Simulation methods and systems for the control panels of complex systems

• US 8,849,624 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2011
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EADS Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: EADS Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Lopez Herreros, Israel
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US13/295,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20120143581A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 703/2, 703/6, 703/22, 703/24
• US Class Current: 703/2
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/00 Simulators for teaching or training purposes for the use of weapons F41; computing aspects G06; protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality H04L67/131

Abstract

Simulation system for a control center of a complex system such as an aircraft (23) made up of one or more control panels (11) with a set of control devices (31, 33, 35, 37, 39) for components of said complex system, comprising a suitable computer system for the simulation of the operation of said control panels (11) by using virtual panels (11′) which include simulated control devices (31′, 33′, 35′, 37′, 39′), implemented in screens (10) which are connected to the components controlled by said control panels (11), or to a simulating device for said connections, so that the signals or variables corresponding to the controlled components are assigned to their corresponding simulated control devices (31′, 33′, 35′, 37′, 39′) in the virtual panels (11′). The invention also refers to a computer-implemented method for the generation of the graphic interface (21) said virtual panels (11′).

Claims

1. A simulation system for a control centre of a complex system made up of at least one control panel with a set of control devices for components of said complex system, comprising:

a suitable computer system for the simulation of the operation of said at least one control panel by using virtual panels which include simulated control devices, implemented in screens, which are connected to at least one of;

the components, which are controlled by said at least one control panel; and

a simulating device for connections with the screens, so that at least one of signals and variables corresponding to the components controlled by said at least one control panel are assigned to their corresponding simulated control devices in the virtual panels.

2. The simulation system according to claim 1, wherein said suitable computer system comprises:

a generating module for generating a graphic interface of the virtual panels, with first and second processing means to generate the graphic interface from a digital image of the at least one control panel and a database of the simulated control devices; and

an implementation module for implementing the virtual panels with third processing means with said graphic interface in the screens which are connected to the components controlled by said at least one control panel.

3. The simulation system according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the at least one control panel corresponds to an aircraft and is simulated by the virtual panels.

4. The simulation system according to claim 3, wherein the simulated control devices in the virtual panels include at least switches, pushbuttons and rotatory buttons which are each configurable in different states based on at least one of positioning and illumination.

5. A computer-implemented method for the generation of the graphic interface of at least one of the virtual panels of the simulation system according to claim 4, comprising:

a) providing a digital image of the at least one control panel, which is to be simulated;

b) providing a database of the simulated control devices for each of the set of control devices included in said at least one control panel;

c) recognizing each portion of the digital image of the at least one control panel which corresponds to each of said set of control devices; and

d) generating, by processing circuitry, the graphic interface of the simulated virtual panel by substituting said digital portions with said simulated control devices.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein step c) is carried out in the following stages:

c1) obtaining a template image of one of said simulated control devices and assigning a sub-sampling factor and a tolerance level to said one of the simulated control devices according to characteristics said one of the simulated control devices;

c2) scanning the whole digital image in search for said template image by comparing pixels of the template image, determined by said sub-sampling factor, except for transparent pixels, with all the pixels in the digital image;

c3) assigning to said template image at least one portion of the digital image which presents a similarity level higher than a predetermined value and lower than said tolerance level, unless another template image had been previously assigned to any portion of the digital image with a higher level of similarity; and

c4) repeating steps c1), c2) and c3) for all the template images of all the simulated control devices.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to execute the computer-implemented method according to claim 6.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to execute the computer-implemented method according to claim 5.

9. A computer-implemented method for the generation of the graphic interface of at least one of the virtual panels of the simulation system according to claim 3, comprising:

a) providing a digital image of the at least one control panel, which is to be simulated;

b) providing a database of the simulated control devices for each of the set of control devices included in said at least one control panel;

c) recognizing each portion of the digital image of the at least one control panel which corresponds to each of said set of control devices; and

d) generating, by processing circuitry, the graphic interface of the simulated virtual panel by substituting said digital portions with said simulated control devices.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein step c) is carried out in the following stages:

c1) obtaining a template image of one of said simulated control devices and assigning a sub-sampling factor and a tolerance level to said one of the simulated control devices according to characteristics said one of the simulated control devices;

c2) scanning the whole digital image in search for said template image by comparing pixels of the template image, determined by said sub-sampling factor, except for transparent pixels, with all the pixels in the digital image;

c3) assigning to said template image at least one portion of the digital image which presents a similarity level higher than a predetermined value and lower than said tolerance level, unless another template image had been previously assigned to any portion of the digital image with a higher level of similarity; and

c4) repeating steps c1), c2) and c3) for all the template images of all the simulated control devices.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to execute the computer-implemented method according to claim 10.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to execute the computer-implemented method according to claim 9.

13. A computer-implemented method for the generation of the graphic interface of at least one of the virtual panels of the simulation system according to one of claims 8 and 9, comprising:

a) providing a digital image of the at least one control panel, which is to be simulated;

b) providing a database of the simulated control devices for each of the set of control devices included in said at least one control panel;

c) recognizing each portion of the digital image of the at least one control panel which corresponds to each of said set of control devices; and

d) generating, by processing circuitry, the graphic interface of the simulated virtual panel by substituting said digital portions with said simulated control devices.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein step c) is carried out in the following stages:

c1) obtaining a template image of one of said simulated control devices and assigning a sub-sampling factor and a tolerance level to said one of the simulated control devices according to characteristics said one of the simulated control devices;

c2) scanning the whole digital image in search for said template image by comparing pixels of the template image, determined by said sub-sampling factor, except for transparent pixels, with all the pixels in the digital image;

c3) assigning to said template image at least one portion of the digital image which presents a similarity level higher than a predetermined value and lower than said tolerance level, unless another template image had been previously assigned to any portion of the digital image with a higher level of similarity; and

c4) repeating steps c1), c2) and c3) for all the template images of all the simulated control devices.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to execute the computer-implemented method according to claim 14.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the computer readable storage medium that, when executed cause a computer to execute the computer-implemented method according to claim 13.