Method and system for aerial vehicle trajectory management

• US 8,818,696 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2011
• Issued: 08/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Klooster, Joel Kenneth, Ren, Liling, Hochwarth, Joachim Karl Ulf
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): CASS, JEAN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US13/069,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20120245834A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 701/120
• US Class Current: 701/120
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0034 Assembly of a flight plan
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan

Abstract

A method and system of managing an aerial vehicle trajectory is provided. The remote trajectory management system (RTMS) for a fleet of aircraft includes an input specification module configured to manage information specifying flight-specific input data used to generate a trajectory, an aircraft model module including data that specifies a performance of the aircraft and engines of the aircraft, a predict 4D trajectory module configured to receive the specified inputs from the input specification module and an aircraft performance model from aircraft model module and to generate a 4D trajectory for a predetermined flight, and a trajectory export module configured to transmit a predetermined subset of the predicted trajectory to the aircraft.

Claims

1. A remote trajectory management system (RTMS) for one or more aircraft comprising:

a processor communicatively coupled to a memory device configured to store computer executable instructions used by said processor to implement the RTMS, said memory device includes;

an input specification module configured to manage information specifying flight-specific input data used to generate a trajectory, wherein the input specification information includes an identifier associated with a particular aircraft;

an aircraft model module comprising data that specifies a performance of at least one of an aircraft alone and an airframe and engines of the aircraft;

a default input module comprising data that represents approximated default values for as yet unknown flight parameters used to generate a trajectory;

a consolidated inputs module configured to combine data from said input specification module and said default input module into a consistent data set, said consolidated inputs module further configured to perform a reasonableness check to determine that said consistent data set is within predetermined bounds based on reasonableness;

a predict 4D trajectory module configured to receive the specified inputs from said input specification module, an aircraft performance model, the aircraft model module, and the default input module and to generate a predicted 4D trajectory for a predetermined flight, wherein the predict 4D trajectory module processes the data from the aircraft model module such that the data represents the performance variations of the aircraft associated with the identifier; and

a trajectory export module configured to transmit a predetermined subset of the predicted trajectory to the aircraft,

where said RTMS is a ground-based system configured to optimize the predicted trajectory for each of a plurality of aerial vehicles operated by an operator entity, wherein such optimization generates a modified trajectory for each of the plurality of aerial vehicles based on business parameters provided by the operator entity and based on airspace restrictions and regulations provided by an air navigation service provider communicatively coupled to said RTMS, wherein the modified trajectories are generated exclusively by the ground-based RTMS.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the input specification information includes at least one of an aircraft type model, a zero-fuel weight of the aircraft, an amount of fuel, a payload, a gross weight, a cruise altitude, a cost index, and a representation of a lateral route.

3. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said predict 4D trajectory module is configured to compute an air speed, a thrust, a drag, and a fuel-flow of the aircraft.

4. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said trajectory export module is configured to transmit the predetermined subset of the predicted trajectory to at least one of an air navigation service provider and to an entity in a control center of the aircraft operator.

5. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the RTMS is configured to manage a trajectory for a plurality of aircraft.

6. A method of managing an aerial vehicle trajectory, said method comprising:

receiving by a remote trajectory management system (RTMS) information relating to the operation of the aerial vehicle from an operator entity of the aerial vehicle, wherein a default input module comprising data that represents approximated default values for as yet unknown flight parameters used to generate a trajectory provides at least a portion of the information received by the RTMS, and wherein the information received by the RTMS includes an identifier associated with a particular aerial vehicle, wherein the RTMS is a ground-based system that includes a processor communicatively coupled to a memory device configured to store computer executable instructions used by processor to implement RTMS;

performing, using a consolidated inputs module, a reasonableness check on a consistent data set formed by combining data from said default input module and said operator entity, wherein said reasonableness check determines that said consistent data is within predetermined bounds based on reasonableness;

