Acoustic airport surveillance system

• US 8,059,489 B1
• Filed: 04/17/2009
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Lee, Jonathan S., Nielsen, Richard O., Davis, Henry Hooper, Dunholter, Paul H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pihulic; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US12/426,100
• Time in Patent Office: 942 Days
• Field of Search: 367/136, 367/127
• US Class Current: 367/136
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2694 Wings or other aircraft parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/14 using acoustic emission techniques echo of particles G01N29/046; measuring mechanical vibrations or acoustic waves in solids in general G01H1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/46 by spectral analysis, e.g. Fourier analysis or wavelet analysis spectral signal processing per se G06F17/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/803 using amplitude comparison of signals derived from receiving transducers or transducer systems having differently-oriented directivity characteristics

Abstract

The different advantageous embodiments provide a method and apparatus for detecting an aircraft. The different advantageous embodiments may provide a method for detecting an acoustic emission emitted by the aircraft using a number of acoustic sensors to form a detected acoustic emission. The aircraft may be identified from the detected acoustic emission to form an identified aircraft. A bearing may be estimated for the identified aircraft using the detected acoustic emission.

Claims

1. A method for detecting an aircraft, the method comprising:

detecting, by one or more processors, an acoustic emission emitted by the aircraft using a number of acoustic sensors to form detected acoustic emission;

identifying the aircraft from the detected acoustic emission to form an identified aircraft;

estimating a bearing for the identified aircraft using the detected acoustic emission; and

predicting, before a movement of the identified aircraft from a first position to a second position, a potential movement of the identified aircraft from the first position to the second position using the detected acoustic emission by identifying a change in the detected acoustic emission from a previous detected acoustic emission as a change from an idle state of the engine to a run up state of the engine.

2. A method for detecting an aircraft operating in an airport environment, the method comprising:

detecting, by a processor, an acoustic emission using a number of acoustic sensors;

identifying a signature from the acoustic emission to form an identified signature;

identifying a source of the acoustic emission using the identified signature to form an identified source;

estimating a change in bearing for the identified source of the acoustic emission to form an estimated bearing by identifying a change in the detected acoustic emission from a previous detected acoustic emission as a change from an idle state of the engine to a run up state of the engine; and

generating a message based on the identified signature and the estimated bearing for the source of the acoustic emission;

wherein the number of acoustic sensors include a number of global positioning system receivers capable of providing a timestamp for the acoustic emission detected by the number of acoustic sensors, and wherein each acoustic sensor in the number of acoustic sensors includes a global positioning system receiver of the number of global positioning system receivers;

wherein the number of acoustic sensors provide acoustic data about the acoustic emission detected, and wherein the timestamp is included in the acoustic data for the acoustic emission.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

predicting, before a movement of the identified aircraft from a first position to a second position, a potential movement of the identified aircraft from the first position to the second position using the detected acoustic emission by identifying a change in the detected acoustic emission from a previous detected acoustic emission as a change from an idle state of the engine to a run up state of the engine;

wherein the number of acoustic sensors further comprise at least one microphone array cluster.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one microphone array cluster includes at least four acoustic sensors.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the signature from the acoustic emission further comprises:

detecting a narrowband frequency within a broadband spectrum for the acoustic emission, wherein the narrowband frequency forms the identified signature.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the source of the acoustic emission further comprises:

comparing the identified signature with a number of known signatures; and

determining whether the identified signature is a match with at least one signature in the number of known signatures.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the identified signature is a match with the at least one signature in the number of known signature, identifying the source of the identified signature to form an identified source.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the identified signature is not a match with any signature in the number of known signature, classifying the identified signature as non-aircraft noise.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein estimating the bearing for the identified source of the acoustic emission further comprises:

receiving acoustic data for the acoustic emission;

receiving spectrum arrival time information, wherein the spectrum arrival time information includes information about the specific time an individual acoustic sensor in the number of acoustic sensors detected the acoustic emission; and

estimating the bearing for the identified source based on the spectrum arrival time information.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein generating the message based on the identified signature and the estimated bearing further comprises:

sending the message to a user interface, wherein the message is displayed as an alert in the user interface.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a number of acoustic sensors capable of detecting a number of acoustic emissions from an aircraft;

a data processing system in communication with the number of acoustic sensors, wherein the data processing system is capable of monitoring the number of acoustic sensors for the number of acoustic emissions from the aircraft and estimating a number of bearings of the aircraft using acoustic data for the number of acoustic emissions as the aircraft physically moves over a period time, and wherein the data processing system is capable of predicting, before a movement of the identified aircraft from a first position to a second position, a potential movement of the identified aircraft from the first position to the second position using the detected acoustic emission by identifying a change in the detected acoustic emission from a previous detected acoustic emission as a change from an idle state of the engine to a run up state of the engine;

a number of global positioning system receivers capable of providing a number of timestamps for the number of acoustic emissions detected by the number of acoustic sensors, wherein each acoustic sensor in the number of acoustic sensors includes a global positioning system receiver of the number of global positioning system receivers; and

wherein the number of acoustic sensors provide the number of acoustic data for the number of acoustic emissions to the data processing system, and wherein the number of timestamps are included in the acoustic data for the number of acoustic emissions by the number of global positioning system receivers.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the data processing system is capable of identifying a signature for the aircraft in a range of frequencies for the acoustic emission in response to detecting the acoustic emission by the number of acoustic sensors and is capable of identifying the aircraft from the signature.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the data processing system is capable of identifying a bearing of the aircraft from the acoustic emission.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the number of acoustic sensors are a number of omni-directional microphone array clusters.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein an omni-directional microphone array cluster includes at least four individual acoustic sensors.