Device for aiding communication in the aeronautical domain

• US 9,666,178 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2013
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus SAS (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Loubiere, Vincent, Gowda, Netra
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Huyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAVEZ, RODRIGO A
• Application Number:
  US13/915,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20130346081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,449 Days
• Field of Search: 704200, 704201, 704206, 704210, 704211, 704215, 704227, 704228, 704230, 704231, 704235, 704239, 704240, 704241, 704247, 704248, 704249, 704250, 704251, 704252, 704253, 704255, 704256, 704260
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A device for aiding communication in the aeronautical domain, wherein the device includes a transceiver and data processor assembly that records audio messages corresponding to all the incoming and outgoing audio communications, transcribes the messages, in real time, into textual messages, displays the textual messages, and enables an audio play back of the audio messages.

Claims

1. A device for aiding communication in the aeronautical domain, said device comprising:

at least one microphone in an aircraft;

at least one loudspeaker in the aircraft;

a display screen in the aircraft, and

a transceiver and data processor assembly in the aircraft and configured to process and transmit data relating to audio communications to and from the aircraft, which is connected to said microphone and to said loudspeaker and which is configured to emit outgoing audio communications and to receive incoming audio communications, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is configured to;

record audio messages corresponding to the incoming and outgoing audio communications;

transcribe, in real time, said audio messages into textual messages;

display, on the display screen, the textual messages in a table, each textual message being displayed associated with an indicator indicating a source of the textual message and an emission time of its corresponding audio message, wherein the table includes a first array of cells each for a source of each of the textual messages, a second array of cells each for at least a portion of each of the textual messages, and a third array of cells each for an emission time of each of the audio messages;

extract data associated with a predetermined flight parameter from at least one of the audio or textual messages, and

display a value representative of or derived from the extracted data on the display screen in a region of the display screen separate from a region displaying the textual message.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to:

selectively playback audio of any of the recorded audio messages; and

be activated by an operator to identify and trigger the playback of a selected one of the recorded audio messages, wherein the trigger of the playback is actuated by the operator selecting a portion of the display screen at or adjacent the textual message corresponding to the selected one of the recorded audio messages.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to accept an input command to copy at least part of a displayed textual message and transmit the copied textual message.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to determine a time of emission of each audio message, and display the time of emission with the textual message associated with the audio message.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to automatically transcribe into textual messages all the audio messages and display said textual messages on said screen.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display screen is included in a dedicated single graphical interface.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to compare at least two textual messages the same source at different moments, and highlight differences between the two textual messages.

9. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to receive a voice request for information, to search for and find a textual message responsive to the requested information, and display the found textual message on the screen.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is further configured to include a voice training unit.

11. The device as claimed in claim 1, which is mounted as a permanent fixture on the aircraft.

12. The device as claimed in claim 1, which is connected to at least one system of the aircraft.

3. A device for aiding communication in the aeronautical domain, said device comprising:

at least one microphone in an aircraft;

at least one loudspeaker in the aircraft;

a display screen in the aircraft, and

a transceiver and data processor assembly in the aircraft and configured to process and transmit data relating to audio communications to and from the aircraft, which is connected to said microphone and to said loudspeaker and which is configured to emit outgoing audio communications and to receive incoming audio communications, wherein the transceiver and data processor assembly is configured to;

record audio messages corresponding to the incoming and outgoing audio communications;

transcribe, in real time, said audio messages into textual messages;

extract data associated with a predetermined flight parameter from at least one of the audio or textual messages;

display the textual messages on the display screen in a table in an order in which corresponding audio messages are emitted and in conjunction with a selectable area of the display screen, wherein the selectable area is configured to trigger playback of the recorded audio message corresponding to said textual message in response to actuation of the selectable area by an operator and the table includes a first array of cells each for a source of each of the textual messages, a second array of cells each for at least a portion of each of the textual messages, and a third array of cells each for an emission time of each of the audio messages, and

display the extracted data on a region of the display screen separate from the display of the text messages and the associated selectable area.

13. A communication device for aiding the piloting of an aircraft comprising:

a transceiver on the aircraft and configured to receive and transmit voice messages between the aircraft and at least one air traffic control official or between the air traffic control and another aircraft;

a computer on the aircraft and including a non-transitory storage system storing instructions which, when executed by the computer cause the device to;

transcribe, in real time, each of the incoming and/or outgoing voice messages between the aircraft and the air traffic control official or between the air traffic control and the another aircraft;

record each of the voice messages;

display in the form of a table, on a touch sensitive display screen in an flight deck of the aircraft, the transcription of each of the voice messages associated with an indicator indicating a source of the voice message and an emission time of the voice message, wherein the table includes a first array of cells each for an indicator indicating a source of each of the textual messages, a second array of cells each for at least a portion of the transcription of each of the voice messages, and a third array of cells each for an emission time of each of the audio messages;

playback audibly one of the recorded voice messages which corresponds to a portion of the transcription adjacent a region of the display screen touched by an operator;

recognize a numeric value and an associated flight parameter in the transcribed voice message, and

display, on the display screen in a second region separate from the display of the transcription of each of the voice messages, a value representative or derived from the numeric value adjacent a display of an indicia of a flight parameter.

