Method and device for automatically managing audio air control messages on an aircraft

• US 9,262,927 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2014
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Petit, Eric, Populus, Frdrique
• Primary Examiner(s): BAKER, MATTHEW H
• Application Number:
  US14/488,562
• Publication Number:
  US 20150081292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/284 Lexical analysis, e.g. tokenisation or collocates
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0004 Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft airborne radio transmission systems in general H04B7/185; airborne wireless networks H04W84/06
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0095 Aspects of air-traffic control not provided for in the other subgroups of this main group
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

Methods and devices for automatically managing audio air control messages on an aircraft are described. The device comprises a unit for automatically transcribing an audio message received on board an aircraft into a textual message, a unit for automatically processing the textual message in order to extract all the indications included in this message, and a unit for automatically displaying, for each extracted indication, on at least one screen of the aircraft cockpit, an information message relating to the indication and a validation request for the pilot.

Claims

1. A method for automatically managing audio air traffic control messages on board an aircraft transmitted by a transmitter of an air traffic controller and received on board the aircraft by means of at least one radio-communication unit, an audio message comprising at least one indication intended for the aircraft and corresponding to one of the following indications:

an instruction that has to be executed on the aircraft and information that is to be communicated to a pilot of the aircraft, said method comprising;

(a) transcribing the audio message received into a textual message;

(b) checking that the audio message received is intended for said aircraft;

(c) if the audio message is intended for the aircraft, processing the textual message corresponding to the audio message so as to extract all the indications contained in said audio message; and

(d) for each of the indications thus extracted, displaying, on at least one screen in the aircraft cockpit, an information message relating to the indication and a request for validation by the pilot,

wherein step (b) comprises;

determining at least one first frequency corresponding to a listening frequency of the radio-communication unit, at which it received the audio message;

determining the current geographical position of the aircraft;

from the current geographical position of the aircraft and a database comprising frequencies of transmitters of audio air traffic control messages associated with geographical positions, determining a set of frequencies associated with a zone in which the current geographical position of the aircraft is situated; and

comparing the first frequency with each of the frequencies in the set of frequencies and, if the first frequency is identical to one of the frequencies in the set of frequencies, deducing from this that the audio message is liable to be intended for the aircraft,

and wherein step (b) further comprises, if the audio message is liable to be intended for the aircraft, said aircraft being designated by a first code, of;

extracting from the audio message a string of characters representing a second code;

comparing the second code thus extracted with the first code designating the aircraft; and

determining that the audio message is intended for the aircraft if the first and second codes are identical.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step c) comprises successive sub-steps consisting respectively of:

(c1) analysing the textual message, first of all by lexical analysis and then by syntactic analysis, so as to extract the indications contained in said textual message; and

(c2) identifying;

for each instruction extracted, at least one system of the aircraft configured to execute this instruction; and

for each item of information extracted, at least one display unit of the aircraft configured to display this information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein step (d) comprises:

displaying the instruction that is to be executed by a system of the aircraft and a request for validation of the execution of this instruction by this system; and

in the event of validation by the pilot, actuating the system so that it executes this instruction.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein step (d) comprises, for an indication corresponding to an item of information, displaying the information and a request for validation of the reading of this information by the pilot.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein, if at sub-step (c2) it is impossible to determine a system that is to execute an instruction, an information message indicating that this is impossible is displayed on at least one screen in the cockpit of the aircraft.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein step (c) comprises at least one operation of consolidating an indication according to at least one of the following consolidation elements:

a context of the aircraft and a location of the aircraft, the consolidation operation consisting of;

checking the validity of the indication according to at least one consolidation element; and

in the event of a validity problem vis-à

-vis the consolidation element, checking the presence or absence of an inconsistency in the indication with respect to the consolidation element, and;

in the event of absence of inconsistency, correcting the indication; and

in the event of inconsistency being present, displaying a message of inability to interpret the indication.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in order to correct the indication, the consolidation operation comprises the following sub-steps, consisting of:

proposing a correction of the indication to the pilot;

requesting validation of the correction proposed; and

correcting the indication after validation by the pilot, in accordance with the correction proposed.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in order to check the validity of the indication, the value of a variable element of the indication is compared with a current value of this element.

9. A device for the automatic management on board an aircraft of audio air traffic control messages transmitted by a transmitter of an air traffic controller and received on board the aircraft by means of a radio-communication unit, an audio message comprising at least one indication intended for the aircraft and corresponding to one of the following indications:

an instruction that is to be executed on the aircraft and an item of information that is to be communicated to a pilot of the aircraft, said device comprising;

a reception unit configured to automatically capture any audio message received by the radio-communication unit;

a transcription unit configured to automatically transcribe an audio message captured by the reception unit into a textual message;

a verification unit configured so as to automatically check whether the audio message received by means of the radio-communication unit is intended for the aircraft;

a processing unit configured to automatically process the textual message corresponding to the audio message so as to extract all the indications contained in said audio message, and

at least one display unit configured so as to automatically display, for each of the indications extracted, on at least one screen in the cockpit of the aircraft, an information message relating to the indication and a request for validation by the pilot, wherein it further comprises at least one database comprising frequencies of transmitters of audio air traffic control messages associated with geographical positions and a unit for determining the current position of the aircraft, and wherein said verification unit is configured so as to implement successive sub-steps, consisting respectively of;

from the current geographical position of the aircraft and the database comprising the frequencies of transmitters of audio air traffic control messages associated with geographical positions, determining a set of frequencies associated with a zone in which the current geographical position of the aircraft is situated; and

comparing the first frequency with each of the frequencies in the set of frequencies and, if the first frequency is identical to one of the frequencies in the set of frequencies, deducing from this that the audio message is liable to be intended for the aircraft; and

if the audio message is liable to be intended for the aircraft;

extracting from the audio message a string of supplementary characters representing a second code;

comparing the second code thus extracted with a first code designating the aircraft; and

determining that the audio message is intended for the aircraft if the first and second codes are identical.

10. The device according to claim 9, further comprising a data transmission unit configured so as to transmit an execution order to a system of the aircraft ordering the execution of an instruction by said system and/or an order to display on a screen in the cockpit of the aircraft ordering the display of an item of information by said screen.

11. The device according to claim 9, wherein at least said reception unit, said transcription unit, said verification unit and said processing unit form part of a central unit.

12. The device according to claim 9, further comprising at least one database comprising data for performing a lexical analysis and a syntactic analysis of a textual message.

13. The device according to claim 9, further comprising a validation unit configured to allow a pilot to validate the execution of an instruction by a system and/or the reading of an item of information.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein said validation unit comprises a touch screen, a request for validation being displayed on a touch-sensitive window on the touch screen, the validation being implemented by a contact on this touch-sensitive window of the touch screen.

15. An aircraft, comprising:

a message management device including;

a reception unit configured to automatically capture any audio message received by the radio-communication unit;

a transcription unit configured to automatically transcribe an audio message captured by the reception unit into a textual message;

a verification unit configured so as to automatically check whether the audio message received by means of the radio-communication unit is intended for the aircraft;

a processing unit configured to automatically process the textual message corresponding to the audio message so as to extract all the indications contained in said audio message, and

at least one display unit configured so as to automatically display, for each of the indications extracted, on at least one screen in the cockpit of the aircraft, an information message relating to the indication and a request for validation by the pilot, wherein it further comprises at least one database comprising frequencies of transmitters of audio air traffic control messages associated with geographical positions and a unit for determining the current position of the aircraft, and wherein said verification unit is configured so as to implement successive sub-steps, consisting respectively of;

from the current geographical position of the aircraft and the database comprising the frequencies of transmitters of audio air traffic control messages associated with geographical positions, determining a set of frequencies associated with a zone in which the current geographical position of the aircraft is situated; and

comparing the first frequency with each of the frequencies in the set of frequencies and, if the first frequency is identical to one of the frequencies in the set of frequencies, deducing from this that the audio message is liable to be intended for the aircraft; and

if the audio message is liable to be intended for the aircraft;

extracting from the audio message a string of supplementary characters representing a second code;

comparing the second code thus extracted with a first code designating the aircraft; and

determining that the audio message is intended for the aircraft if the first and second codes are identical.

16. The aircraft according to claim 15, further comprising a data transmission unit configured to transmit at least one of an execution order to a system of the aircraft ordering the execution of an instruction by said system and an order to display on a screen in the cockpit of the aircraft ordering the display of an item of information by said screen.

17. The aircraft according to claim 15, wherein at least said reception unit, said transcription unit, said verification unit, and said processing unit form part of a central unit.

18. The aircraft according to claim 15, further comprising at least one database comprising data for performing a lexical analysis and a syntactic analysis of a textual message.

19. The aircraft according to claim 15, further comprising a validation unit configured to allow a pilot to validate the execution of an instruction by a system and/or the reading of an item of information.

20. The aircraft according to claim 19, wherein said validation unit comprises a touch screen, a request for validation being displayed on a touch-sensitive window on the touch screen, the validation being implemented by a contact on this touch-sensitive window of the touch screen.