UAV Controller Terrain Awareness Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Controllers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) lack situational awareness of the terrain surrounding the UAV, which can lead to unsafe flight paths and potential crashes, as they are not physically present in the aircraft and have limited real-time visibility of geographic areas.
Innovation Solution
A terrain awareness layer is displayed on the controller's interface, highlighting areas where the UAV will be within predefined unsafe altitudes above the terrain, using colored overlays to indicate potential hazards, and an RF link analysis layer to assess communication strength, providing real-time data to avoid both terrain and communication losses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the controller relies on traditional flight control interfaces without terrain visualization, then the device complexity is reduced, but the controller's situational awareness of terrain and unsafe areas deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent overlays terrain awareness information onto the existing map display, adding a new dimension of information (altitude/terrain proximity) to the two-dimensional map view. This allows the controller to see unsafe areas and terrain contours without adding separate physical displays or controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The terrain awareness information is presented as a visual copy or representation of the actual terrain data, showing contour lines and unsafe areas that mirror the real-world geography. This visual copying allows the controller to perceive terrain features without physically being present.
2Reliability
If the controller has no visual indication of unsafe altitudes, then the ease of operation is maintained, but the reliability of flight path safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color-coded contour lines and shaded areas to indicate different altitude zones and unsafe regions. This visual encoding allows the controller to quickly identify safe and unsafe areas without complex data interpretation, maintaining ease of operation while improving safety reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The terrain awareness display shows unsafe areas and contour lines in advance before the UAV reaches them, allowing the controller to proactively adjust the flight path to avoid hazardous zones. This preliminary visualization prevents safety issues rather than reacting to them.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the controller lacks real-time terrain proximity data, then the information processing load is reduced, but the ability to detect and respond to terrain hazards deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the most critical terrain information (contour lines indicating altitude zones and shaded areas indicating unsafe regions) from the complete terrain dataset. This selective extraction provides essential hazard detection capability while minimizing data processing requirements compared to displaying all available terrain data.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of displaying information pertaining to an air vehicle is disclosed. Information is displayed indicative of first portions of a map where distance between a current altitude of the air vehicle and terrain in the map are within a first threshold. Information is displayed indicative of second portions of a map where a distance between the current altitude of the air vehicle and terrain in the map are within a second threshold. The first and second portions are updated based on a change in the current altitude of the air vehicle. In another example, a map including a projected flight path of an aircraft is displayed. Location-based information pertaining to radio frequency (RF) status between the aircraft and at least one ground radio is displayed on the map. The location-based information pertaining to RF status is updated based on a change in the current position of the air vehicle.