The following relates to aircraft systems and displays, and more particularly relates presenting taxi instructions and reducing runway incursions.
Typically an air traffic controller verbally instructs a pilot of an aircraft of a taxi route at an airport. The taxi route may be from a runway to a terminal, from a terminal to a runway or any other possible taxi operation. However, since there are a limited number of frequencies that the air traffic control uses, there is typically more than one aircraft tuned to the frequency. Accordingly, in very rare instances, there is a possibility that a pilot could become confused regarding which taxi route to follow.
In one embodiment, a method for presenting a taxi route for an aircraft at an airport is provided. The method may include, but is not limited to, receiving, by a processor, a taxi route, translating, by the processor, the taxi route into a graphical representation, displaying, on an aircraft display, a map of the airport and the graphical representation and displaying, a location of a hold short instruction on the aircraft display
In another embodiment, a system for presenting a taxi instruction for an aircraft is provided. The system may include, but is not limited to, a data link communications system configured to receive a taxi instruction, a display and a processor coupled to the data link communication system and the display. The processor may be configured to: translate the taxi instruction into a graphical presentation, identify a hold short instruction within the taxi instruction received by the data link communications system, transmit the graphical representation to the display, and transmit a location of the hold short instruction to the display if a hold short instruction is identified within the taxi instruction.
In further embodiments, an aircraft is provided. The aircraft may include, but is not limited to, a display, a controller pilot data link communication (“CPDLC”) system configured to receive a CPDLC message including taxi instructions for the aircraft, a processor configured to receive the taxi instructions from the CPDLC system, to translate the taxi instructions into a graphical representation of the taxi instructions and to display the graphical representation of the taxi instructions on the display, and if the taxi instructions include a hold short instruction, the processor is further configured to display a location of the hold short instruction on the display.
Exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements.
According to various exemplary embodiments, aircraft systems and displays are provided for presenting taxi instructions and reducing runway incursions. As discussed in greater detail below, an exemplary system for presenting taxi instructions on an aircraft, may include a data link communications system configured to receive taxi instructions from air traffic control, a display and a processor configured to translate the taxi instructions into a graphical taxi route and to display the graphical taxi route on the display. If the taxi instructions include a hold short instruction, the processor is further configured to display a location of the hold short instruction on the display.
The ground CPDLC communications system no allows air traffic controllers to communicate with a pilot of an aircraft 120 over a data link 130. The ground CPDLC communications system no is capable of issuing many different types of messages. For example, the ground CPDLC communications system no may issue level assignments, crossing constraints, lateral deviations, route changes and clearances, speed assignments, radio frequency assignments, and various requests for information. The messages may be broadcast to every aircraft within a given range, a subset of the aircraft or to a specific aircraft.
For example, an air traffic controller can issue taxi instructions to a specific aircraft through the ground CPDLC communications system no. Since the taxi instructions are directed to the specific aircraft 120, there is less of a chance that a pilot of a different aircraft could confuse the instructions for their own.
The aircraft 120 includes an aircraft CPDLC communications system 140. The aircraft CPDLC communications system 140 receives messages from the ground CPDLC communications system no via the data link 130 and allows the pilot to, for example, respond to messages, to request clearances and information, to report information, and to declare/rescind an emergency. For example, the pilot, after receiving taxi instructions from an air traffic controller, can respond with a WILCO (will comply) message or an unable message, indicating that the pilot will follow the taxi instructions or is unable to follow the taxi instructions, respectively, as discussed in further detail below.
The aircraft further includes a processor 150 coupled to the aircraft CPDLC communications system 140. The processor 150 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphical processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit, a micro-processor, a field programmable gate array or any other logic device. The processor 150 can process the messages received by the CPDLC communications system 140 as well as the messages to be sent by the CPDLC communications system 140, as discussed in further detail below.
The aircraft may further include a flight management system 180. The flight management system (FMS) 180 may be connected to a sensor 170, or a plurality of sensors, to determine the aircraft's position, and to guide the aircraft 120 along a flight plan. In one embodiment, for example, the processor 150 may be part of the FMS 180. The sensor 170 may be, for example, a global positioning system, an inertial positioning system or the like.
