Sensor Coverage Management for Air Traffic Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Airplanes in areas with poor or unreliable radar coverage may not have a complete picture of nearby aircraft, leading to potential collisions, and satellite communication networks for internet access on commercial airlines are often slow and have limited bandwidth.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where participant devices manage sensor coverage by using line-of-sight communications to transmit notification signals and data signals, allowing for directional transmission and reception, and aggregating sensor data to reduce overlapping coverage and fill gaps in coverage areas, thereby enhancing safety and network efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple sensors are deployed to ensure complete coverage in areas with poor radar coverage, then safety is improved, but overlapping coverage areas waste bandwidth and reduce network efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring sensor coverage areas and using this information to dynamically adjust sensor operation. A sensor coverage manager collects coverage data from multiple sensors, identifies overlapping areas, and provides feedback to turn off sensors in overlapping regions while maintaining coverage in gap areas, thus optimizing bandwidth usage while preserving safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of sensors based on aggregated coverage information. By adjusting which sensors are active versus inactive depending on coverage overlap and gaps, the system dynamically modifies sensor parameters to achieve optimal balance between safety and bandwidth efficiency
2Adaptability or versatility
If satellite communication networks are used to provide internet access on commercial airlines, then connectivity is improved, but bandwidth is limited and transmission speed is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential safety-critical data from sensor coverage information and transmits this minimal necessary data through the satellite communication network. By taking out only the critical coverage status information rather than transmitting all raw sensor data, the system maintains connectivity functionality while dramatically reducing bandwidth consumption and improving transmission efficiency
3Productivity
If participant devices transmit notification signals and data signals using line-of-sight communications, then network efficiency is improved, but directional transmission requires precise orientation and coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor coverage manager acts as an intermediary that coordinates directional transmission between participant devices. It collects coverage information from multiple devices, processes this information centrally, and provides coordinated instructions to each device about which sensors to activate and in which directions, thereby simplifying the coordination complexity while maintaining network efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments described herein are directed to employing an aggregation of participant sensor coverage areas to determine if there are missing coverage areas or unwanted overlapping coverage areas. If there are missing coverage areas, then at least one participant is instructed to modify its sensor coverage area to at least partially cover the missing coverage area. Conversely, if at least one participant has a sensor that is providing unwanted overlap of other sensor coverage areas, then that participant may be instructed to stop using that sensor, utilize that sensor for other data transmission purposes, or modify the coverage area to be non- or less-overlapping.