Aerial Searchlight Beam Mapping for Complete SAR Coverage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current Search and Rescue (SAR) operations face inefficiencies due to lack of effective means to ensure complete area coverage and prevent repeated searches, as existing Flight Management Systems (FMS) do not accurately report the coverage of search areas, leading to compromised effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlling a searchlight mounted on an aerial vehicle, which receives angular and location data to determine beam coverage, adjusts the searchlight direction, and displays coverage on a map, ensuring comprehensive area coverage and real-time feedback, dynamically adjusting flight planning to focus on uncovered areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional SAR flight plans and patterns are used, then the SAR operation can proceed with pre-programmed routes, but the completeness of area coverage cannot be accurately reported and the same area may be searched multiple times
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements real-time feedback by continuously calculating and reporting the ground coverage area based on aircraft position and searchlight beam parameters. The coverage calculation module computes the illuminated area on the ground surface and feeds this information back to both the display system and the flight management system, enabling accurate tracking of searched regions and preventing redundant searches.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of the searchlight beam coverage area using the known beam width, aircraft altitude, and position data. By pre-calculating the coverage footprint before the aircraft reaches certain positions, the system can proactively adjust flight paths or beam directions to ensure complete coverage without gaps or overlaps.
2Productivity
If multiple SAR aircraft operate over a large area, then the search capacity increases, but coordination becomes more difficult and coverage tracking becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The coverage calculation and reporting system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it tracks individual aircraft coverage, aggregates coverage data from multiple aircraft, identifies gaps in coverage, prevents overlapping searches, and provides real-time situational awareness to all participants. This multi-functional approach enables effective coordination of multiple SAR aircraft without requiring separate complex systems for each function.
3Area of stationary object
If searchlight beam width is increased to cover more area, then the coverage area increases, but the precision of detecting small targets decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the searchlight beam width based on real-time conditions such as aircraft altitude, distance to suspected target areas, and terrain characteristics. The beam width can be varied during the search operation, allowing the system to use wider beams for general area coverage and narrower beams for focused inspection of specific regions or small targets, thereby optimizing both coverage and detection precision as needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for controlling a searchlight mounted to an aerial vehicle. The systems and methods receive angular data representing a directional angle of a beam of the searchlight and location data representing a global location of the aerial vehicle from a sensor system of the aerial vehicle. The systems and methods determine coverage of the beam of the searchlight on ground based on the angular data and the location data. Based on the coverage of the beam, the aerial vehicle is controlled to change the global location, the display is controlled to depict the coverage of the beam on a map including historical coverage of the beam, and/or the searchlight actuator is controlled to adjust the direction of the beam.