Runway Collision Avoidance Directives Using Predicted Lateral Incursion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pilots often rely on instinct and experience to judge potential collision risks with aircraft traffic on the runway, leading to errors in decision-making that can result in collisions.
Innovation Solution
A collision avoidance directive generation system that includes a processor and memory to receive intruder aircraft location and velocity, determine incursion lines, predict lateral incursions, and generate alerts based on lateral margins to ensure safe take-off or landing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If pilots rely on instinct and experience to judge potential collision risks, then they can make real-time decisions quickly, but errors in judgement may lead to collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an automated collision risk assessment system that acts as an intermediary between the pilot and the intruder aircraft. The system processes intruder aircraft location, velocity, and runway parameters to calculate time to collision and lateral margin, providing objective collision risk assessment to supplement pilot instinct and experience, thereby improving judgment accuracy without significantly increasing decision time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the purely human mechanical decision-making system with an automated computational system. The processor automatically calculates time to collision, lateral margin, and collision risk based on received data, substituting the pilot's instinct-based mechanical judgment with precise mathematical computation, thereby eliminating human error while maintaining rapid response
2Measurement precision
If automated collision avoidance systems are implemented, then collision risk assessment accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a multi-functional integrated system where a single processor performs multiple functions: receiving intruder aircraft data, calculating time to collision, determining lateral margin, assessing collision risk, and generating alerts. This universal approach achieves high measurement precision while avoiding the complexity of separate dedicated systems for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of time to collision and lateral margin based on current intruder aircraft parameters before actual collision risk materializes. By pre-computing these critical parameters and continuously updating them, the system maintains high assessment accuracy while using efficient algorithms that prevent computational complexity from escalating
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for generating collision avoidance directives. A current lateral incursion of an intruder aircraft onto a runway is determined based on a location of the intruder aircraft. An incursion line extending across the runway based on the location of the intruder aircraft is defined. A time to collision when an ego aircraft is expected to cross the incursion line is determined. A predicted lateral incursion of the intruder aircraft onto the runway based on the time to collision, the current lateral incursion, and a velocity of the intruder aircraft is generated. A determination is made whether a lateral margin between the ego aircraft and the intruder aircraft on the runway at the time to collision is greater than a lateral margin tolerance. A first directive alert to proceed with the one of a take-off and a landing via the runway is generated based on the determination.