Integrated Flight Control and AHRS for Low-SWaP UAM Vehicles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Urban air mobility vehicles face challenges with discrete flight control and attitude/heading systems that are too large, heavy, and power-hungry for their size and propulsion capabilities, necessitating a more compact and efficient integrated solution.
Innovation Solution
An integrated travel control and attitude/heading reference system with separate processing circuitry for travel control and attitude/heading determination, sharing a common input/output interface and power supply, utilizing inertial measurement units and GNSS receivers for data input, and implementing fault-tolerant processors for real-time accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If discrete flight control and attitude/heading systems are used in UAM vehicles, then flight control functionality is provided, but the system size, weight, and power consumption become excessive for small vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines discrete flight control systems and attitude/heading reference systems into a single integrated system. The processor executes both flight control applications and attitude/heading determination applications, while shared components (inertial measurement units, GNSS receivers, interface circuitry, power supply) serve both functions simultaneously, thereby reducing overall system weight while maintaining complete flight control functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated system designates the processor and supporting components as multi-functional elements that perform both flight control and attitude/heading reference functions. The inertial measurement units, GNSS receivers, and power supply serve universal purposes across both subsystems, eliminating redundant components and reducing total system weight
2Reliability
If discrete flight control and attitude/heading systems are used in UAM vehicles, then flight control functionality is provided, but the system power consumption exceeds available power supply
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the power consumption requirements of discrete flight control and attitude/heading systems into a single integrated power budget. By combining the systems, redundant power consumption is eliminated, and a single power supply unit is designed to meet the aggregated power requirements, ensuring total power consumption remains within available UAM vehicle power supply
Solution Approach 2:
The power supply is designed as a universal component that serves both flight control and attitude/heading reference functions simultaneously. This multi-functional power supply optimizes energy distribution across both subsystems, eliminating duplicate power conversion and distribution infrastructure, thereby reducing total power consumption to levels suitable for small UAM vehicles
3Reliability
If discrete flight control and attitude/heading systems are used in UAM vehicles, then flight control functionality is provided, but the system size becomes too large for compact vehicle design
Solution Approach 1:
The patent physically integrates the flight control system and attitude/heading reference system into a single compact unit. The processor, inertial measurement units, GNSS receivers, interface circuitry, and power supply are combined in one system architecture, dramatically reducing the total volume occupied by these subsystems and enabling installation in compact UAM vehicle configurations
4Reliability
If separate processing systems are used for flight control and attitude/heading, then functional independence is maintained, but device complexity and cabling requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the integrated system into distinct functional applications (flight control application and attitude/heading determination application) that execute on a shared processor. This software-based segmentation maintains functional independence and logical separation while eliminating the need for separate hardware systems, thereby reducing device complexity and cabling requirements compared to fully discrete systems
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
Techniques for integrating a travel control system and attitude and heading (AHR) system in a vehicle are disclosed. The integrated system includes interface circuitry that enables data communication between constituent travel control system and AHR system of the integrated system, and can further communicate data between the travel control system and/or the AHR system and other system(s) or device(s) in or on the vehicle. In some embodiments, the travel control system includes processing circuitry that is fault tolerant. Alternatively, or additionally, the AHR system may include processing circuitry that has a processing power greater than the travel control system processing circuitry.