Method and system for maintaining spatio-temporal data

• US 8,193,969 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2010
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Varadarajan, Srivatsan, Thomas, Vicraj T., Freebersyser, James A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lobo, Ian
• Application Number:
  US12/769,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 342/26, 342/29, 342/36, 701/200
• US Class Current: 342/26.B
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/006 in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones

Abstract

A system and method for maintaining spatio-temporal data for a given area (e.g., an airspace) containing a given node (e.g., an aircraft) and one or more other nodes (e.g., aircraft). The given aircraft may break the given airspace into a first plurality of smaller airspaces, and may also break the given airspace into a second plurality of smaller airspaces. The given aircraft may then detect local spatio-temporal data for each smaller airspace located within its detectable range. The aircraft may also receive remote spatio-temporal data for the smaller airspaces from the one or more other aircraft. Thereafter, the aircraft may update stored spatio-temporal data based on the aircraft'"'"'s navigation data, the local spatio-temporal data, the remote spatio-temporal data, and/or a reliability of the data. Further, the aircraft may transmit the stored spatio-temporal data for receipt by the one or more other aircraft.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining and transmitting updated weather hazard data for a given area containing a given node, wherein the method is implemented using a processor of the given node, wherein the given node communicates with one or more other nodes, and wherein the given node is capable of detecting local weather hazard data over a detectable range of the given area, the method comprising:

breaking the given area into a plurality of smaller areas;

detecting local weather hazard data for each of the plurality of smaller areas located within the detectable range of the given area using a radar system of the given node;

receiving remote weather hazard data from the one or more other nodes using a communication interface of the given node;

updating stored weather hazard data based on the detected local weather hazard data and the remote weather hazard data received from the one or more other nodes; and

transmitting the updated stored weather hazard data for receipt by the one or more other nodes using the communication interface of the given node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the given area comprises an airspace, wherein the given node and the one or more other nodes comprise aircrafts, and wherein the weather hazard data comprises airspace weather hazard data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein breaking the given area into a plurality of smaller areas and updating stored weather hazard data are carried out by an application layer protocol of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) network protocol model.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning identifiers to each of the plurality of smaller areas; and

storing the identifiers as weather hazard data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of smaller areas comprises a first plurality of smaller areas, further comprising:

breaking the given area into a second plurality of smaller areas, wherein each of the second plurality of smaller areas contains two or more of the first plurality of smaller areas.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein updating stored weather hazard data comprises:

updating the stored weather hazard data for the second plurality of smaller areas based on the stored weather hazard data for the first plurality of smaller areas.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein transmitting the stored weather hazard data comprises:

transmitting the stored weather hazard data for the second plurality of smaller areas according to a first probability; and

thereafter transmitting the stored weather hazard data for the first plurality of smaller areas according to a second probability.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein updating stored weather hazard data comprises:

determining current navigation data of the nodes;

determining a difference between the current navigation data and previously determined navigation data of the nodes;

updating the stored weather hazard data based on the difference.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the given node only maintains the stored weather hazard data for a storage region of the given area, and wherein updating stored weather hazard data comprises:

deleting the stored weather hazard data for each of the plurality of smaller areas located outside of the storage region.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein updating stored weather hazard data comprises updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area located within the detectable range based on the local weather hazard data for the given smaller area.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area located within the detectable range based on the local weather hazard data for the given smaller area comprises:

updating the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area with the local weather hazard data for the given smaller area if the local weather hazard data for the given smaller area indicates a presence of a weather hazard occurrence.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein updating stored weather hazard data comprises updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area based on the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area based on the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area comprises:

updating the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area with the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area if the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area indicates a presence of a weather hazard occurrence.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area based on the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area comprises:

determining whether the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area was previously updated based on local weather hazard data for the given smaller area; and

updating the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area with the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area based on that determination.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area based on the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area comprises:

determining whether the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area is more recent that the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area; and

overwriting the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area with the remote weather hazard data for the given smaller area based on that determination.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein updating stored weather hazard data comprises updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area based on a reliability of the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein updating the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area based on a reliability of the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area comprises:

determining an amount of time since a last update of the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area;

comparing the determined amount of time to a predetermined amount of time; and

updating the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area if the determined amount of time exceeds the predetermined amount of time.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ordering the stored weather hazard data for each of the plurality of smaller areas to correspond to an identity of each of the plurality of smaller areas.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the stored weather hazard data comprises transmitting the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area if the stored area weather hazard data indicates a presence of weather hazard occurrence for the given smaller area.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the stored weather hazard data comprises transmitting the stored weather hazard data for a given smaller area if the given node has updated the stored weather hazard data for the given smaller area since the last transmission of the stored weather hazard data.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the stored weather hazard data comprises

defining a transmit region of the given area, wherein the transmit region includes a region behind the given node and a region ahead of the given node;

and

transmitting the stored weather hazard data for each of the plurality of smaller areas located within the transmit region.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining current navigation data of the given node; and

transmitting the current navigation data for receipt by the one or more other nodes.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a user of the given node with the stored weather hazard data.