PED Integration with Flight Deck Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern commercial airplanes face challenges in integrating portable electronic devices (PEDs) with flight deck multifunction displays due to space constraints and difficulties in shared viewing, which affects crew coordination and usability of electronic flight bag (EFB) information.
Innovation Solution
A system that couples a PED to an onboard network through an aircraft interface device (AID), allowing information from PED applications to be routed through a gateway and displayed on flight-deck-installed multifunction displays, enabling secure integration and interactive functionality while using firewalls to isolate certified and uncertified networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a PED-based EFB system is used to provide supplemental information to the crew, then weight and handling cost savings are achieved by eliminating paper-based information, but there is not sufficient space or a suitable location to mount a PED for easy viewing and interaction in the flight deck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the PED display output with the existing flight deck multifunction display system. The PED connects to the flight deck display via an onboard network, allowing its information to be rendered on the shared display screen. This eliminates the need for separate PED mounting while preserving the weight savings benefit of using electronic instead of paper-based information systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight deck multifunction display is enhanced to serve multiple purposes: displaying information from both the certified avionics system and the PED-based EFB system. The display system becomes universal, accommodating different information sources without requiring separate dedicated displays for each function.
2Ease of operation
If a PED is mounted in the flight deck for easy viewing, then information accessibility is improved, but it is difficult to position a tablet computer for shared viewing or convenient viewing alongside flight deck multifunction displays, resulting in more difficult crew coordination
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the PED display with the shared flight deck display, the system eliminates positioning difficulties. All crew members can view information from the PED on the same display screen, facilitating shared viewing and improving crew coordination without adding positioning complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The onboard network and gateway system act as intermediaries between the PED and the flight deck display system. This intermediary infrastructure enables seamless integration of PED information into the existing display architecture, simplifying the overall system configuration and eliminating the need for complex physical positioning arrangements.
3Reliability
If firewalls are used to isolate the aircraft data network and the flight deck crew network, then security and certification levels are maintained, but network complexity and information routing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The network is segmented into distinct domains: the aircraft data network for certified avionics communication and the flight deck crew network for operational information. Firewalls are deployed at the boundary between these segments to maintain security and certification levels while allowing controlled information exchange through the gateway.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway serves as an intermediary device that manages communication between the isolated network segments. It handles the complexity of network routing and protocol translation, allowing the firewalls to focus solely on security functions without adding overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for integration of a portable electronic device (PED) with a flight deck display in some embodiments includes providing an onboard network coupled to a flight-deck-installed, multi-function display and coupling the PED to the onboard network. The method may also include receiving information from a PED hosted application in the PED, routing information through a gateway and/or a plurality of firewalls, and displaying information on the flight-deck-installed, multi-function display. In some embodiments, a pilot control interface is coupled to the PED through the onboard network, and a plurality of functions on the PED is controlled via the pilot control interface. An airplane in some embodiments includes a fuselage portion, a wing portion, and a system that carries out the method, possibly through use of computer readable storage medium with stored instructions.