Trajectory Coordinator for Airspace Negotiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flight management systems lack comprehensive information to optimize flight trajectories for multiple aircraft, limiting their ability to efficiently manage and negotiate trajectories in real-time, especially under resource constraints and changing conditions.
Innovation Solution
A communication system involving an aircraft system, air navigation service provider, and dispatch center, with a trajectory coordinator that initiates negotiations and generates proposed trajectories using aircraft parameters, navigation service data, and dispatch data to optimize flight paths, allowing for automatic and independent negotiation of flight trajectories.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the FMS stores flight path information and 4DTs, then the aircraft system can manage trajectory data, but the information available to the FMS is limited and it does not have full knowledge of information available to the operator
Solution Approach 1:
A communication system acts as an intermediary between the FMS and the operator, transmitting trajectory data, aircraft parameters, and operational information bidirectionally. This intermediary ensures the FMS receives complete information previously only available to the operator, resolving the information gap without requiring direct modification of the FMS architecture.
2Productivity
If two-way communications are established between DC, aircraft system, and ANSP, then optimized flight trajectory can be determined, but the communication and negotiation process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The communication system segments the trajectory management process into distinct functional modules: a trajectory coordinator that manages negotiations, a trajectory generator that creates optimized paths, and communication interfaces that handle data exchange. This segmentation organizes the complexity into manageable components while enabling comprehensive two-way communication between all parties.
Solution Approach 2:
The trajectory coordinator serves as an intermediary that automates the negotiation process between the DC, aircraft system, and ANSP. It receives trajectory requests, coordinates with relevant parties, and facilitates agreement on optimized flight paths, reducing the complexity of direct multi-party communication while improving trajectory optimization efficiency.
3Extent of automation
If a trajectory coordinator is added to initiate negotiations automatically, then independent negotiation capability is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The trajectory coordinator is configured with automated negotiation capabilities that allow it to independently initiate and conduct trajectory optimization negotiations without requiring manual intervention from operators or controllers. It autonomously evaluates aircraft parameters, generates trajectory proposals, and coordinates agreements, enabling self-service operation that improves automation while the modular design manages system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A plurality of present novel and non-trivial communication methods employed between the participants of a trajectory management operation is disclosed. A trajectory coordinator (“TC”) generator may be configured to send data representative of a polling request to one or more of the participants, receive data responsive to the sending of the polling request, generate data representative of one or more proposed trajectories of the TC, and send data representative of each TC-proposed trajectory to an air navigation service provider (“ANSP”) and/or a dispatch center (“DC”). When presented to a controller of the ANSP or a dispatcher of the DC, one or more of the trajectories may be sent to the aircraft system. In response, each ANSP-selected trajectory and each DC-selected trajectory may be presented to the pilot whom selects and approves one of the selected trajectories. In response, the pilot-selected trajectory may be sent to the ANSP and DC.