Aircraft Synthetic Vision Intruder Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current anti-collision systems, such as TCAS, struggle to provide pilots with intuitive and immediate awareness of threats at low altitudes, especially in conditions like night flights or firefighting missions where visibility is reduced, and aircraft have dynamic and varied trajectories.
Innovation Solution
A synthetic vision system that uses a cartographic database, position sensors, air traffic detection, and a display screen to present intruders in a 3D conformal view with stylized symbols indicating direction, altitude, and trajectory, using color and texture to differentiate between climbing and descending aircraft, and flashing symbols for close proximity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional 2D horizontal plane display is used for TCAS information, then the system structure remains simple, but pilot interpretation time increases and collision risk awareness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D horizontal plane display to a 3D perspective view that conformally represents the forward sector. Intruders are displayed at their actual spatial positions with depth perception, allowing pilots to immediately grasp the three-dimensional spatial relationships and collision risks without mental transformation, thus reducing interpretation time and improving awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs color coding to represent different threat levels and intruder characteristics. Critical intruders are highlighted with specific colors to enable rapid visual processing and immediate pilot response, reducing the time needed to interpret threat severity and prioritize actions.
2Reliability
If 3D conformal display with multiple symbols is used to show intruder position and trajectory, then pilot awareness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments intruder information into distinct visual components: position markers, trajectory indicators, threat level symbols, and color-coded identifiers. Each element conveys specific information independently, allowing the complex spatial and threat data to be processed efficiently by the pilot without overwhelming the display system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a synthetic vision system as an intermediary between the raw sensor data and the pilot. This system automatically processes radar and sensor inputs, calculates threat levels, determines trajectories, and presents processed information in an intuitive 3D format, reducing the complexity burden on the overall system while maintaining high reliability.
3Ease of operation
If stylized symbols with color and texture variations are used to indicate climbing and descending aircraft, then immediate threat recognition is achieved, but manufacturing and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different visual qualities (color, texture, size) to specific local features of intruder symbols based on their flight state. Climbing aircraft display upward-pointing arrows with specific colors, while descending aircraft show downward-pointing arrows with different colors or textures. This localized differentiation enables immediate threat recognition without requiring complex overall symbol redesign.
Data Source
AI summary
The general field of the invention is that of viewing systems of the synthetic vision type SVS, for a first aircraft, the said system comprising at least one cartographic database of a terrain, position sensors, for the said aircraft, an air traffic detection system calculating the position and the danger rating of at least one second aircraft exhibiting a risk of collision with the said first aircraft on the basis of data originating from sensors or systems such as TCAS or ADS-B, an electronic computer, a man-machine interface means and a display screen, the computer comprising means for processing the various items of information originating from the database, sensors and interface means, the said processing means arranged so as to provide the display screen with a synthetic image of the terrain comprising a representation of the said second aircraft. The said representation comprises a first symbol representing in a stylized manner the said second aircraft and a second symbol, situated to the right of the first symbol when the second aircraft is facing towards the first aircraft and situated to the left of the first symbol when the second aircraft is facing away from the first aircraft.