14. The communication device of claim 13 wherein the flight parameter is a crosswind at a landing runway, and the recognized numeric value and the associated flight parameter include a numeric values representative of wind direction and wind speed, and the device further calculates the crosswind based on the wind direction and wind speed, and the calculated cross wind is the displayed value.

15. A system configured to display text information indicative of recent speech communications transmitted or received by flight crew operating an aircraft, the system comprising:

a display screen including a message region of the screen configured to display the text information indicative of the speech communications, wherein the message region displays, for each recent speech communication, an alphanumeric information indicating a source of the speech communication, text representative of a transcription of at least a portion of the speech communication, and a time indicator indicative of a time of the speech communication;

a transceiver configured to transmit and receive the speech communications wherein the speech communications include speech communications between the flight crew and an air traffic controller and between the other aircraft and the air traffic controller; and

at least one processor configured to;

transcribe, detect the source of, and determine the time of the speech communication, for each of the speech communications;

generate, for each of the speech communications, the text representative of the transcription of at least some of the speech communications, the alphanumeric information, and the time indicator to be displayed on the message region,

provide the display screen, for each of the speech communications, with the text, the alphanumeric information, and the time indicator of the speech communication, and

extract from at least some of the speech communications or the transcribed text representative of the transcription of at least some of the speech communications, certain data representing a flight parameter of one of the other aircraft and generate an alphanumeric representation of that data which is displayed on another region of the display screen, wherein said another region is separate from the message region,

wherein the at least one processor causes the message region of the display screen to display a table listing the recent speech communications, and the table includes a first array of cells each for the alphanumeric information indicating the source of each of the recent speech communications, a second array of cells each for the text representative of the transcription of at least a portion of each of the speech communications, and a third array of cells each for the time indicators indicative of the time of each of the speech communications.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the at least one processor stores an audio of each of the speech communications and wherein the message region displays a selectable area adjacent the alphanumeric information for each of the recent speech communications, and the selectable area, when selected by the flight crew, causes the processor and a sound system to replay the stored audio of the speech communication associated with the alphanumeric information.

17. A system configured to display text information indicative of recent speech communications transmitted or received by flight crew operating an aircraft, the system comprising:

a display screen including a message region of the screen configured to display the text information indicative of the speech communications, wherein the message region displays, for each recent speech communication, an alphanumeric information indicating a source of the speech communication, text representative of a transcription of at least a portion of the speech communication, and a time indicator indicative of a time of the speech communication;

a transceiver configured to transmit and receive the speech communications wherein the speech communications include speech communications between the flight crew and an air traffic controller and between the other aircraft and the air traffic controller; and

at least one processor configured to;

transcribe, detect the source of, and determine the time of the speech communication, for each of the speech communications;

generate, for each of the speech communications, the text representative of the transcription of at least some of the speech communications, the alphanumeric information, and the time indicator to be displayed on the message region,

provide the display screen, for each of the speech communications, with the text, the alphanumeric information, and the time indicator of the speech communication, and

extract from at least some of the speech communications or the transcribed text representative of the transcription of at least some of the speech communications, certain data representing a flight parameter of one of the other aircraft and generate an alphanumeric representation of that data which is displayed on another region of the display screen, wherein said another region is separate from the message region,

wherein the at least one processor causes the message region of the display screen to display a table listing the recent speech communications, and the table includes a first column for the alphanumeric information indicating the source of each of the recent speech communications, a second column for the text representative of the transcription of at least a portion of the speech communications, and a third column for the time indicators indicative of the time of each of the speech communications.

18. A method of displaying text information indicative of recent speech communications transmitted or received by flight crew operating an aircraft, comprising:

for each of the speech communications, transcribing, detecting a source of and determine a time of the speech communication;

generating, for each of the speech communications, a text representative of a transcription of at least a portion of the speech communication, an alphanumeric information indicating the source of the speech communication, and a time indicator indicative of the time of the speech communication, to be displayed on a message region;

providing the display screen, for each of the speech communications, with the text representative of the transcription, the alphanumeric information, and the time indicator;

displaying on the message region of a display screen, for each recent speech communication, the alphanumeric information, the text representative of the transcription, and the time indicator; and

extracting from at least some of the speech communications or the text representative of the transcription, certain data representing a flight parameter of one of the other aircraft and generating an alphanumeric representation of that data which is displayed on another region of the display screen, wherein said another region is separate from the message region, and

wherein the message region of the display screen displays a table listing the recent speech communications, and the table includes a first array of cells each for the alphanumeric information indicating the source of each of the recent speech communications, a second array of cells each for the text representative of the transcription of at least a portion of the speech communications, and a third array of cells each for the time indicators indicative of the time of each of the speech communications.