Flight Control Sensor Reasonableness Monitoring for Source Selection

The patent transforms the complex qualitative assessment of sensor trustworthiness into quantitative parameter-based evaluation. It monitors specific parameters including freshness indicators (recency of data), range indicators (whether values are within expected bounds), and rate-of-change indicators (whether changes are physically plausible). By converting sensor evaluation into measurable parameter comparisons, the system resolves the contradiction between reliability improvement and complexity increase.

The system implements continuous feedback monitoring by constantly evaluating sensor readings against expected parameters and comparing multiple sensor outputs. The flight control computer receives ongoing status values from redundant sensors, evaluates them against freshness, range, and rate-of-change criteria, and dynamically selects the most reasonable value. This continuous feedback loop makes the detection and measurement of trustworthy data automatic and systematic rather than difficult and manual.

The patent segments the complex task of sensor evaluation into three distinct, manageable components: freshness evaluation (how recent is the data), range evaluation (is the value within expected bounds), and rate-of-change evaluation (are changes physically plausible). By dividing the overall evaluation process into these segmented criteria, the system handles sensor redundancy and failure modes systematically without overwhelming processing complexity.