Apparatus to generate aircraft intent and related methods

• US 10,008,122 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2016
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Hardt, Michael W., Navarro Felix, Francisco A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jha, Abdhesh K
• Application Number:
  US15/272,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20170092135A1
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0017 Arrangements for implementing traffic-related aircraft activities, e.g. arrangements for generating, displaying, acquiring or managing traffic information head-up displays G02B27/01; ground or aircraft-carrier-deck-installations B64F
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0095 Aspects of air-traffic control not provided for in the other subgroups of this main group

Abstract

Apparatus to generate aircraft intent and related methods are disclosed. An example automated aircraft intent generation method based on specifications expressed in formal languages includes: calculating first motion primitives associated with an aircraft intent description and a position of an aircraft; representing the first motion primitives in a second formal language as second motion primitives; collecting first information associated with at least one of 1) an aircraft performance model, 2) an environmental model, 3) a flight dynamic model, or 4) at least one of the first motion primitives or the second motion primitives; initializing a maneuver automaton based on the first information; collecting second information associated with at least one of: 1) flight plan instructions, 2) user preference indications, or 3) operational context indications; representing the second information as third information in a first formal language; combining the maneuver automaton and the third information to form a product automaton; determining that the product automaton satisfies a trajectory specification threshold; and in response to the product automaton satisfying the trajectory specification threshold, producing a representation of the aircraft intent description in the second formal language.

Claims

1. An automated aircraft intent generation method based on specifications represented in formal languages, comprising:

a) in a preprocessing step, calculating a set of motion primitives associated with a first aircraft intent description and a position of an aircraft based on combinations of AIDL instructions, the motion primitives including steady-state conditions or maneuvers to bring an aircraft from one steady-state condition to another;

b) representing the motion primitives in AIDL;

c) collecting information associated with at least one of

     1) an aircraft performance model,

     2) an environmental model,

     3) a flight dynamic model, or

     4) the motion primitives represented in AIDL;

d) initializing a finite state machine based on the collected information, the finite state machine being configured to concatenate motion primitives, wherein states of the finite state machine correspond to steady-state conditions and transitions between the states are defined by maneuvers;

e) collecting specifications associated with at least one of;

     1) flight plan instructions,

     2) user preference indications, or

     3) operational context indications;

f) representing the specifications in a first formal language;

g) combining the initialized finite state machine with the specifications represented in the first formal language to obtain a trajectory that satisfies a trajectory specification threshold;

h) determining whether the obtained trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold;

i) in response to determining that the obtained trajectory does not satisfy the trajectory specification threshold, iteratively initializing the finite state machine based on the information until a subsequently determined set of motion primitives satisfies the trajectory specification threshold, the subsequently determined set of motion primitives determined using incrementally modified motion primitives; and

j) in response to determining that the obtained trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold, producing a representation of a second aircraft intent description associated with the obtained trajectory represented in AIDL and finalizing the method.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold includes evaluating the trajectory by transforming and connecting combinations of the motion primitives.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein transforming and connecting the combinations of the motion primitives is based on the position of the aircraft associated with constructs of the trajectory.

4. The method of claim 3, further including determining a cost associated with the position of the aircraft.

5. The method of claim 3, further including determining viability of the position of the aircraft.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the processes of c j are performed in substantially real time.

7. The method of claim 1, further including updating at least one of the information and the specifications without precomputed motion planning.

8. An apparatus for generating automated aircraft intent, comprising:

one or more processors configured to;

calculate a set of motion primitives associated with a first aircraft intent description and a position of an aircraft based on combinations of AIDL instructions, the motion primitives including steady-state conditions or maneuvers to bring an aircraft from one steady-state condition to another;

represent the motion primitives in AIDL;

collect information associated with at least one of

     1) an aircraft performance model,

     2) an environmental model,

     3) a flight dynamic model, or

     4) the motion primitives represented in AIDL;

initialize a finite state machine based on the collected information, the finite state machine being configured to concatenate motion primitives, wherein states of the finite state machine correspond to steady-state conditions and transitions between the states are defined by maneuvers;

collect specifications associated with at least one of;

     1) flight plan instructions,

     2) user preference indications, or

     3) operational context indications;

represent the specifications in a first formal language;

combine the initialized finite state machine with the specifications represented in the first formal language to obtain a trajectory that satisfies a trajectory specification threshold;

determine whether the obtained trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold;

iteratively initialize the finite state machine based on the information until a subsequently determined set of motion primitives satisfies the trajectory specification threshold, the subsequently determined set of motion primitives determined using incrementally modified motion primitives when the obtained trajectory is determined not to satisfy the trajectory specification threshold; and

produce a representation of a second aircraft intent description of the obtained trajectory represented in AIDL when the obtained trajectory is determined to satisfy the trajectory specification threshold.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein determining that the trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold includes evaluating the trajectory by transforming and connecting combinations of the motion primitives.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein transforming and connecting the combinations of the motion primitives is based on the position of the aircraft associated with constructs of the trajectory.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are to determine a cost associated with the position of the aircraft.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

a) calculate a set of motion primitives associated with a first aircraft intent description and a position of an aircraft based on combinations of AIDL instructions, the motion primitives including steady-state conditions or maneuvers to bring an aircraft from one steady-state condition to another;

b) represent the motion primitives in AIDL;

c) collect information associated with at least one of

     1) an aircraft performance model,

     2) an environmental model,

     3) a flight dynamic model, or

     4) the motion primitives;

d) initialize a finite state machine based on the collected information, the finite state machine being configured to concatenate motion primitives, wherein states of the finite state machine correspond to steady-state conditions and transitions between the states are defined by maneuvers;

e) collect specifications associated with at least one of;

     1) flight plan instructions,

     2) user preference indications, or

     3) operational context indications;

f) represent the specifications in a first formal language;

g) combine the initialized finite state machine with the specifications represented in the first formal language to obtain a trajectory that satisfies a trajectory specification threshold;

h) determine whether the obtained trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold;

i) iteratively initialize the finite state machine based on the information until a subsequently determined set of motion primitives satisfies the trajectory specification threshold, the subsequently determined set of motion primitives determined using incrementally modified motion primitives when the obtained trajectory is determined not to satisfy the trajectory specification threshold; and

j) produce a representation of a second aircraft intent description of the obtained trajectory represented in AIDL and finalizing the method when the obtained trajectory is determined to satisfy the trajectory specification threshold.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein determining that the trajectory satisfies the trajectory specification threshold includes evaluating the trajectory by transforming and connecting combinations of the motion primitives.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed, transform and connect the combinations of the motion primitives based on the position of the aircraft associated with constructs of the trajectory.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, determine a cost associated with the position of the aircraft.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, determine viability of the position of the aircraft.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, perform one or more of the processes of c j in substantially real time.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, update at least one of the information and the specifications without precomputed motion planning.