Aircraft Flight Planning With Self-Updating Airspace Constraints

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing flight planning systems struggle with low acceptance rates and inefficiencies due to dynamic airspace constraints, requiring significant human intervention and manual software updates, and are not applicable worldwide.

Innovation Solution

A data-driven flight planning system that uses a continually updated database of proven flight plans and an adaptable airspace model to generate flight plans, incorporating an aircraft intent description language (AIDL) for efficient trajectory representation, and an iterative graph search to optimize flight paths, reducing reliance on static programming and enhancing adherence to airspace constraints.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If static program code is used to program airspace constraint rules, then the system is easier to implement and maintain, but the system cannot adapt to dynamic airspace constraints and achieves low flight plan acceptance rates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadaptability to dynamic airspace constraintsVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically updates its airspace constraint knowledge base by consuming published constraint data from airspace authorities and learning from actual flight clearance outcomes. This self-updating mechanism eliminates the need for manual programming of constraint rules while enabling adaptation to dynamic airspace conditions, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback loops that analyze clearance outcomes and use this information to refine future flight plan generation. By learning from actual clearance decisions and adjusting its constraint models accordingly, the system improves its adaptability to dynamic airspace constraints without requiring complex manual reprogramming.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Adaptability or versatility

If manual software updates are performed to accommodate airspace changes, then the system can adapt to new constraints, but the system requires significant human intervention and is not cost-effective

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to update to airspace changesVSAvoidautomation of constraint updates

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically consumes and processes published airspace constraint data without human intervention. It self-updates its knowledge base by parsing new constraint publications and learning from clearance outcomes, completely automating the update process and eliminating costly manual software maintenance while maintaining high adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If flight plans are generated without considering dynamic airspace constraints, then the planning process is faster and simpler, but the flight plans have low acceptance rates and require modifications

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflight plan generation speedVSAvoidflight plan acceptance rate

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and storing airspace constraint data in an optimized knowledge base structure. This preparation allows the system to quickly query and apply relevant constraints during flight plan generation without slowing down the planning process, while still achieving high acceptance rates through comprehensive constraint consideration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different levels of constraint consideration to different parts of the flight plan based on their importance and dynamic nature. Critical constraints are rigorously enforced while less critical ones are handled with optimized algorithms, maintaining both speed and reliability by not uniformly processing all constraints with the same intensity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Adaptability or versatility

If existing flight planning systems are used, then the systems are easier to operate with current tools, but they cannot achieve worldwide adherence and require region-specific configurations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveworldwide applicabilityVSAvoidoperational simplicity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system is designed with universal functionality to operate across multiple airspace regions and countries simultaneously. It maintains a unified knowledge base that incorporates constraints from various airspace authorities and uses a consistent flight plan generation approach worldwide, eliminating the need for region-specific configurations while maintaining ease of operation through a single unified interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12444311B2Flight planning systems and methods for aircraft

Publication Date: 2025.10.14 THE BOEING CO

AI summary

A system and a method include a flight plan generating control unit configured to receive a flight plan request for an aircraft from a user interface, determine if the flight plan request matches a flight plan within a flight plan database, in response to the flight plan request matching the flight plan within the flight plan database, submit the flight plan to a validation sub-system, and in response to the flight plan request not matching the flight plan within the flight plan database, determine a new flight plan.