VSD Symbol Visibility Control via Dynamic Zone Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Visual situation displays (VSDs) in aircraft systems cause flickering of symbols as features enter or leave the display area, leading to distractions and reduced pilot situational awareness due to sudden appearance and disappearance of features across boundaries.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that vary the visibility of symbols in a VSD by defining three zones - a center zone and two outer zones - where symbols' visibility changes based on their proximity to the center zone, preventing sudden appearance or disappearance as the aircraft moves relative to the feature's location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the VSD displays features within a fixed swath area, then the display provides clear information within the swath, but symbols flicker when features enter or leave the swath boundary
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the swath boundary dynamic rather than fixed. The display automatically adjusts the swath boundaries based on the aircraft's position and the features being displayed, causing the boundaries to move smoothly as features enter or leave the display area. This dynamic adjustment prevents sudden appearance and disappearance of symbols, eliminating flickering while maintaining clear information presentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by proactively adjusting the swath boundaries before features suddenly appear or disappear. The system continuously monitors feature positions and anticipates boundary crossings, smoothly transitioning the swath boundaries in advance to maintain continuous symbol visibility. This prevents the harmful flickering effect by preparing the display state before the problematic transition occurs.
2Ease of operation
If the swath boundaries are fixed based on flight path location, then the display remains simple to implement, but momentary diversions cause symbols to flicker
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by continuously monitoring the aircraft's actual position and the locations of displayed features, then using this information to dynamically adjust the swath boundaries. The system receives feedback about feature positions relative to the display boundaries and automatically modifies the boundaries accordingly. This feedback mechanism maintains symbol continuity during momentary diversions while building upon the existing simple display architecture.
3Productivity
If features suddenly appear or disappear at swath boundaries, then the display requires minimal processing, but pilot situational awareness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuity of useful action by ensuring that feature symbols remain continuously visible on the display without sudden interruptions. The system maintains smooth transitions of features in and out of the swath boundary, eliminating the start-stop effect that currently occurs. This continuous visibility action preserves pilot situational awareness while requiring only minimal additional processing to monitor and adjust boundaries based on feature positions.
Data Source
AI summary
Present novel and non-trivial system, device, and method for varying the visibility of symbols depicted in a vertical situation display (“VSD”). An image generator receives zone data and defines a plurality of zones, where the zone data is comprised of second image data representative of a non-VSD zone symbol(s) or feature data representative of a zone feature(s). First image data representative of a VSD is generated, where the VSD is comprised of at least one VSD symbol representative of a zone symbol or a zone feature located in one of the three zones. If the represented zone symbol or zone feature of a VSD symbol is located within a left zone or a right zone, the visibility of each VSD symbol is variable and dependent of its proximity to a center zone.