Unmanned Aircraft Lost-Link Return and Contingency Landing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aircraft systems face challenges in managing communication link degradation during flights, leading to potential loss of control and inability to safely land at designated airports.
Innovation Solution
The aircraft is equipped with a communication system to detect lost communication scenarios and a flight control system that routes the aircraft back to a last known location to re-establish communication, and if unsuccessful, selects a landing site from contingency landing sites based on current location, enabling safe landing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the aircraft attempts to re-establish communication by returning to the last known location, then communication reliability is improved, but flight time and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads contingency landing site data and establishes communication protocols before the communication failure occurs. This allows the aircraft to quickly execute the re-establishment procedure without time-critical decision-making during the actual failure event.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight control system dynamically adjusts the aircraft's flight path in real-time based on communication status. When communication degradation is detected, the system automatically modifies the route to return to the last known location, and if unsuccessful, dynamically selects an appropriate contingency landing site based on current position and aircraft state.
2Reliability
If the aircraft returns to the last known location to re-establish communication, then communication reliability is improved, but fuel consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of fully returning to the last known location, the system performs a partial return maneuver to the extent necessary to re-establish communication, then proceeds to the original destination or selects a contingency landing site. This partial action reduces unnecessary fuel consumption while still achieving communication re-establishment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-identifies multiple contingency landing sites along the flight path and pre-calculates fuel requirements for different scenarios. This allows rapid decision-making about whether to return to the last known location or proceed to a contingency site, optimizing fuel usage based on pre-computed data.
3Reliability
If the aircraft selects a contingency landing site based on current location, then landing safety is improved, but flight plan complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contingency landing site selection process is segmented into distinct phases: identification of potential sites, evaluation based on current aircraft state, and selection of the optimal site. Each phase handles a specific aspect of the decision-making process, reducing overall system complexity through modular organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight control system autonomously selects the appropriate contingency landing site based on pre-programmed criteria and current aircraft state, without requiring external input or complex human decision-making. The system serves itself by automatically evaluating options and making the selection, simplifying the operational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft includes a flight plan and contingency data including a plurality of contingency landing sites. An aircraft communication system communicates with a ground control station via a communication link and detects a lost communication scenario in response to degradation in the communication link. An aircraft flight control system controls the aircraft en route according to the flight plan. In response to detecting the lost communication scenario, the flight control system routes the aircraft back to a last known location in which the communication link was not degraded. In response to failure to re-establish the communication link, the flight control system selects a landing site based on a current aircraft location relative to a plurality of potential landing sites including an origin airport, a destination airport, and a first continency landing site. The flight control system controls the aircraft to approach and land at the selected landing site.