Air traffic control system
First Claim
1. An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling a plurality of aircraft, the system comprising:
- at least one processor;
an input device;
a controller workstation having a controller display device;
a trajectory predictor for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft, for receiving data indicative of detected positions of said plurality of aircraft, and for recalculating said trajectories based on said position data, wherein said trajectories comprise predicted future positions and uncertainty data; and
a conflict detector for detecting, based on said trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of said plurality of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, for causing a display on said controller display device indicating said circumstances, and for receiving instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by said controller to said plurality of aircraft,wherein said predetermined proximity tests comprise a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test,wherein the system is arranged to display on said controller display device symbols representing pairs of said plurality of aircraft that violate the second proximity test in a first display mode and those that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test in a second display mode,wherein the system is arranged, on receipt of one of said instruction data in relation to one of said pairs of aircraft that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test, to change the display mode of the symbol displayed for said pair, on said controller display device, from the second display mode to a third display mode indicating that no further action is necessary,wherein the trajectory predictor is further arranged for calculating an uncertainty region associated with the future position of each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft,wherein the first proximity test comprises testing whether the uncertainty regions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a predetermined separation threshold, andwherein the second test comprises testing whether the predicted future nominal positions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a predetermined separation threshold.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling multiple aircraft, comprising a processor, an input device and a display device, further comprising: trajectory prediction means for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft, for inputting aircraft detected position data, and for recalculating the trajectories based on said position data, and conflict detection means for detecting, based on the trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, and for causing a display on the display device indicating said circumstances, further comprising means for inputting instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by the controller to an aircraft, and in which the proximity indication means is arranged to use a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test; and in which the system is arranged to display a symbol representing pairs of aircraft which violate the second test in a first display mode, and those which violate the first set but not the second set in a second display mode, and in which the system is arranged, on input of a said instruction by a controller in relation to a pair of aircraft, to change the display mode of the symbol for said pair from the second mode to a third mode indicating that no further action is necessary.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling a plurality of aircraft, the system comprising:
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at least one processor; an input device; a controller workstation having a controller display device; a trajectory predictor for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft, for receiving data indicative of detected positions of said plurality of aircraft, and for recalculating said trajectories based on said position data, wherein said trajectories comprise predicted future positions and uncertainty data; and a conflict detector for detecting, based on said trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of said plurality of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, for causing a display on said controller display device indicating said circumstances, and for receiving instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by said controller to said plurality of aircraft, wherein said predetermined proximity tests comprise a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test, wherein the system is arranged to display on said controller display device symbols representing pairs of said plurality of aircraft that violate the second proximity test in a first display mode and those that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test in a second display mode, wherein the system is arranged, on receipt of one of said instruction data in relation to one of said pairs of aircraft that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test, to change the display mode of the symbol displayed for said pair, on said controller display device, from the second display mode to a third display mode indicating that no further action is necessary, wherein the trajectory predictor is further arranged for calculating an uncertainty region associated with the future position of each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft, wherein the first proximity test comprises testing whether the uncertainty regions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a predetermined separation threshold, and wherein the second test comprises testing whether the predicted future nominal positions of a pair of said plurality of aircraft approach more closely than a predetermined separation threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An air traffic control system, for use by a controller controlling a plurality of aircraft, the system comprising:
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at least one processor; an input device; a controller workstation having a controller display device; a trajectory predictor for calculating a trajectory for each aircraft of said plurality of aircraft, for receiving data indicative of detected positions of said plurality of aircraft, and for recalculating said trajectories based on said position data, wherein said trajectories comprise predicted future positions and uncertainty data; and a conflict detector for detecting, based on said trajectories, future circumstances under which pairs of said plurality of aircraft violate predetermined proximity tests, for causing a display on said controller display device indicating said circumstances, and for receiving instruction data corresponding to instructions issued by said controller to said plurality of aircraft, wherein said predetermined proximity tests comprise a first proximity test and a second, more restrictive, proximity test, wherein the system is arranged to display on said controller display device symbols representing pairs of said plurality of aircraft that violate the second proximity test in a first display mode and those that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test in a second display mode, wherein the system is arranged, on receipt of one of said instruction data in relation to one of said pairs of aircraft that violate the first proximity test but not the second proximity test, to change the display mode of the symbol displayed for said pair, on said controller display device, from the second display mode to a third display mode indicating that no further action is necessary, wherein the first proximity tests comprises a first distance threshold and the second proximity test comprises a second distance threshold which is less than the first distance threshold, and wherein the conflict detector, for each pair of said plurality of aircraft; based on the predicted future positions of the trajectories for the pair of aircraft, determines a closest approach point comprising a future position at which a nominal distance between the pair is at a minimum; based on the uncertainty data of the trajectories for the pair of aircraft, determines an uncertainty region for each of the pair of aircraft at the future position of the closest approach point; determines a minimum distance between the uncertainty regions of the pair of aircraft; if the minimum distance is less than the first distance threshold but greater than the second distance threshold, classifies the pair of aircraft in a first class; and
,if the minimum distance is less than the second threshold, classifies the pair of aircraft in a second class. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification