Systems and methods for situational awareness of current and future vehicle state

• US 10,242,579 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2016
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell/Ifl Patent Services
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Garai, Tanushree Maiti, Venkataramana, Kiran Mancheiah, Chandrashekarappa, Mohan Gowda
• Primary Examiner(s): Weber, Tamara L
• Application Number:
  US15/180,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20170358219A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/02 for indicating aircraft speed or stalling conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0047 Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft details of equipment G08G5/0017
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00

Abstract

A system and method for displaying a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associated with the vehicle are provided. The method includes: receiving flight plan data for a selected flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with the selected flight plan from a source of flight plan data; determining, with a processor, a current state of the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs based on sensor data; determining, with the processor, a current target state for the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs based on the flight plan data; determining a divergence of the current state based on a difference between the current state and the current target state; and generating a user interface for display that illustrates the divergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associated with the vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, flight plan data for a selected flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with the selected flight plan from a source of flight plan data;

determining, by the processor, a current state of the vehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on sensor data generated by one or more sensors associated with the vehicle, the current state of the vehicle comprising a current pitch of the vehicle;

determining, by the processor, a current target state for the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the flight plan data, the current target state comprising a target pitch of the vehicle;

determining, by the processor, a divergence of the current state based on a difference between the current state and the current target state;

determining, by the processor, at least one corrective action based on the determining the divergence;

determining, by the processor, a future state of the vehicle with respect to a second one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the determined current state;

determining, by the processor, a future target state for the vehicle with respect to the second one of the plurality of legs based on the flight plan data;

determining, by the processor, a convergence of the future state based on the future state matching the future target state for the second one of the plurality of flight legs; and

generating, by the processor, a user interface for display on the display that includes;

a flight plan indicator that graphically illustrates each of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan;

a divergence indicator that graphically illustrates the divergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan, the divergence indicator positioned offset from a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan;

a prompt on the user interface for the at least one corrective action;

an action indicator that indicates a resultant path of the vehicle based on the execution of the at least one corrective action in the prompt, the action indicator graphically illustrates a convergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan; and

a convergence indicator that graphically indicates the convergence of the future state to the second one of the plurality of flight legs superimposed over a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the second one of the plurality of flight legs; and

displaying the generated user interface on the display.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a convergence of the current state with the current target state based on the current state matching the current target state; and

outputting the user interface for display on the display that includes the convergence indicator that graphically indicates the convergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the processor, whether a revision to the current state is permissible based on one or more thresholds; and

outputting the prompt based on the determining of the revision.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the processor, whether an altitude of the vehicle is within a vertical profile associated with one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the sensor data, the determining, by the processor, the current state of the vehicle is based on the determining that the altitude of the vehicle is within the vertical profile, and, based on the determining that the altitude of the vehicle is outside of the vertical profile, the method further comprises:

determining a current speed of the vehicle based on the sensor data.

5. A system that displays a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associated with the vehicle, the system comprising:

a source of a flight plan data for a selected flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with the selected flight plan;

a control module having a processor that;

determines whether an altitude of the vehicle is within a vertical profile associated with one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on sensor data generated by one or more sensors associated with the vehicle;

based on a determination that the altitude of the vehicle is within the vertical profile, determines a current state of the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the sensor data, the current state of the vehicle comprising a current pitch of the vehicle;

determines a current target state for the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the flight plan data, the current target state comprising a target pitch of the vehicle;

determines a divergence of the current state based on a difference between the current state and the current target state;

determines at least one corrective action based on the determination of the divergence;

generates a user interface for display on the display that includes;

a flight plan indicator that graphically illustrates each of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan;

a divergence indicator that graphically illustrates the divergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan, the divergence indicator positioned offset from a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan;

a prompt on the user interface for the at least one corrective action; and

an action indicator that indicates a resultant path of the vehicle based on the execution of the at least one corrective action in the prompt, the action indicator graphically illustrates a convergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan; and

a display that displays the generated user interface,

wherein based on a determination that the altitude of the vehicle is outside of the vertical profile, the processor of the control module determines a current speed of the vehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the sensor data, a target speed for the vehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the flight plan data and determines a divergence of the current speed based on a difference between the current speed and the target speed.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor of the control module determines a future state of the vehicle with respect to a second one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the determined current state, and determines a future target state for the vehicle with respect to the second one of the plurality of legs based on the flight plan data.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor of the control module determines one of a convergence of the future state based on the future state matching the future target state or a divergence of the future state based on a difference between the future state and the future target state.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor of the control module outputs a convergence indicator or the divergence indicator on the user interface for display on the display that graphically illustrates the convergence or divergence, respectively, of the future state.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the convergence of the future state is superimposed on a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the second one of the plurality of legs.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor of the control module determines a convergence of the current state based on the current state matching the current target state, and outputs the user interface for display on the display with a convergence indicator that graphically illustrates the convergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan.

11. A method for displaying a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associated with the vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving flight plan data for an approach to landing flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with the approach to landing flight plan from a source of flight plan data, the plurality of legs including a current leg and a plurality of future legs;

determining, by a processor, a current path of the vehicle with respect to the current leg based on sensor data generated by one or more sensors associated with the vehicle;

determining, by the processor, a current target path for the vehicle with respect to the current leg based on the flight plan data;

determining, by the processor, a future path of the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of future legs based on the determined current path;

determining, by the processor, a future target path for the vehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of future legs based on the flight plan data;

determining, by the processor, a divergence of the current path based on a difference between the current path and the current target path;

determining, by the processor, at least one corrective action based on the determining of the divergence;

determining, by the processor, one of a convergence of the future path based on the future path matching the future target path or a divergence of the future path based on a difference between the future path and the future target path;

repeating the determining, by the processor, of the future target path for the vehicle with respect to each remaining one of the plurality of future legs and repeating the determining, by the processor, the future target path for the vehicle with respect to each remaining one of the plurality of future legs until each future leg of the plurality of future legs has been determined to have the convergence or the divergence;

generating, by the processor, a user interface for display on the display that includes;

a flight plan indicator that graphically indicates the plurality of legs of the approach to landing flight plan;

a divergence indicator that graphically indicates the divergence of the current path positioned offset from a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the current leg;

a convergence indicator that graphically indicates the convergence of the future path to the plurality of future legs superimposed over a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the one of the plurality of future legs based on the determining of the convergence, or the divergence indicator that graphically indicates the divergence of the future path positioned offset from a portion of the flight plan indicator associated with the one of the plurality of future legs based on the determining of the divergence;

a prompt on the user interface for the at least one corrective action; and

an action indicator that indicates a resultant path of the vehicle based on the execution of the at least one corrective action in the prompt, the action indicator graphically illustrates a convergence of the current state with respect to the current leg; and

displaying the generated user interface on the display.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining, by the processor, the divergence of the current path based on receipt of an input to activate an autopilot system.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining, by the processor, whether an altitude of the vehicle is within a vertical profile associated with one of the plurality of legs of the approach to landing flight plan based on the sensor data, the determining the current path of the vehicle is based on the determining the altitude of the vehicle is within the vertical profile, and based on a determination that the altitude of the vehicle is outside of the vertical profile, the method comprises:

determining, by the processor, a current speed of the vehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the sensor data, a target speed for the vehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the flight plan data; and

determining a divergence of the current speed based on a difference between the current speed and the target speed.