U.S. patent application number 13/889537 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-27 for systems and methods for using radar-adaptive beam pattern for wingtip protection.
The applicant listed for this patent is Honeywell International Inc.. Invention is credited to Matej Dusik, James C. Kirk, Filip Magula, David C. Vacanti, Jiri Vasek.
Application Number | 20140085124 13/889537 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49669535 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140085124 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dusik; Matej ; et
al. |
March 27, 2014 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR USING RADAR-ADAPTIVE BEAM PATTERN FOR
WINGTIP PROTECTION
Abstract
Systems and methods for adaptively steering radar beam patterns
for coverage during aircraft turns. The radar sensor system is
mechanically or electrically steered to alter the radar sensor's
beam pattern in order to adapt the radar sensor's field of view
(FOV) to cover the area of anticipated aircraft wingtip trajectory.
The anticipated trajectory is derived, for example, from the
aircraft groundspeed, acceleration, heading, turn rate, tiller
position, attitude, taxi clearance, etc.
Inventors: |
Dusik; Matej; (Brno, CZ)
; Vasek; Jiri; (Brno, CZ) ; Kirk; James C.;
(Clarksville, MD) ; Vacanti; David C.; (Renton,
WA) ; Magula; Filip; (Albrechtice, CZ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Honeywell International Inc.; |
|
|
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49669535 |
Appl. No.: |
13/889537 |
Filed: |
May 8, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61653297 |
May 30, 2012 |
|
|
|
61706632 |
Sep 27, 2012 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
342/29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01S 13/931 20130101;
B60Q 9/008 20130101; G01S 13/934 20200101; G01S 2013/9329 20200101;
B64C 25/42 20130101; G01S 13/93 20130101; B64D 43/00 20130101; G08G
5/045 20130101; G08G 5/065 20130101; G01S 7/04 20130101; G01S
13/765 20130101; B64D 45/00 20130101; G08G 5/04 20130101; G01C
23/00 20130101; G01S 13/66 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
342/29 |
International
Class: |
G01S 13/93 20060101
G01S013/93; G01S 13/66 20060101 G01S013/66 |
Claims
1. A device located on a vehicle, the device comprising: at least
one electrically or mechanically steerable sensor; a processor in
signal communication with the sensor, the processor configured to
receive information regarding at least one of a future position of
the vehicle, an estimated trajectory of at least part of the
vehicle or an estimate of location of a tracked target; determine
at least one area to sense based on the received information; and
generate at least one sensor steering signal based on the
determined area, wherein the at least one sensor is steered based
on the generated at least one sensor steering signal.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft
located on the ground.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least part of the aircraft
comprises at least one wingtip or engine nacelle.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the future position is based on
taxi clearance information.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further
configured to estimate trajectory based on received position
information.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein a target is tracked, based on
information actively communicated from the target.
7. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further
configured to estimate trajectory based on received navigation
information.
8. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further
configured to: generate an image based on information generated by
the at least one steerable sensor; and generate an indication that
at least one steerable sensor is being steered, further comprising:
a display device configured to present the generated image and the
generated indication.
9. A method performed by a device located on a vehicle, the method
comprising: at a processor in signal communication with a sensor,
receiving information regarding at least one of a future position
of the vehicle, an estimated trajectory of at least part of the
vehicle, or an estimate of location of a tracked target;
determining at least one area to sense, based on the received
information; generating at least one sensor steering signal based
on the determined area, at at least one steerable sensor and
steering the vehicle based on the generated at least one sensor
steering signal.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft
located on the ground.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least part of the
aircraft comprises at least one wingtip or engine nacelle.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the future position is based on
taxi clearance information.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein estimating trajectory is based
on received position information.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein a target is tracked, based on
information actively communicated from the target.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein estimating trajectory is based
on received navigation information.
16. The method of claim 9, further comprising, at the processor:
generating an image based on information generated by the at least
one steerable sensor; and generating an indication that at least
one steerable sensor is being steered; and at a display device
presenting the generated image and the generated indication.
17. A system located on a vehicle, the system comprising: a means
for receiving information regarding at least one of a future
position of the vehicle, an estimated trajectory of at least part
of the vehicle, or an estimate of location of a tracked target,
determining at least one area to sense, based on the received
information, and generating at least one sensor steering signal
based on the determined area; a means for steering the vehicle
based on the generated at least one sensor steering signal.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft
located on the ground, wherein the at least part of the aircraft
comprises at least one wingtip or engine nacelle.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein estimating trajectory is based
on at least one of received position information, received
navigation information, or taxi clearance information.