predicting, using the RTMS, a 4D trajectory of the aerial vehicle based on the received information, wherein the RTMS processes the received information such that the received information represents performance variations of the aerial vehicle associated with the identifier;

communicatively coupling the RTMS to an air navigation service provider, wherein the air navigation service provider is a control entity configured to manage air traffic in an airspace and configured to provide airspace restrictions and regulations to the RTMS;

optimizing, by the RTMS, the predicted trajectory of each of a plurality of aerial vehicles operated by the operator entity to generate a modified trajectory of each of the plurality of aerial vehicles based on business parameters provided by the operator entity and based on the airspace restrictions and regulations from the air navigation service provider;

transmitting to the aerial vehicle by the RTMS a predetermined subset of the predicted trajectory to facilitate the aerial vehicle complying with the modified trajectory.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising receiving from the operator entity flight planning information negotiated between the operator entity and the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP).

8. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising receiving by the RTMS information relating to airspace constraints along a predetermined route of the aerial vehicle from an airspace control entity.

9. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising synchronizing the trajectory between the operator entity and the control entity.

10. A method in accordance with claim 9, wherein synchronizing by the RTMS between the operator entity and the control entity a four-dimensional trajectory for the aerial vehicle comprises exchanging trajectory prediction and flight plan information.

11. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein optimizing, by the RTMS, the predicted trajectory of each of a plurality of aerial vehicles comprises exchanging trajectory prediction and flight plan information between the operator entity and the control entity.

12. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising receiving from the control entity flight plan modification data including at least one of one or more waypoints, at least one of a two-dimensional position and a time, and at least one of a two-dimensional route change, an altitude change, a speed change, and a required-time-of-arrival (RTA).

13. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising transmitting to the control entity a business preferred trajectory comprising at least one of an end-to-end two-dimensional route , a portion of a two-dimensional route, a cruise altitude, a departure procedure, an arrival procedure, and a preferred runway.

14. A method in accordance with claim 13, wherein transmitting to the control entity a business preferred trajectory comprises transmitting a business preferred trajectory is based on at least one of a RTMS predicted trajectory.

15. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein transmitting to the aerial vehicle one or more waypoints comprises transmitting to the aerial vehicle a three-dimensional position and a required time-of-arrival (RTA) at the three-dimensional position.

16. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising receiving from the aerial vehicle a state of the aerial vehicle including at least one of a weight of the aerial vehicle, parameters measured by airborne sensors, and at least one of 3D and 4D position data.

17. A Fleet Wide Trajectory Management System (FWTMS) comprising:

a plurality of remote trajectory management systems (RTMS), each said RTMS comprising;

an input specification module configured to manage information specifying flight-specific input data used to generate a trajectory, wherein the input specification information includes an identifier associated with a particular aircraft;

an aircraft model module comprising data that specifies a performance of the aircraft and engines of the aircraft;

a default input module comprising data that represents approximated default values for as yet unknown flight parameters used to generate a trajectory;

a consolidated inputs module configured to combine data from said input specification module and said default input module into a consistent data set, said consolidated inputs module further configured to perform a reasonableness check to determine that said consistent data set is within predetermined bounds based on reasonableness;

a predict 4D trajectory module configured to receive the specified inputs from said input specification module and an aircraft performance model from aircraft model module and to generate a 4D trajectory for a predetermined flight, wherein the predict 4D trajectory module process the data from the aircraft model module such that the data represents the performance variations of the aircraft associated with the identifier; and

a trajectory export module configured to transmit a predetermined subset of the predicted trajectory to the aircraft,

where said FWTMS is a ground-based system configured to optimize the predicted trajectory for each of a plurality of aerial vehicles operated by an operator entity, wherein such optimization generates a separate and distinct modified trajectory for each of the plurality of aerial vehicles based on business parameters provided by the operator entity and based on airspace restrictions and regulations provided by an air navigation service provider communicatively coupled to said FWTMS, wherein the modified trajectories are generated exclusively by the ground-based FWTMS.