Rotary Wing Proximity Warning System Using Geographic Database

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current ground obstacles alert systems for rotary wing aircraft are expensive and may interfere with sensitive ground-based instruments, limiting their widespread adoption, and fail to account for non-RF sensitive areas like sports arenas and hospitals.

Innovation Solution

An avoidance system using a geographic database and recursive algorithm to determine proximity to sensitive areas, coupled with Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radar to prevent interference, providing audible and visual warnings and adjusting RF emissions as necessary to avoid sensitive zones.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If specialized emitters operating on particular frequencies are used to avoid interference with sensitive ground-based instruments, then interference with radio telescopes is avoided, but the system cost increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterference with sensitive ground-based instrumentsVSAvoidsystem cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A geographic information system (GIS) database serves as an intermediary between the aircraft obstacle alert system and sensitive ground-based instruments. The database stores geographic locations of sensitive areas, allowing the system to determine proximity without direct RF communication, thereby avoiding interference while maintaining cost-effectiveness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-loaded geographic database of sensitive areas is prepared in advance before flight operations. By knowing the locations of sensitive areas beforehand, the system can proactively adjust RF emissions or alert pilots to avoid these zones, preventing interference before it occurs rather than requiring specialized emitters during operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If specialized emitters are used to avoid RF interference, then regulatory compliance is achieved, but the expense limits common introduction of these systems into aircraft

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveregulatory complianceVSAvoidsystem expense

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces expensive specialized emitters with a combination of off-the-shelf GPS receivers and a database-driven processing system. This cost-effective approach achieves the same regulatory compliance goal by using inexpensive, readily available components rather than specialized expensive hardware

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Reliability

If ground obstacles alert systems operate continuously to detect obstacles, then obstacle detection reliability is improved, but interference with sensitive instruments occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveobstacle detection reliabilityVSAvoidinterference with sensitive instruments

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts RF emissions based on real-time proximity to sensitive areas determined by GPS position and database comparison. When approaching a sensitive area, the system reduces or silences RF emissions while maintaining obstacle detection awareness, creating a dynamic response that balances detection reliability with interference avoidance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different operational characteristics to different geographic locations. In areas away from sensitive instruments, normal obstacle detection operations continue. When approaching sensitive areas identified in the geographic database, the system locally modifies its behavior by reducing RF emissions, creating spatially varying operational quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Productivity

If aircraft RF emissions are maintained at full power for obstacle detection, then detection capability is maximized, but interference with sensitive areas such as radio telescopes, sports arenas, and hospitals occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection capabilityVSAvoidinterference with sensitive areas

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the RF emission parameter (power level) based on geographic context. By comparing real-time GPS position with the geographic database, the system adjusts the RF emission power - maintaining full power when far from sensitive areas to maximize detection capability, and reducing or silencing emissions when approaching sensitive areas to prevent interference

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS7598888B2Rotary wing aircraft proximity warning system with a geographically based avoidance system

Publication Date: 2009.10.06 SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP

AI summary

A safety enhancement warning system includes an avoidance system which communicates with a multiple of geographical positional systems. A geographic algorithm of the avoidance system utilizes a recursive algorithmic to determine if the aircraft will enter a sensitive area. If the aircraft distance to a sensitive area decreases below a predefined minimum threshold, then an audible and/or visual warning is issued. For certain sensitive areas, aircraft RF emissions are silenced or reduced in power when the predetermined minimum threshold breaches the sensitive area. The use of the avoidance system enables usage of relatively inexpensive UWB radar for the proximity sensor suite to assure avoidance of interference with particular delicate instruments and thereby meet regulations such as those propagated by the FCC.