20. The system of claim 17, further comprising: a means for
generating an image based on information generated by the at least
one steerable sensor; a means for generating an indication that at
least one steerable sensor is being steered; and a means for
presenting the generated image and the generated indication.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 61/653,297, filed May 30, 2012, the contents
of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application
also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
61/706,632, filed Sep. 27, 2012, the contents of which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Currently there exists an expensive safety problem of
aircraft wingtips clipping obstacles (e.g., 2011 Paris Air Show, an
A380 accident in which a wing hit a building; 2012 Chicago O'Hare
accident in which a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft's wing clipped an
Embraer 140's rudder; 2011 Boston Logan Int. Airport, a Boeing 767
struck a horizontal stabilizer of a Bombardier CRJ900, etc.). Some
solutions focus on object detection by radar sensors placed at the
wingtips and information about these potential obstacles is
presented to the pilot on a human-machine interface (e.g., head-up,
head-down, or head-mounted display). A challenging drawback of this
solution is the fact that the sensor signal covers only the
directly forward area in front of the wingtip and leaving the side
wingtip angles uncovered by the radar signal, which can be
dangerous, especially in turns. Many wingtip collisions were
investigated and it was found that many accidents occur in turns
(e.g., 1995 London Heathrow, A340 struck B757 tail; 2006 Melbourne,
B747 hit B767 horizontal stabilizer; 2010 Charlotte Douglas, A330
hit A321 rudder, etc.). Current solutions provide only limited
benefit in such cases, as the obstacle would appear in the sensor's
field of view (FOV) just before striking the obstacle and, thus,
not providing the aircrew sufficient time for suitable reaction
with respect to the given situation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention provides an enhanced system that uses
adaptive steering of radar beam pattern for coverage during
aircraft turns. In an exemplary solution, the radar sensor system
is installed in an adaptive rack, which would mechanically or
electrically alter the radar sensor's beam pattern in order to
adapt the radar sensor's field of view (FOV) to cover the area of
anticipated aircraft wingtip trajectory. The anticipated trajectory
is derived, for example, from the aircraft groundspeed,
acceleration, heading, turn rate, tiller position, attitude, taxi
clearance, etc. Also, the anticipated trajectory can be derived
from knowledge of the operator, i.e., the radar beam can be steered
manually by the aircraft operator as well.
[0004] In one aspect of the invention, the radar sensor's beam
pattern is steered, based on the trajectory information and/or
based on knowledge of position(s) of obstacles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Preferred and alternative embodiments of the present
invention are described in detail below with reference to the
following drawings:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an aircraft formed in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is an exemplary image presented to an ownship
operator formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0008] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary sensor's sweep range provided by a
sensor on an aircraft formed in accordance with an embodiment of
the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 4 shows an image of multiple aircraft taxiing on an
airport with icons that represent steerable sensor beam patterns;
and
[0010] FIG. 5 shows an image of multiple aircraft taxiing an
airport map with icons that represent nonsteerable sensor beam
patterns.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary airport
surface collision-avoidance system (ASCAS) 18 includes an aircraft
20 that includes an electrically and/or mechanically steerable
sensor 26 (e.g., active sensor, radar, or passive sensor camera)
included within aircraft light modules 30 or located at the other
positions about the aircraft 20. The light modules 30 also include
navigation/position lights 34, a processor 36, and a communication
device 38. The sensors 26 are in communication via the
communication device 38 (wired or wirelessly) to a user interface
(UI) device 44.
[0012] In one embodiment, the UI device 44 includes a processor 50
(optional), a communication device (wired or wireless) 52, and an
alerting device(s) 54. The UI device 44 provides audio and/or
visual cues (e.g., via headphones, PC tablets, etc.) based on
sensor-derived and processed information.
[0013] Based on information from the sensors 26, the UI device 44
provides some or all of the following functions: detect and track
intruders, evaluate and prioritize threats, sensor steering and
control, and declare and determine actions. Once an alert
associated with a detection has been produced, then execution of a
collision-avoidance action (e.g., stop the aircraft, maneuver
around intruder, etc.) is manually performed by the operator or
automatically by an automated system (e.g., autobrakes, auto
steering).
[0014] In one embodiment, processing of the sensor information is
done by the processor 36 at the sensor level and/or the processor
50 at the UI device 44.
[0015] In one embodiment, situational awareness is improved by
integration with automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast/traffic
information service-broadcast (ADS-B/TIS-B), airport/airline
information on vehicles/aircraft/obstacles (e.g., through WiMax or
other wireless communication means), and with synthetic vision
system/enhanced vision system/combined vision system (SVS/EVS/CVS)
received by the respective devices using the communication device
38.
[0016] In one embodiment, the present invention reduces false
alarms by utilizing flight plan and taxi clearance information, and
airport building/obstacle databases stored in memory 60 or received
from a source via the communication device 52.
