Aircraft Wing Tip Control Interface Using Color-Coded Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control interfaces for foldable aircraft wings are complex and not intuitive, making it difficult for pilots to determine the wing tip configuration and actuate them between flight and ground configurations, which can lead to operational inefficiencies and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
A control interface that provides distinct audio and visual outputs based on the actual configuration of the wing relative to the selected configuration, using a selector and lock-sensing system to ensure the wing is safely locked in position, with a display and audio signals indicating whether the wing is in flight, ground, or an intermediate configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a complex control interface is used to control the foldable wing, then the control system can provide detailed information about wing configuration, but the interface becomes difficult to understand and operate
Solution Approach 1:
The control interface uses color-coded indicators (green for flight configuration, red for ground configuration, yellow for intermediate positions) to visually represent wing tip positions. This color-coding system provides clear, intuitive feedback to pilots without requiring complex displays or text information, thereby maintaining information completeness while significantly improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to the pilot through audio and visual indicators that continuously update based on the actual wing configuration. The audio feedback (different tones for different configurations) and visual feedback (color changes) ensure the pilot always knows the current state without having to interpret complex data, resolving the contradiction between information detail and operational simplicity.
2Measurement precision
If detailed wing configuration information is displayed, then the pilot can accurately determine the wing status, but the interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control interface extracts only the essential configuration information (flight, ground, or intermediate positions) and presents it through simple color-coded indicators and audio signals. By taking out only the necessary information rather than displaying all possible details, the system achieves precise configuration detection while keeping the interface structure simple and easy to understand.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface uses color changes (green, red, yellow) to encode different configuration states, allowing precise status detection through a simple visual language. This color-coding system provides measurement precision without requiring complex displays, buttons, or text labels, thereby maintaining low device complexity while ensuring accurate wing status communication.
3Reliability
If the control interface provides comprehensive feedback about wing position, then the pilot can ensure safe operation, but the interface becomes less intuitive and more difficult to use
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses universally understood color semantics (green for safe/flight, red for caution/ground, yellow for intermediate) to provide reliable configuration feedback. This color-coding approach maintains high reliability by clearly indicating safe operating states while being intuitively easy to understand, as colors are naturally processed by the human brain without requiring learning or interpretation of complex symbols.
Solution Approach 2:
The control interface implements multi-mode feedback (visual color indicators and audio tonal cues) that work together to ensure reliable communication of wing status. The audio feedback provides an additional intuitive channel that complements the visual information, making the interface both reliable for safe operation and intuitive for quick understanding, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft comprises a foldable wing, the wing comprising an inner region and an outer region, such as a wing tip. The outer region is moveable relative to the inner region between a flight configuration and a ground configuration in which the span is reduced. The aircraft comprises a control system and a control interface. The control interface comprises a selector for selecting the desired configuration of the outer region, and is arrange to provide: a first output, such as a light, when the flight configuration is selected and the outer region is in the flight configuration; a second output, such an amber light, when the ground configuration is selected and the outer region is in the ground configuration; and a third output, such as a red light, when the outer region is not in the selected configuration.