The aircraft 120 further includes a display 160. The display 160 may be a multifunction control display unit (MCDU), a multifunction display unit (MFD), a heads up display (HUD) or any other type of display. For example, the display may be a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a liquid crystal (LCD) display, a plasma display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, or any other type of display. As discussed in further detail below, the aircraft CPDLC communications system 140 may receive a message that includes taxi instructions. The processor 150 may process the taxi instructions and display a graphical representation of the taxi instructions on a map of an airport. The map data for an airport may be stored, for example, in the memory 190. In another embodiment, the aircraft CPDLC communications system 140 may receive map data for an airport via the data link 130. In other embodiments, the aircraft 120 may receive the map data via another communications system (not illustrated).
After the aircraft CPDLC communications system 140 receives the CPDLC message, the processor 150 translates taxi instructions into graphical taxi instructions and then displays the graphical taxi instructions on a map. (Step 220). For example, the processor 150 may parse the CPDLC message to identify which part of the CPDLC message contains the taxi instructions. The processor can then extract the relevant taxi instructions from the CPDLC message. In one embodiment, for example, the processor 150 may store the extracted taxi instructions in the memory 190. The processor can then correlate the taxi instructions with airport map data. As discussed above, airport map data may be stored in the memory 190. In other embodiments, airport map data may be transmitted to the aircraft 120 over the data link 130 or some other communications system. The processor 150 can then display the map data and the corresponding graphical taxi instructions on the display 160.
The position of the aircraft 120 may be indicated on the map 300 by a symbol 350. In the embodiment illustrated in
As seen in
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If the aircraft is not approaching a hold short area 340, the process returns to Step 250 where the FMS 180 continues to monitor the position of the aircraft. If the aircraft 120 is approaching a hold short area 340, the processor 150 (or FMS 180) monitors the speed of the aircraft 120 in relation to a position of the aircraft 120. (Step 270). If the aircraft's speed is consistent with stopping at the designated location, than the process returns to Step 250 and the FMS 180 continues to monitor the position of the aircraft. However, if the aircraft's speed is not consistent with stopping at the designated location, than the FMS 180 issues a warning. (Step 280).
The FMS 180 may determine, for example, if the aircraft's speed is above a first or second predetermined threshold. The first and second predetermined thresholds may be stored, for example, in memory 190. The first predetermined threshold may indicate, for example, that the aircraft's speed is inconsistent with stopping at the designated location. The second predetermined threshold may indicate, for example, a higher threshold corresponding to a heightened situation. The first and second predetermined thresholds can vary depending upon the distance of the aircraft from the designated stopping location. For example, the first and second predetermined thresholds may be reduced as the aircraft approaches the designated stopping points. Further, the first and second predetermined thresholds may vary depending upon the aircraft and the configuration of the aircraft. For example, a heavier aircraft, may take longer to stop than a lighter aircraft, and thus, would have correspondingly lower speed threshold points. Furthermore, a load of the aircraft, depending upon the cargo, the number of passengers, the amount of fuel stored thereon and a configuration of the aircraft may alter the stopping distance of the aircraft 120. Accordingly, the processor 150 may alter the first and second predetermined thresholds to take into account the configuration of the aircraft.
The warning may depend upon the speed of the aircraft and/or the remaining distance between the aircraft and the designated stopping point. For example, if the aircraft's speed is above the first predetermined threshold but below the second predetermined threshold, a mild warning may be issued. The mild warning may be, for example, a flashing stop symbol on the aircraft's display 160 and/or an audible alert. If the aircraft's speed is above the second predetermined threshold, the FMS 180 may issue both an audible alert and a visual alert. For example, the audible alert may be a voice saying “STOP,” a screeching brake sound or any other audible warning.
Generally speaking, the various functions and features of method 200 may be carried out with any sort of hardware, software and/or firmware logic that is stored and/or executed on any platform. Some or all of method 200 may be carried out, for example, by the FMS 180 and/or the processor 150 in
The term “exemplary” is used herein to represent one example, instance or illustration that may have any number of alternates. Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.
Although several exemplary embodiments have been presented in the foregoing description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of alternate but equivalent variations exist, and the examples presented herein are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of any of the embodiments in any way. To the contrary, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the various features described herein without departing from the scope of the claims and their legal equivalents.
This invention was made with Government support under Agreement No. DTFAWA-10-A-80003, Honeywell project number 120599, awarded by the United States Federal Aviation Administration. The Government has certain rights in this invention.