[0017] The sensors 26 included in the wing and tail navigation
light modules provide near-complete sensor coverage of the aircraft
20. Full coverage can be attained by placing sensors in other
lights or locations that are strategically located on the aircraft
20.
[0018] The pilot is alerted aurally, visually, and/or tactilely.
For example, a visual alert presented on a primary flight or
navigation display or an electronic flight bag (EFB) display shows
aircraft wingtips outlined or a highlight of any obstructions.
Aural alerting is through existing installed equipment, such as the
interphone or other warning electronics or possibly the enhanced
ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) platform.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows a top-down image 120 presented on a display
that is part of the alerting device 54. The image 120 includes an
ownship aircraft icon 126 with two radar beam coverage areas 124
that project forward from wingtips of the icon 126. Two range rings
132, 134 are shown on the image 120 at fixed distances in front of
the wing and can be scaled using either an interface on the EFB or
iPad or the cursor control device (CCD) in the aircraft, when shown
on a navigation display.
[0020] In one embodiment, the processor 36 or 50 determines
direction to steer or sweep the sensor(s) 26, based on information
from any of a number of different sources ADS-B, flight management
system (FMS), global positioning system (GPS), inertial navigation
system (INS), etc. For example, a radar beam pattern produced by a
radar sensor is adaptively steered to provide coverage of an
incremented area during a sensed aircraft turn.
[0021] In one embodiment, the radar sensor is installed in an
adaptive rack, which mechanically moves and/or adjusts the radar
sensor's beam pattern in order to adapt the radar sensor's
field-of-view (FOV) to cover the area into which the aircraft is
taxiing (anticipated trajectory), based on the information from the
other source(s). The anticipated trajectory is derived, for
example, from at least some of the following data: groundspeed,
acceleration, heading, turn rate, tiller position, and/or attitude,
etc.
[0022] In one embodiment, a UI device (not shown) is included in
the UI device 44. The UI device allows a user to control the
steering of the beam(s).
[0023] In one embodiment, the sensor is installed at other fuselage
areas, such as above each engine or at the nose of the aircraft,
etc. Even though the sensor is not at the wingtip, the scan data is
buffered, thus allowing the image 120 to be displayed.
[0024] FIG. 3 shows a top-down view of a taxiing aircraft 100.
Three wingtip protection coverage areas 102, 104, 106 are shown. A
default coverage area 102 has a centerline that is approximately
parallel to a centerline of the aircraft 100. Also shown are
maximum inner sensor deflection coverage area 104 and maximum outer
sensor deflection coverage area 106. The processor(s) 36, 50
provide signals to mechanically or electrically steer the sensors
26. If the sensors are located elsewhere on the aircraft 100, then
the processor(s) 36,50 provide signals that ensure the sensors scan
the anticipated trajectory or track an identified obstacle/target.
For example, if the processor(s) 36,50 determines a certain radius
of turn (trajectory) of the wingtips, the sensors 26 will be
steered so that the included area where the wingtips are turning is
adequately covered.
[0025] When the beam pattern is turned, as shown in FIG. 4,
obstacles 200 distributed on the surface of an airport 202 are
detectable.
[0026] In this case, the obstacles 200 are detected as the adaptive
beam pattern is directed on the basis of aircraft anticipated
trajectory (turn), as determined by the processor(s) 36, 50, based
on trajectory information determined from speed, heading, and
position information received from another vehicle/aircraft system,
such as a global positioning system (GPS), inertial navigation
system (INS), comparable system or by operator input. The detected
obstacle can be therefore presented to the pilot on a display
inside the cockpit, see exemplary display image 120 in FIG. 2.
[0027] The beam coverage areas 124 will show any obstacles that are
sensed when the radar has been steered. In one embodiment, the beam
coverage areas 124 are parallel with the ownship icon 126 and an
indicator (i.e., text (e.g., Steering Left), arrow . . . ) is
presented to indicate to the operator the direction that the sensor
is being steered. In another embodiment, the beam coverage areas
124 are curved (not shown) based on the determined trajectory,
radius of turn, or location of a tracked target.
[0028] The beam coverages shown are given as examples. Actual beam
coverages may expand into more of a cone, and permit somewhat wider
effective coverage at distance. Adaptive beam steering, coupled
with an ability to selectively widen the field of view to one that
spreads outward with distance, will, when combined properly in
software masking of the field of view and with the mechanical
steering, provide nearly full coverage.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 5, the straight forward directed beams of
the radar sensor installed in the wingtips of the aircraft are not
able to detect these obstacles 200.
[0030] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been
illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the
disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention
should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that
follow.
* * * * *