METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENCODING AND USING USER PREFERENCES IN AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS

• US 20120191331A1
• Filed: 05/20/2011
• Published: 07/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company, Leidos Innovations Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: TORRES, Sergio, Klooster, Joel, Castillo-effen, Mauricio
• Granted Patent: US 8,463,535 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/120
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan

Abstract

A method and apparatus for encoding and using user preferences in air traffic management operations are disclosed. The method may include determining a current trajectory based on the user preferences, computing a cost of deviations from the current trajectory, codifying the cost of deviations from the current trajectory using normalized cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory, and communicating the codified cost of deviations to an air traffic control (ATC) automation system, wherein the ATC automation system computes costs of maneuvers based on the codified cost of deviations and ranks the maneuvers according to cost.

Claims

1. A method for encoding and using user preferences in air traffic management operations, comprising:

determining a current trajectory based on the user preferences;

computing a cost of deviations from the current trajectory;

codifying the cost of deviations from the current trajectory using normalized cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory; and

communicating the codified cost of deviations to an air traffic control (ATC) automation system,

wherein the ATC automation system computes costs of maneuvers based on the codified cost of deviations and ranks the maneuvers according to cost.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the maneuver costs and ranking to ground Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) to enable the ANSP to take into account the user preferences in ATM operations such that the encoded user preferences are incorporated into decisions that modify aircraft flight paths and trajectories in a way that minimizes deviation from the user preferences.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the codifying a cost of deviations from the current trajectory uses at least one of three degrees of freedom (DOF) including lateral, altitude and velocity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein normalizing cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory is accomplished by referencing the current trajectory to 0 and expressing a cost as a percentage increase or decrease cost relative to the current trajectory.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein normalized costs coefficients may be exchanged between disparate systems by using a 2D cost function including cost as a function of speed and altitude that are represented using one or more of the following encoding methods depending on the desired level of fidelity:

encoding costs as a set of coefficients of nth-order polynomials of one variable, where the cost may be a function of the deviation from a reference trajectory along one DOF;

encoding costs using the coefficients of a multi-variable polynomial to allow computing costs for deviations in more than one DOF simultaneously;

encoding costs by providing curves of constant altitude in a polynomial representation that allows computation of costs for combinations of maneuvers in velocity and altitude;

or

encoding costs using a quadratic or cubic polynomial representation of relative cost curves.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein cost curves depict a relative cost that takes into account a given cost index (CI) for an aircraft operating at various altitudes and speeds around a nominal starting operating point and wherein a sample and prune algorithm provides a representation of the cost curves as a piecewise linear segmentation, and breakpoints between segments are inserted based on a tolerance, or maximum deviation of a linear approximation from an original curve.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current trajectory based on the user preferences, computing the cost of deviations, codifying the cost of deviations, and communicating the codified cost of deviation is accomplished by a flight management system (FMS) on board an aircraft or FMS software running in a ground station for an unmanned vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the current trajectory is an optimal trajectory based on a cost index (CI) established by the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating the codified the cost of deviations to ground Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) is accomplished via an ADS-C downlink.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the cost of deviation computations are repeated for a series of target altitudes and/or speeds so as to cover a region in DOF space sufficient to support expected maneuvers under normal ATM operations.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the cost of deviation associated with increasing or decreasing a lateral path length while maintaining a current speed and altitude is computed by a separate decision support tool.

12. An apparatus for encoding and using user preferences in air traffic management operations, comprising:

an automation system operable in a trajectory based air traffic management (ATM) environment that;

determines a current trajectory based on the user preferences;

computes a cost of deviations from the current trajectory;

codifies the cost of deviations from the current trajectory by using normalized cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory; and

a communication interface to communicate the codified cost of deviations to an air traffic control (ATC) ground automation system,

wherein the ATC ground automation system computes costs of maneuvers based on the communicated codified cost of deviations and ranks the maneuvers according to cost.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the automation system is a flight management system (FMS) on board an aircraft or FMS software running in a ground station for an unmanned vehicle.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the maneuver costs and ranking are provided to ground Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) to enable the ANSP to take into account the user preferences in ATM operations such that the encoded user preferences are incorporated into decisions that modify aircraft flight paths and trajectories in a way that minimizes deviation from the user preferences.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the codifying a cost of deviations from the current trajectory uses at least one of three degrees of freedom (DOF) including lateral, altitude and velocity.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein normalizing cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory is accomplished by referencing the current trajectory to 0 and expressing a cost as a percentage increase or decrease cost relative to the current trajectory, or cost is expressed in a non-monetary unit related to the rate of fuel consumption.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein normalized costs coefficients may be exchanged between disparate systems by using a 2D cost function including cost as a function of speed and altitude that are represented using one or more of the following encoding methods depending on the desired level of fidelity:

