Method and apparatus for air traffic trajectory synchronization

• US 8,560,148 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2010
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRUSHABER, FREDERICK M
• Application Number:
  US13/292,685
• Publication Number:
  US 20120116614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan
• 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

According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided an apparatus and method to synchronize the distinct trajectories predicted by a flight management system and air navigation service provider. A comparison model is generated that indicates differences between an aircraft trajectory and a ground trajectory. The aircraft trajectory is updated to reflect identified discrepancies and restriction violations between the trajectories. Upon successful completion of the first designated change, a notification manager is used to issue a notification of the designated change to the flight plan trajectory. A modified ground trajectory is produced that incorporates the designated change to the flight plan trajectory. The comparison is repeated until the discrepancies of the trajectories are operationally insignificant.

Claims

1. A method for trajectory synchronization comprising:

receiving, with a processor, an aircraft trajectory for an aircraft in flight from a first system;

receiving, with the processor, a separate ground trajectory for the aircraft in flight from a second system, the separate ground trajectory comprising a series of points associated with various flight points or trajectory change points for;

the aircraft in flight;

comparing, with the processor, the received aircraft trajectory and the received separate ground trajectory to detect discrepancies arising along a proposed route of flight for the aircraft in flight;

verifying, with the processor, that the proposed route of flight for the aircraft in fight complies with at least one aircraft restriction; and

sending a message to the first system with instruction for correcting at least one of detected discrepancies and verified restriction violations arising from the comparing and the verifying constituting a synchronizing of the aircraft trajectory and the separate ground trajectory as a synchronized trajectory for the aircraft inflight.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the first system a four-dimensional trajectory comprising correction of the detected discrepancies and verified restriction violations.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving an updated separate ground trajectory from the second system after processing of the four-dimensional trajectory from the first system and generating a new synchronized trajectory for the aircraft in flight using trajectory change point attributes including one or more of Longitude, Altitude, Speed and Time obtained from the four-dimensional trajectory built in the first system.

4. The method in accordance to claim 3, the method further comprising:

reconforming the updated separate ground trajectory when the aircraft receives a departure message or when at least one of the first system and the second system receives a sector crossing message.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

monitoring and updating the updated separate ground trajectory and the aircraft trajectory based on information pertaining to at least one of ground changes and changes in environmental conditions.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the comparing the aircraft trajectory and the separate ground trajectory to detect discrepancies is based on detecting discrepancies in latitude and longitude information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the comparing is achieved with a cusp-to-cusp differencing algorithm.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one aircraft restriction is one of an altitude restriction and a speed restriction.

9. A system for synchronizing distinct trajectories in airspace, comprising:

a computer executing an interface to receive an aircraft trajectory for an aircraft in flight from a first system and a separate ground trajectory for the aircraft in flight from a second system , the separate ground trajectory comprising a series of points associated with various flight points or trajectory change points for the aircraft in flight; and

a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having stored program instructions executable by the processor to;

compare the received aircraft trajectory and the received separate ground trajectory to detect discrepancies arising along a proposed route of flight for the aircraft in flight;

verify that the proposed route of flight for the aircraft in flight complies with at least one aircraft restriction; and

execute a notification manager to send a message to the first system with instruction for correcting at least one of detected discrepancies and verified restriction violations arising from the comparing and the verifying constituting a synchronizing of the aircraft trajectory and the separate ground trajectory as a synchronized trajectory for the aircraft inflight.

10. The system of claim 9, the interface further receiving from the first system a four-dimensional trajectory comprising correction of the detected discrepancies and verified restriction violations.

11. The system of claim 10, the interface further receiving an updated separate ground trajectory from the second system after processing of the four-dimensional trajectory from the first system and generating a new synchronized trajectory for the aircraft in flight using trajectory change point attributes including one or more of Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Speed and Time obtained from the four-dimensional trajectory built in the first system.

12. The system of claim 11, the processor further performing:

reconforming of the updated separate ground trajectory when the aircraft receives a departure message or when the aircraft receives a flight information sector crossing message.

13. The system of claim 12, the processor further performing:

monitoring and updating of the updated separate ground trajectory and the aircraft trajectory based on information pertaining to at least one of ground changes and changes in environmental conditions.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the comparing the aircraft trajectory and the separate ground trajectory to detect discrepancies is based on detecting discrepancies in latitude and longitude information.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the comparing is achieved with a cusp-to-cusp differencing algorithm.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one aircraft restriction is one of an altitude restriction and a speed restriction.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first system and the second system are separate one of a flight management system, an air-traffic control system, and an air traffic management system.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for trajectory synchronization from a plurality of systems, the method comprising:

receiving an aircraft trajectory for an aircraft in flight from a first system;

receiving a separate ground trajectory for the aircraft in flight from a second system, the separate ground trajectory comprising a series of points associated with various flight points or trajectory change points for the aircraft in flight;

comparing the received aircraft trajectory and the received separate ground trajectory to verify at least one route agreement for the aircraft in flight as a synchronized trajectory;

verifying from the received aircraft trajectory and the received separate ground trajectory that a proposed route of flight complies with at least one aircraft restriction; and

sending a message to at least one of the plurality of systems with instruction for correcting at least one of detected discrepancies and verified restriction violations arising from the verifying and the comparing of the received aircraft trajectory and the received separate ground trajectory.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the comparing is achieved with a cusp-to-cusp differencing algorithm.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, the method further comprising causing the computer to receive from one of the plurality of systems a four-dimensional trajectory comprising correction of the detected discrepancies and the verified restriction violations.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the comparing the aircraft trajectory and the separate ground trajectory to detect discrepancies is based on detecting discrepancies in latitude and longitude information.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the at least one aircraft restriction is one of an altitude restriction and a speed restriction.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, the method further comprising monitoring and updating the separate ground trajectory and the aircraft trajectory based on information pertaining to at least one of ground changes and changes in environmental conditions.