AIRCRAFT PATH CONFORMANCE MONITORING

• US 20120150426A1
• Filed: 12/10/2010
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Conway, Sheila R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,731,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/120
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/006 in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0082 for monitoring traffic from a ground station radar or analogous systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91

Abstract

A particular method includes receiving aircraft state data associated with an aircraft at an air traffic control system. The aircraft state data includes a detected position of the aircraft, a velocity of the aircraft and an orientation of the aircraft. The method also includes predicting at least one future position of the aircraft based on the aircraft state data. The method further includes generating an alert in response to comparing the predicted future position to an air traffic navigation constraint assigned to the aircraft.

Claims

1. An air traffic control system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory accessible to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions that are executable by the processor to cause the processor to;

access an air traffic navigation constraint assigned to an aircraft;

access aircraft state data associated with the aircraft, the aircraft state data including a detected position of the aircraft, a velocity of the aircraft and an orientation of the aircraft;

predict at least one future position of the aircraft based on the aircraft state data; and

generate an alert when the at least one future position violates the assigned air traffic navigation constraint.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data link interface to receive information from the aircraft, wherein at least a portion of the aircraft state data is accessed via the data link interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable to cause the processor to access aircraft performance data associated with the aircraft, wherein the aircraft performance data includes orientation change rate information associated with the aircraft, and wherein the at least one future position is predicted based at least partially on the aircraft performance data.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the aircraft performance data comprises roll rate characteristics of the aircraft.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the roll rate characteristics are determined based on a type of the aircraft.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the orientation of the aircraft comprises a roll angle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the orientation of the aircraft comprises a pitch angle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the air traffic navigation constraint comprises a Required Navigation Performance path.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the detected position is determined based on radar return data.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display interface, wherein the alert is sent to a display device via the display interface.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable to cause the processor to:

estimate a probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint based at least partially on the aircraft state data; and

generate the alert in response to determining that the probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint satisfies a threshold value.

12. A method comprising:

receiving, at an air traffic control system, aircraft state data associated with an aircraft, the aircraft state data including a detected position of the aircraft, a velocity of the aircraft and an orientation of the aircraft;

determining a predicted future position of the aircraft based on the aircraft state data; and

generating an alert in response to comparing the predicted future position to an air traffic navigation constraint assigned to the aircraft.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving input specifying the air traffic navigation constraint.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating a display at a display device of the air traffic control system, wherein the display includes an indication of the predicted future position.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining aircraft performance data based on a type of the aircraft; and

estimating a probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint based on the aircraft state data and the aircraft performance data;

wherein the alert is generated in response to determining that the probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint satisfies a threshold value.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the aircraft performance data includes a roll rate limit.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

access an air traffic navigation constraint assigned to an aircraft;

access aircraft state data associated with the aircraft, the aircraft state data including a detected position of the aircraft, a velocity of the aircraft, and an orientation of the aircraft;

predict at least one future position of the aircraft based on the aircraft state data; and

generate an alert in response to comparing the predicted at least one future position to the air traffic navigation constraint assigned to the aircraft.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the assigned air traffic navigation constraint comprises an aircraft separation constraint.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the at least one future position of the aircraft is predicted by calculating an expected future path of the aircraft from the detected position based on the velocity and the orientation of the aircraft and based on an estimated delay time to change the orientation of the aircraft.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the processor to:

estimate a probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint based on the expected future path;

wherein the alert is generated when the probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint satisfies a threshold value; and

wherein the alert is not generated when the probability that the aircraft will violate the air traffic navigation constraint does not satisfy the threshold value.