Air traffic management evaluation tool
First Claim
1. A method for managing aircraft traffic, the method comprising providing a computer that is configured to receive and automatically process weather-wind data associated with a geographical region and that is programmed to perform the following steps:
- providing K measurements or estimates (K≧
2) of a wind-weather variable W(rk) (k=1, . . . , K) at K spaced apart vector locations, r=rk;
for a selected location vector r within or near a polyhedron determined by the K measurement locations, providing an estimate W(r;
est) of the value of a measured or estimated weather-wind variable W(r) as a sum of continuous functions W(r;
k), where each function W(r;
k) is continuous, equals W(rk) when r=rk′
and equals 0 when r=rp with p≠
k; and
using the estimated value W(r;
est) as an estimate of the weather-wind variable for at least one vector r that is distinct from each of the location vectors rk.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods for evaluating and implementing air traffic management tools and approaches for managing and avoiding an air traffic incident before the incident occurs. A first system receives parameters for flight plan configurations (e.g., initial fuel carried, flight route, flight route segments followed, flight altitude for a given flight route segment, aircraft velocity for each flight route segment, flight route ascent rate, flight route descent route, flight departure site, flight departure time, flight arrival time, flight destination site and/or alternate flight destination site), flight plan schedule, expected weather along each flight route segment, aircraft specifics, airspace (altitude) bounds for each flight route segment, navigational aids available. The invention provides flight plan routing and direct routing or wind optimal routing, using great circle navigation and spherical Earth geometry. The invention provides for aircraft dynamics effects, such as wind effects at each altitude, altitude changes, airspeed changes and aircraft turns to provide predictions of aircraft trajectory (and, optionally, aircraft fuel use). A second system provides several aviation applications using the first system. Several classes of potential incidents are analyzed and averted, by appropriate change en route of one or more parameters in the flight plan configuration, as provided by a conflict detection and resolution module and/or traffic flow management modules. These applications include conflict detection and resolution, miles-in trail or minutes-in-trail aircraft separation, flight arrival management, flight re-routing, weather prediction and analysis and interpolation of weather variables based upon sparse measurements. The invention combines these features to provide an aircraft monitoring system and an aircraft user system that interact and negotiate changes with each other.
90 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method for managing aircraft traffic, the method comprising providing a computer that is configured to receive and automatically process weather-wind data associated with a geographical region and that is programmed to perform the following steps:
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providing K measurements or estimates (K≧
2) of a wind-weather variable W(rk) (k=1, . . . , K) at K spaced apart vector locations, r=rk;for a selected location vector r within or near a polyhedron determined by the K measurement locations, providing an estimate W(r;
est) of the value of a measured or estimated weather-wind variable W(r) as a sum of continuous functions W(r;
k), where each function W(r;
k) is continuous, equals W(rk) when r=rk′
and equals 0 when r=rp with p≠
k; andusing the estimated value W(r;
est) as an estimate of the weather-wind variable for at least one vector r that is distinct from each of the location vectors rk. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for collaboratively managing aircraft traffic, the method comprising providing a computer that is configured to receive and automatically process weather-wind data associated with a geographical region and that is programmed to perform the following steps:
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providing or receiving a flight plan, including a flight origin location, a flight destination location, an estimated time of departure from the origin location, an estimated time of arrival at the destination location, a sequence of one or more flight route segments, including a flight segment altitude and a flight segment airspeed, where the segments are connected together to provide an aircraft flight route, for each of a collection of N aircraft (N≧
2);for at least a first of the N aircraft, providing at least one of the following flight alteration responses (i) an altered flight segment, (ii) an altered flight segment altitude, (iii) an altered time of aircraft departure, (iv) an altered estimated time of aircraft arrival, for at least one of the flight segments, (v) an altered aircraft ascent rate, (vi) an altered aircraft descent rate, and (vii) cancellation of an aircraft flight, in response to presence of at least one of the following conditions;
(1) a portion of the flight plan route for the first aircraft will pass through a special use airspace;
(2) designation as a restricted flight air space, by a government agency, of a region through which the first aircraft will pass;
(3) a portion of the flight plan route for the first aircraft will pass through a region where the weather or wind, at the time of aircraft passage, is sufficiently inclement that aircraft passage through this region should be avoided;
(4) unacceptable runway congestion or airspace congestion will occur at the flight plan departure time of the first aircraft at the first aircraft origin location;
(5) imposition of at least one of ground delay and ground stop for at least one runway at the origin location;
(6) unacceptable airspace congestion or runway congestion will occur at the estimated time of arrival of the first aircraft at the first aircraft destination location;
(7) unacceptable air space congestion will occur along at least one flight segment, at an estimated time of passage of the first aircraft along the at least one flight segment;
(8) imposition of a minutes-in-trail restriction on spacing of the first aircraft and an adjacent second aircraft on at least one flight segment; and
(9) imposition of a miles-in-trail restriction on spacing of the first aircraft and an adjacent second aircraft on at least one flight segment;providing an aircraft capacity for at least one ARTCC sector that provides a threshold or maximum number of aircraft that can be monitored in the at least one ARTCC sector; and determining whether, after incorporating said at least one flight alteration response, the threshold or maximum number of aircraft is likely to be exceeded in the at least one ARTCC sector. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A method for collaboratively managing aircraft traffic, the method comprising providing a computer that is configured to receive and automatically process weather-wind data associated with a geographical region and that is programmed to perform the following steps:
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providing or receiving a flight plan, including a flight origin location, a flight destination location, an estimated time of departure from the origin location, an estimated time of arrival at the destination location, a sequence of one or more flight route segments, including a flight segment altitude and a flight segment airspeed, where the segments are connected together to provide an aircraft flight route, for each of a collection of N aircraft (N≧
2);determining which ARTCC sector each of the N aircraft will be located in at each of a sequence of times; and when an identified ARTCC sector will contain more than a selected threshold number of aircraft at an identified time among the sequence of times, changing at least one boundary between the identified ARTCC sector and an adjacent ARTCC sector to reduce the number of aircraft contained in the identified ARTCC sector at a time preceding the identified time.
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10. A method for managing aircraft traffic, the method comprising providing a computer that is configured to receive and automatically process weather-wind data associated with a geographical region and that is programmed to perform the following steps:
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(i) providing or receiving a flight plan for a flight of a specified aircraft along a specified flight route for an aircraft monitoring system and a user of a specified aircraft; (ii) permitting the aircraft monitoring system and the aircraft user to jointly select between a live mode interaction and a simulation interaction; (iii) providing at least one of the following group of national airspace (NAS) constraints for the aircraft monitoring system and for the aircraft user;
playbook constraint, GS/GDP constraint, miles in trail constraint, minutes in trail constraint, local re-route constraint, sectorization constraint, and departure restriction constraint;(iv) prompting the aircraft monitoring system and the aircraft user to jointly select a number C (C≧
0) of the NAS constraints for modification, and modifying the C NAS constraints selected for modification;(v) providing a modification of at least one of a group of defining flight parameters that includes flight route, flight departure time, cruise speed for the flight, heading of at least one segment of the flight route, cruise altitude of the at least one segment of the flight route, and destination of the flight, which is consistent with the C NAS constraints selected for modification; (vi) providing a prediction, by the aircraft monitoring system, of a first trajectory along the at least one flight segment, where the first trajectory prediction accounts for estimated wind speed and estimated wind direction for the at least one flight segment and accounts for at least one selected aircraft performance parameter for the aircraft; (vii) providing a demand forecast, by the aircraft monitoring system, using air space adaptation information, for at least one of the following demand parameters, at a time during which the specified aircraft is estimated to pass through at least one sector;
aircraft sector count within the at least one sector;
aircraft fix count for at least one selected region for the at least one sector;
departure count for aircraft that will depart from an origin airport;
arrival count for aircraft that will arrive at a destination airport;
FCA count for the at least one region; and
special use airspace (SUA) count for at least one SUA region that is adjacent to the at least one sector;(viii) providing a visually perceptible display, from a perspective of the aircraft monitoring system, of at least one selected flight parameter for the specified aircraft and for a selected portion of the at least one sector, where the first display takes account of at least one of (i) historical demand information for passage of any aircraft through the at least one sector and (ii) projected development of severe weather within the at least one sector; (ix) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft monitoring system, if at least one additional modification of an NAS constraint is required for the flight; (x) when at least one additional modification of the NAS constraints is required for the flight, returning to step (iv); (xi)) when no modification of any of the NAS constraints is required for the flight from the perspective of the aircraft monitoring system, performing a conflict detection and resolution (CD&
R) analysis for a present version of the flight route, and determining if the present version of the flight route is conflict-free;(xii) when the present version of the flight route is not conflict-free, returning to step (v); (xiii) when the present version of the flight route is conflict-free, generating NAS decision data and providing the NAS decision data for a collaborative decision making process; (xiv) providing a prediction, by the aircraft user, of a second trajectory along the at least one flight segment, from a group including at least one of a user-preferred trajectory, a wind optimal trajectory and an NPR direct trajectory, where the second trajectory prediction accounts for estimated wind speed and estimated wind direction for the at least one flight segment and accounts for at least one selected aircraft performance parameter for the aircraft; (xv) providing a demand forecast, by the aircraft user, using at least one of air space adaptation information and trajectory prediction information, for at least one of the following demand parameters, at a time during which the aircraft is estimated to pass through the at least one sector;
aircraft sector count within the at least one sector;
aircraft fix count for at least one selected region for the at least one sector;
departure count for aircraft that will depart from an origin airport;
arrival count for aircraft that will arrive at a destination airport;
FCA count for the at least one region; and
SUA count for at least one SUA region that is adjacent to the at least one sector;(xvi) providing a visually perceptible display, from a perspective of the aircraft user, of at least one selected flight parameter for the specified aircraft and for a selected portion of the at least one sector, where the display takes account of at least one of (i) historical demand information for passage of any aircraft through the at least one sector and (ii) projected development of severe weather within the at least one sector; (xvii) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft user, if at least one of a selected group of flight parameters, including at least one of flight route and flight departure time, requires modification, and proposing modification of the at least one of the selected group of flight parameters that requires modification; (xviii) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft user, if at least one flight should be canceled, and proposing cancellation of the at least one flight that it is determined should be canceled; (xix) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft user, if at least one flight should be replaced by a substitute flight, proposing a substitute flight for the at least one flight that it is determined should be replaced by a substitute flight, and moving to step (xxiv); (xx) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft user, if departure time for at least one flight should be changed, and proposing change of departure time for the at least one flight for which it is determined that departure time should be changed; (xxi) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft user, if a flight route for at least one flight should be changed, and proposing change of the flight route for at least one flight that it is determined that flight route should be changed; (xxii) determining, from the perspective of the aircraft user, if at least one NAS constraint requires modification, and proposing a modification of the at least one NAS constraint that should be modified; (xxiii) where, from the perspective of the aircraft user, (a) no flight should be canceled, (b) no substitute flight should be provided, (c) no flight departure time should be changed, (d) no flight route should be changed and (e) no NAS constraint requires modification, determining that no flight characteristic need be changed, from the perspective of the aircraft user; and (xxiv) providing a negotiation, between the aircraft monitoring system and the aircraft user, of at least one of the user proposals in steps (xvii), (xviii), (xix), (xx) (xxi), (xxii) and (xxiii) to modify the at least one of the selected group of parameters, to cancel a flight, to provide a substitute flight, to change flight departure time, and to change flight route, and to modify the at least one NAS constraint, identifying a negotiated settlement of each of the user proposals, and returning to step (v).
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11. A method for managing aircraft traffic, the method comprising providing a computer that is configured to receive and automatically process weather-wind data associated with a geographical region and that is programmed to perform the following steps:
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(i) providing or receiving a flight plan for a flight of a specified aircraft along a specified flight route for an aircraft monitoring system and a user of a specified aircraft; (ii) permitting the aircraft monitoring system and the aircraft user to jointly select a playback mode for viewing; (iii) providing a demand forecast, by the aircraft monitoring system, using air space adaptation information, for at least one of the following demand parameters, at a time during which the specified aircraft is estimated to pass through at least one sector;
aircraft sector count within the at least one sector;
aircraft fix count for at least one selected region for the at least one sector;
departure count for aircraft that will depart from an origin airport;
arrival count for aircraft that will arrive at a destination airport;
flow constrained airspace (FCA) count for at least one FCA region; and
special use airspace (SUA) count for at least one SUA region that is adjacent to the at least one sector; and(iv) providing a visually perceptible display, from a perspective of the aircraft monitoring system, of at least one selected flight parameter for the specified aircraft and for a selected portion of the at least one sector, where the first display takes account of at least one of (i) historical demand information for passage of any aircraft through the at least one sector and (ii) projected development of severe weather within the at least one sector.
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Specification