Patent ID: 8229662
Filing Date: 2012-07-24
Classification: G08G

Abstract:
1. A method of predicting collisions with obstacles on the ground and generating warnings, said method implemented by an instrument installed in an aircraft and comprising the following steps: providing (a) at least one predicted path of the aircraft that represents an altitude of the aircraft and (b) an extraction zone; extracting, from an obstacle database, a list of pointlike obstacles, the list of pointlike obstacles comprising, for each of the pointlike obstacles, a horizontal distance separating the pointlike obstacle from a current position of the aircraft, horizontal accuracy and a height of the pointlike obstacle; extracting, from the obstacle database, a list of linear obstacles, the list of linear obstacles comprising, for each of the linear obstacles, a list of pointlike obstacles corresponding to each end of the linear obstacle; determining, according to the altitude of the aircraft, risks associated with the extracted pointlike obstacles and generating warnings; and determining, according to the altitude of the aircraft, risks associated with the extracted linear obstacles and generating warnings, wherein said step of determining the risks associated with the extracted linear obstacles and generating the warnings includes the following steps of: