Wireless Flight Sensor Gateway Using Software Defined Radio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft systems are not compatible with wireless sensor technology, requiring custom development and integration for each new wireless device, and lack a universal interface to accommodate various wireless protocols and frequencies, limiting their ability to incorporate emerging technologies.
Innovation Solution
A wireless flight sensor system utilizing a sensor gateway with a software-defined radio (SDR) that consolidates sensor data and communicates with multiple wireless sensors, providing a platform-agnostic interface and enabling easy reconfiguration to comply with spectrum management regulations, thereby facilitating the integration of diverse wireless systems without hardware modification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If dedicated hardware specific to a singular wireless sensor device is used, then the system can interface with that specific device, but the system cannot incorporate new emerging wireless technology without significant custom development and integration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal wireless interface card that can support multiple wireless protocols and standards through software configuration rather than dedicated hardware for each protocol. The interface card includes a programmable processor that can be configured to speak different wireless protocols, allowing a single hardware platform to interface with various emerging wireless sensor technologies without requiring custom development of new hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless interface card employs dynamic reconfiguration capabilities where the processor and radio frequency front-end can be programmatically adjusted to support different wireless standards. This allows the system to adapt to new emerging technologies by updating software firmware rather than requiring physical hardware modifications, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining adaptability.
2Reliability
If existing avionic systems are used, then the system is stable and proven, but they are not compatible with wireless sensor technology and require specially-designed hardware and software integration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a wireless interface card as an intermediary device that bridges the gap between proven stable avionic systems and modern wireless sensor technology. The interface card handles all wireless protocol processing and data formatting, presenting standardized interfaces to the avionic system while supporting various wireless protocols on the sensor side, thus maintaining system stability while enabling wireless compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system architecture segments the wireless communication functionality into a separate, modular interface card that can be independently developed and updated. This segmentation allows the core avionic system to remain stable and proven while the interface card adapts to new wireless technologies, resolving the conflict between reliability and adaptability.
3Ease of manufacture
If consumer wireless devices are used, then they are readily available and low cost, but they do not require time synchronization which is necessary for flight systems
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless interface card implements preliminary time synchronization by establishing a centralized time reference before wireless sensor data collection begins. The system configures all wireless sensors to synchronize to this reference time, ensuring that time-stamped data from multiple sensors is coherent and properly aligned, thereby providing the necessary time synchronization capability while using affordable consumer wireless devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface card implements feedback mechanisms where it receives time synchronization data from the avionic system and distributes it to connected wireless sensors. This feedback loop ensures that all sensors operate on a unified time base, providing reliable time synchronization while maintaining compatibility with low-cost consumer wireless devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless flight sensor system that incorporates a network of wireless sensors all in communication with a sensor gateway, the gateway in turn being in communication with a flight network. The sensor gateway includes a software defined radio (SDR) by which sensors communicate. The SDR is easily reconfigurable to accommodate new wireless technology. The flight network software (FNS) comprises a modular software architecture with a management repository, a traffic manager, a wireless interface controller, and a sensor database. The resulting system is both scalable and easily reprogrammable to accommodate a wide variety of current and future wireless sensing capability.