Onboard Service Status Visualization Across Similar Trips

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems lack effective methods for continuously monitoring and quickly addressing issues with onboard services on vessels, such as aircrafts, to maintain high-quality communications and entertainment services.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for visualizing performance indicators of onboard services by generating graphical interfaces that compare past trips similar to a particular trip, using icons to represent service status, allowing operators to identify and address diminishing quality issues.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If performance data is collected and compared across multiple trips to monitor service quality, then the ability to identify service degradation improves, but the complexity of data collection and analysis increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice quality monitoringVSAvoiddata collection system
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates visual copies of performance data from past trips and displays them alongside current trip data in a unified interface. This allows operators to compare service quality across trips without complex data manipulation, as the data is pre-formatted and presented in a consistent visual format that highlights differences and trends.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The graphical user interface acts as an intermediary between the raw performance data and the operator. It automatically processes, formats, and presents the data in an easily comparable visual format, eliminating the need for operators to manually analyze raw data and reducing the perceived complexity of the monitoring system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If detailed performance metrics are tracked for each trip, then the precision of service quality assessment improves, but the time required to analyze the data increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice performance measurementVSAvoidanalysis time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The performance data is segmented into distinct visual elements within the interface, with each metric or trip represented as a separate, easily identifiable component. This segmentation allows operators to quickly scan and compare specific aspects of service quality without being overwhelmed by a wall of unorganized data, reducing analysis time while maintaining measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Speed

If real-time monitoring of onboard services is implemented, then the speed of problem detection improves, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproblem detection speedVSAvoidmonitoring system
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides continuous feedback by automatically comparing current trip performance data with historical data from past trips. This real-time comparison and visual presentation enable operators to quickly detect service degradation or anomalies without implementing complex monitoring algorithms, as the system handles the analytical complexity automatically.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4169007B1Method and system for visualizing performance indicators of onboard services provided during similar trips
Publication Date: 2026.01.07 VIASAT INC
  • EP4169007B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4169007B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4169007B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

In some embodiments, a method comprises: identifying past trips, each of the past trips having a past trip characteristic similar to a particular trip characteristic of a particular trip; obtaining a vehicle identifier used during each of the past trips; obtaining status of one or more onboard services provided during each of the past trips; generating interface data representing: a past trip header, the past trip characteristic for each of the past trips, the vehicle identifier used during each of the past trips, an icon for each of the past trips having a feature indicating the status of one or more onboard services provided during the past trip, and an additional icon indicating status of onboard services provided during the particular trip; transmitting the interface data to cause a display device to generate/display a viewer.