Mobile Runway Advisor System for Aircraft Incursion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current runway incursion prevention systems, such as surface radar and multilateration, have limitations like blind spots, clutter, and the inability to detect targets without transponders, leading to incomplete or inaccurate information for air traffic controllers, and the high cost and complexity of the Runway Status Lights (RWSL) system have hindered widespread deployment, leaving many airports without effective safety measures.
Innovation Solution
A mobile runway advisor system (MoRA) that uses a processor and receiver to analyze surveillance signals from nearby aircraft, determining path vectors and potential interference, and provides advisory alerts to pilots without the need for physical lighting systems or extensive airport infrastructure, leveraging existing technologies like ADS-B for aircraft-centric safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surface radar and multilateration systems are used for runway incursion prevention, then surveillance capability is improved, but blind spots, clutter, and inability to detect targets without transponders lead to incomplete information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple surveillance technologies (surface radar, multilateration, and transponder-based tracking) into an integrated system that merges their respective strengths to achieve comprehensive detection coverage, eliminating blind spots and ensuring complete information about all aircraft and vehicles on the runway
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to perform multiple surveillance functions simultaneously - detecting aircraft without transponders via radar, tracking transponder-equipped targets via MLAT, and maintaining coverage in areas where individual systems have limitations, creating a universal surveillance solution
2Reliability
If Runway Status Lights (RWSL) system is deployed to improve runway safety, then situational awareness is enhanced, but cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical in-pavement lighting system with an electronic display system that presents surveillance information directly to pilots and controllers, eliminating the need for complex lighting infrastructure while maintaining safety benefits through information provision
3Reliability
If Runway Status Lights (RWSL) system is deployed to enhance runway safety, then collision prevention is improved, but installation cost and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses standard electronic display devices that can be deployed more easily and at lower cost than permanent in-pavement lighting systems, making runway safety technology accessible to a broader range of airports without requiring extensive infrastructure construction
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic, autonomous, and aircraft-centric interference advisory method is executed entirely on a fist aircraft operating on a movement area of a runway, the movement are including ramps, taxiways, and runways. The method includes a processor onboard the first aircraft computing a first movement projection for the first aircraft using first aircraft data received at the first aircraft; the processor computing additional second movement projections for multiple second aircraft operating on the movement area of the airport using second data regarding each of the multiple second aircraft; the processor detecting a threat to the first aircraft on approach to a defined intersection of the movement area from any of the multiple second aircraft based on a corresponding second movement projection within a configurable time limit of entry into the defined intersection by the first aircraft; and providing on the first aircraft, a threat advisory for a detected threat.