Aircraft profile optimization with communication links to an external computational asset

• US 10,460,610 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2016
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Westervelt, Eric Richard, Cumings, MacKenzie, Darnell, Mark Lawrence, Lax, David, Ren, Liling, Visser, Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Tyler J
• Application Number:
  US15/282,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20180096608A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 701 2
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0005 with arrangements to save energy
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0004 Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft airborne radio transmission systems in general H04B7/185; airborne wireless networks H04W84/06
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0047 Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft details of equipment G08G5/0017
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0082 for monitoring traffic from a ground station radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W

Abstract

A system, computer-readable medium, and a method including obtaining flight data for a prescribed flight from at least one of an airborne system of a particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight and a system other than the airborne system of the particular aircraft having a source of data related to the prescribed flight, the flight data including specific details relating to at least one of the particular aircraft and parameters of the prescribed flight; performing, by a processor of an external computational asset and based on the obtained flight data, a control optimization to generate optimized path specific controls for the prescribed flight; transmitting the optimized path specific controls via a communication uplink from the external computational asset to the particular aircraft; and guiding, in response to receiving the optimized path specific controls by the particular aircraft, the particular aircraft in accordance with the optimized path specific controls to execute the prescribed flight.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a processor of a computing system to optimize aircraft guidance to minimize direct operating cost of a prescribed flight, the method comprising:

obtaining flight data for a prescribed flight from at least one of an airborne system of a particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight and a system separate and distinct from the airborne system having a source of data related to the prescribed flight, the flight data including specific details relating to the particular aircraft and parameters of the prescribed flight, the specific details of the flight data relating to the particular aircraft comprises a data model including tail specific performance and operational characteristics for the particular aircraft;

performing, by a processor of an external computational asset separate and distinct from a flight management system and a flight control system of the airborne system and based on the obtained flight data, a control optimization to generate optimized path specific control commands to minimize at least one direct operating cost for the prescribed flight;

transmitting the optimized path specific control commands via a communication uplink from the external computational asset to the particular aircraft; and

guiding, in response to receiving the optimized path specific control commands by the particular aircraft, the particular aircraft in accordance with the optimized path specific control commands to execute the prescribed flight to minimize the at least one direct operating cost for the prescribed flight.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the prescribed flight is specified by a baseline flight plan for the particular aircraft.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the tail specific performance and operational characteristics for the particular aircraft includes at least one of a drag parameter and a thrust parameter.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the system separate and distinct from the airborne system having a source of data related to the prescribed flight comprises more than one system, device, or component external computational asset.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the source of data related to the prescribed flight for a ground-based system is at least one of convective weather data, wind and temperature aloft data, air traffic control constraints and traffic flow state information, to an extent each is relevant to the prescribed flight.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at least periodically obtaining an update of the flight data for the prescribed flight;

performing, by the processor of the external computational asset and based on the obtained updated flight data, a revised control optimization to generate updated optimized path specific controls for the prescribed flight;

transmitting the updated optimized path specific controls via the communication uplink from the external computational asset to the particular aircraft; and

guiding, in response to receiving the updated optimized path specific controls by the particular aircraft, the particular aircraft in accordance with the updated optimized path specific controls to execute the prescribed flight.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the performing of the revised control optimization is invoked in response to changes in the obtained flight data.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the particular aircraft, the optimized path specific control commands, the optimized path specific control commands comprising a listing of control commands including speed commands; and

generating, by an airborne system on the particular aircraft based on the received optimized path specific control commands, an optimized flight path for the particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, for a set of aircraft including a plurality of aircraft, at least some aspects of a trajectory negotiated by an external computational asset with an air traffic control entity for the set of aircraft; and

performing, by the processor of the external computational asset based on the obtained flight data and the at least some aspects of the negotiated trajectory for the set of aircraft, a control optimization to generate optimized path specific controls for the set of aircraft.

10. A system comprising:

an external computational asset device comprising;

a memory storing processor-executable program instructions; and

a processor to execute the processor-executable program instructions to cause the computing device to;

obtain flight data for a prescribed flight from at least one of an airborne system of a particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight and a system separate and distinct from the airborne system having a source of data related to the prescribed flight, the flight data including specific details relating to the particular aircraft and parameters of the prescribed flight, the specific details of the flight data relating to the particular aircraft comprises a data model including tail specific performance and operational characteristics for the particular aircraft;

perform, by the processor of the external computational asset separate and distinct from a flight management system and a flight control system of the airborne system and based on the obtained flight data, a control optimization to generate optimized path specific control commands to minimize at least one direct operating cost for the prescribed flight;

transmit the optimized path specific control commands via a communication uplink from the external computational asset to the particular aircraft; and

guide, in response to receiving the optimized path specific control commands by the particular aircraft, the particular aircraft in accordance with the optimized path specific control commands to execute the prescribed flight to minimize the at least one direct operating cost for the prescribed flight.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the prescribed flight is specified by a baseline flight plan for the particular aircraft.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the tail specific performance and operational characteristics for the particular aircraft includes at least one of a drag parameter and a thrust parameter.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the system separate and distinct from the airborne system having a source of data related to the prescribed flight comprises more than one system, device, or component external computational asset.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the source of data related to the prescribed flight for a ground-based system is at least one of convective weather data, wind and temperature aloft data, air traffic control constraints and traffic flow state information, to an extent each is relevant to the prescribed flight.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable program instructions to cause the computing device to:

at least periodically obtain an update of the flight data for the prescribed flight;

perform, based on the obtained updated flight data, a revised control optimization to generate updated optimized path specific controls for the prescribed flight;

transmit the updated optimized path specific controls via the communication uplink from the external computational asset to the particular aircraft; and

guide, in response to receiving the updated optimized path specific controls by the particular aircraft, the particular aircraft in accordance with the updated optimized path specific controls to execute the prescribed flight.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the performing of the revised control optimization is invoked in response to changes in the obtained flight data.

17. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, by the particular aircraft, the optimized path specific control commands, the optimized path specific control commands comprising a listing of control commands; and

generating, by an airborne system on the particular aircraft based on the received optimized path specific control commands, an optimized flight path for the particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable program instructions to cause the computing device to:

receive, for a set of aircraft including a plurality of aircraft, at least some aspects of a trajectory negotiated by an external computational asset with an air traffic control entity for the set of aircraft; and

perform, by the processor of the external computational asset based on the obtained flight data and the at least some aspects of the negotiated trajectory for the set of aircraft, a control optimization to generate optimized path specific control commands for the set of aircraft.