UTM System Standardizes Diverse UAS Flight Plans for Conflict Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System is hindered by the lack of effective oversight for deconfliction and mission reprioritization among multiple UAS operations, as well as the incompatibility of different flight and mission information representation schemes, leading to safety concerns and challenges in coordinating operations with manned aircraft.
Innovation Solution
A UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system that converts diverse UAS flight plan representations into a common format for analysis, providing real-time situational awareness and deconfliction capabilities, and offering flight plan approval, disapproval, and alert services to ensure safe operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different UAS flight plan representation schemes are used to support diverse UAS operations, then the adaptability and versatility of the system increases, but the device complexity and difficulty of coordination increase due to incompatibility between different schemes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central UTM server as an intermediary that receives flight plan representations from multiple UAS operators using different schemes, converts them into a common standardized format, and processes them uniformly. This mediator enables diverse UAS operations to coexist without direct compatibility requirements between operators, resolving the contradiction by centralizing the conversion function.
Solution Approach 2:
The UTM server implements a universal flight plan representation scheme that can handle and convert multiple different input formats (ICAO, FAA, EASA, etc.) into a single common format. This multi-functional capability allows the system to support diverse UAS operations while maintaining internal consistency through a unified representation standard.
2Device complexity
If a common flight plan representation scheme is implemented to simplify coordination and reduce system complexity, then the device complexity decreases, but the adaptability to support diverse UAS operations and different national standards is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the flight plan processing function into two distinct parts: (1) input acceptance in multiple diverse formats from various UAS operators, and (2) internal processing in a single common standardized format. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simplicity in the core processing logic while supporting diversity at the interface level.
3Reliability
If real-time conversion and analysis of flight plans is performed to enable conflict detection and deconfliction, then the reliability and safety of UAS operations improves, but the loss of time for processing and the device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary conversion of flight plan representations to the common format and conducts preliminary conflict analysis before UAS operations commence. By performing these actions in advance, the system ensures safety checks are completed without causing time loss during actual operations, as the processing is done proactively during flight plan submission.
4Reliability
If comprehensive conflict detection and deconfliction capabilities are implemented for all UAS operations, then the reliability and safety improve, but the device complexity and loss of time for processing increase
Solution Approach 1:
The central UTM server acts as an intermediary that consolidates all conflict detection and deconfliction processing in one location. Individual UAS operators do not need to implement complex conflict detection systems themselves; instead, they submit their flight plans to the UTM server which performs comprehensive analysis against all other operations, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining high safety standards.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for implementing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) deconfliction schemes by accepting representations of UAS flight plans in disparate native forms, and to converting them into a common format in support of evaluating potential conflicts, and providing flight plan approval/disapproval, and/or flight plan execution restrictions or warnings regarding potentially conflicting manned and unmanned aerial vehicle operations. The disclosed UAS Traffic Management (UTM) scheme may validate a UAS flight plan based on the provided flight plan representation, approving or disapproving the flight plan, and may provide suggestions for modification of a submitted UAS flight plan to enhance operational deconfliction without completely rejecting, through disapproval, the flight plan. Different levels of alerts and/or warnings may be provided to alert the UAS platform operators and National Airspace System operators/controllers to potential conflicts and conflict avoidance.