encoding costs as a set of coefficients of nth-order polynomials of one variable, where the cost may be a function of the deviation from a reference trajectory along one DOF;

encoding costs using the coefficients of a multi-variable polynomial to allow computing costs for deviations in more than one DOF simultaneously;

encoding costs by providing curves of constant altitude in a polynomial representation that allows computation of costs for combinations of maneuvers in velocity and altitude;

or

encoding costs using a quadratic or cubic polynomial representation of relative cost curves.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein cost curves depict a relative cost that takes into account a given cost index (CI) for an aircraft operating at various altitudes and speeds around a nominal starting operating point and wherein a sample and prune algorithm provides a representation of the cost curves as a piecewise linear segmentation, and breakpoints between segments are inserted based on a tolerance, or maximum deviation of a linear approximation from an original curve.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the current trajectory is an optimal trajectory based on a cost index (CI) established by the user.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the communicating the codified cost of deviations to ground Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) is accomplished via an ADS-C downlink.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the cost of deviation computations are repeated for a series of target altitudes and/or speeds so as to cover a region in DOF space sufficient to support expected maneuvers under normal ATM operations.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the cost of deviation associated with increasing or decreasing a lateral path length while maintaining a current speed and altitude is computed by a separate decision support tool.

23. A non-transient computer-readable medium storing instructions for encoding and using user preferences in air traffic management operations, the instructions comprising:

determining a current trajectory based on the user preferences;

computing a cost of deviations from the current trajectory;

codifying the cost of deviations from the current trajectory using normalized cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory; and

communicating the codified cost of deviations to an air traffic control (ATC) automation system,

wherein the ATC automation system computes costs of maneuvers based on the codified cost of deviations and ranks the maneuvers according to cost.

24. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising:

providing the maneuver costs and ranking to ground Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) to enable the ANSP to take into account the user preferences in ATM operations such that the encoded user preferences are incorporated into decisions that modify aircraft flight paths and trajectories in a way that minimizes deviation from the user preferences.

25. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the codifying a cost of deviations from the current trajectory uses at least one of three degrees of freedom (DOF) including lateral, altitude and velocity.

26. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein normalizing cost coefficients for one or more segments of the current trajectory is accomplished by referencing the current trajectory to 0 and expressing a cost as a percentage increase or decrease cost relative to the current trajectory, or cost is expressed in a non-monetary unit related to the rate of fuel consumption.

27. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein normalized costs coefficients may be exchanged between disparate systems by using a 2D cost function including cost as a function of speed and altitude that are represented using one or more of the following encoding methods depending on the desired level of fidelity:

encoding costs as a set of coefficients of nth-order polynomials of one variable, where the cost may be a function of the deviation from a reference trajectory along one DOF;

encoding costs using the coefficients of a multi-variable polynomial to allow computing costs for deviations in more than one DOF simultaneously;

encoding costs by providing curves of constant altitude in a polynomial representation that allows computation of costs for combinations of maneuvers in velocity and altitude;

or

encoding costs using a quadratic and cubic polynomial representation of relative cost curves.

28. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein cost curves depict a relative cost that takes into account a given cost index (CI) for an aircraft operating at various altitudes and speeds around a nominal starting operating point and wherein a sample and prune algorithm provides a representation of the cost curves as a piecewise linear segmentation, and breakpoints between segments are inserted based on a tolerance, or maximum deviation of a linear approximation from an original curve.

29. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the current trajectory is an optimal trajectory based on a cost index (CI) established by the user.

30. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the communicating the codified cost of deviations to ground Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) is accomplished via an ADS-C downlink.

31. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the cost of deviation computations are repeated for a series of target altitudes and/or speeds so as to cover a region in DOF space sufficient to support expected maneuvers under normal ATM operations.

32. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the cost of deviation associated with increasing or decreasing a lateral path length while maintaining a current speed and altitude is computed by a separate decision support tool.