4D Temporal Data Structures for Mission Plan Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mission planning interfaces for manned and unmanned vehicles lack the ability to effectively analyze and compare alternative mission plans over time, due to the lack of time as an explicit parameter in mission plans, leading to complex evaluation and longer approval times in time-constrained environments.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of temporal data structures, specifically 4D mission plan data structures, which include time as an explicit parameter, allowing for the analysis and comparison of alternative mission plans by mapping mission data into a network topology that accounts for estimated times of arrival and transit, enabling automated evaluation and projection of action execution times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional mission planning interfaces are used without time as an explicit parameter, then the system maintains simplicity in data structure, but the ability to analyze and compare alternative mission plans over time deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds time as a fourth dimension to the traditional 3D spatial mission plan data structure (latitude, longitude, altitude). This creates a 4D temporal data structure that enables analysis of mission plans over time while maintaining the original spatial components. The temporal data structure includes time-stamped waypoints, estimated times of arrival, and temporal relationships between tasks, allowing operators to visualize and compare alternative plans across both space and time dimensions.
2Productivity
If manual visual comparison of mission plans is performed, then the system requires minimal computational resources, but the evaluation time and operator workload increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual comparison with automated computational analysis. The system uses algorithms to automatically evaluate mission plans against success criteria, compute performance metrics, and generate comparative analyses. This substitution of mechanical human analysis with automated computational processes dramatically reduces evaluation time and increases productivity while maintaining thorough assessment of alternative plans.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides automated feedback to operators by computing and displaying performance metrics, timing constraints compliance, and comparative analysis of alternative plans. This feedback mechanism enables rapid evaluation by presenting processed information in a comprehensible format, reducing the time needed for plan approval while maintaining rigorous assessment.
3Reliability
If mission plans are evaluated without explicit time parameters, then the data structure remains simple, but the ability to enforce timing constraints and evaluate performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic temporal parameters to the mission plan data structure, including estimated times of arrival, task duration estimates, and temporal relationships between waypoints and tasks. These dynamic elements allow the system to enforce timing constraints, evaluate compliance with mission-critical time windows, and adjust plans based on changing conditions while maintaining a structured approach to temporal data management.
Data Source
AI summary
A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon is provided. The computer executable instructions include a mission definition file (MDF) that includes mission data that describes alternative routes generated by at least one mission planner for a vehicle. An MDF parser extracts the mission data for the alternative routes from the MDF and maps the mission data into a temporal data structure describing the alternative routes. The temporal data includes a route list to describe the alternative routes for the vehicle and a route segment list to describe an estimated time between each of the waypoints for each segment of the route list. A waypoint list describes a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude for each of the waypoints and a mission plan constructor generates a network topology of a mission plan depicting the alternative routes for the vehicle over time.