Multimodal Beacon Landing for Centimeter-Accurate Aircraft Pose
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current auto-landing systems for aircraft rely exclusively on satellite navigation, which is inadequate for precision and safety, especially in degraded visual conditions or dynamic landing sites, lacking redundancy and precision.
Innovation Solution
A multimodal beacon-based navigation system incorporating ranging radios, optical beacons, RTK GPS, and visual pattern detection, providing quadruple-redundant tracking for precise localization and robust performance, even in failure scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If satellite navigation (GPS) is used for auto-landing, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but the precision and reliability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system is segmented into multiple independent modalities: optical beacon tracking, radio frequency ranging, visual pattern recognition, and GPS/INERTIAL navigation. Each modality operates independently and contributes to the overall positioning solution, allowing the system to achieve high precision without relying on a single complex system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple navigation modalities into a unified multimodal navigation system that fuses data from optical beacons, RF ranging signals, visual patterns, and satellite/GPS information. This combination creates a robust system that achieves precision beyond any single modality while maintaining operational simplicity through integrated processing
2Reliability
If multiple sensing modes are used for redundancy, then the reliability and safety are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates redundant navigation modalities as a form of prior cushioning against system failures. By having multiple independent sensing modes (optical, RF, visual, inertial) available before any failure occurs, the system can maintain reliability even if one or more modalities fail during operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters by switching between different navigation modalities based on environmental conditions and system state. For example, it can transition from GPS-dependent to beacon-dependent navigation, or adjust the weighting of different sensor inputs, thereby maintaining reliability without requiring a permanently complex system configuration
3Measurement precision
If GPS alone is used for navigation, then the system is lightweight and simple, but the precision landing within centimeters cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces heavy mechanical positioning infrastructure with lightweight optical and electromagnetic sensing. Instead of requiring heavy GPS hardware or mechanical measurement devices, the aircraft uses optical cameras for beacon tracking, RF radios for ranging, and visual pattern recognition - all of which achieve centimeter-level precision with minimal onboard mass
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise and safe landing within a few centimeters of the desired site, improving aviation safety and precision beyond what GPS alone can achieve, with redundancy ensuring continued tracking even if one system fails.
Implementation Method 1
determining continuously updated range distances from the aircraft to each of the plurality of beacons based on time-of-flight radio transmissions between the aircraft and each of the plurality of beacons
Implementation Method 2
The cameras are used for detecting the emitted light energy sources of the plurality of beacons and for recognizing other visual patterns at the landing site
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, apparatuses, and methods for autonomously estimating the position and orientation (“pose”) of an aircraft relative to a target site are disclosed herein, including a system including a plurality of beacons arranged about the target site, wherein the plurality of beacons collectively comprise at least one electromagnetic radiation source and at least one beacon ranging radio, a sensor system coupled to the aircraft including an electromagnetic radiation sensor and a ranging radio configured to determine a range of the aircraft relative to the target site, and a processor configured to determine an estimated pose of the aircraft based on at least: (i) detected electromagnetic radiation, and (ii) time-stamped range data for the aircraft relative to the target site.