Joystick Display for Beyond-Line-of-Sight Target Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators controlling unmanned vehicles, such as drones, and virtual targets often face challenges in maintaining situational awareness due to loss of visual line of sight, occlusions, or adverse environmental conditions, which can hinder precise navigation and control.
Innovation Solution
A controller system with a joystick and integrated visual display that provides situational awareness information, including direction to the target and its orientation, allowing operators to maintain intuitive control even when the target is beyond visual line of sight or occluded, using a combination of sensors and processors to transmit and display critical data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If operators rely on direct visual observation to control targets, then they can maintain situational awareness when the target is visible, but they lose control precision when the target is beyond visual line of sight or occluded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a display device as an intermediary between the operator and the target. The display shows directional information (arrows, indicators) that mediates the operator's understanding of target position and orientation, allowing reliable situational awareness even when direct visual observation is impossible.
Solution Approach 2:
The display creates a visual copy or representation of the target's spatial relationship to the operator. Instead of observing the actual target, the operator sees a copied directional indication on the display, which preserves the essential navigational information without requiring line-of-sight to the physical target.
2Measurement precision
If operators maintain visual line of sight to the target, then they can observe target position and movement clearly, but this limits the operational range to only what is visible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from three-dimensional direct visual observation to two-dimensional display representation. The display compresses spatial information into a 2D interface that can represent targets in any direction (360-degree awareness), expanding operational versatility while maintaining position observation precision through directional indicators.
3Device complexity
If operators use traditional controllers without visual feedback, then the controller design remains simple, but operators cannot maintain situational awareness when the target is occluded or beyond visual range
Solution Approach 1:
The display provides continuous visual feedback to the operator about target direction and orientation. This feedback loop compensates for the lack of direct visual observation, preventing information loss about situational awareness while adding a relatively simple display component to the controller system.
Data Source
AI summary
A hand controller for commanding or controlling a target, such as a remote vehicle or a virtual target, includes a display mounted on a free end of a joystick for indicating graphically a direction of the remote vehicle from the hand controller and an orientation of the target relative to the hand controller's frame of reference, based on the location and orientation of the target received by the hand controller from the target and the location and orientation of the hand controller.