EQUITABLE RESOURCE ACCESS THROUGH ADJUDICATION OF FLIGHT PLAN REQUESTS OR OTHER REQUESTS

A method includes obtaining information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource. The requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The method also includes generating at least one expected distribution of requests. The at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests. The method further includes granting one or more first ones of the requests in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the method includes denying or demoting one or more second ones of the requests in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure is generally directed to resource management systems. More specifically, this disclosure is directed to equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests.

BACKGROUND

Various types of aircraft can operate within the same general airspace, such as when airplanes, helicopters, air taxis, and drones or other unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) can operate over a city or in some other common airspace. In order to avoid collisions or other safety concerns, operators of certain aircraft often need to file flight intents and obtain approval of the flight intents prior to flying into a given airspace. For example, airline operators generally need to file flight plans and receive approval before traveling along the paths identified in those flight plans. This is typically done using a manual process where air traffic controllers and airline operators adjudicate and barter for access to a given airspace. Also, UAS traffic management (UTM) systems are being developed to integrate drones and other UASs into air traffic that is already present in low-altitude airspaces.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates to equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests.

In a first embodiment, a method includes obtaining information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource, where the requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The method also includes generating at least one expected distribution of requests, where the at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource. The method further includes granting one or more first ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the method includes denying or demoting one or more second ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

In a second embodiment, an apparatus includes at least one processing device configured to obtain information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource, where the requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The at least one processing device is also configured to generate at least one expected distribution of requests, where the at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource. The at least one processing device is further configured to grant one or more first ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the at least one processing device is configured to deny or demote one or more second ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

In a third embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to obtain information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource, where the requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The non-transitory computer readable medium also stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to generate at least one expected distribution of requests, where the at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource. The non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to grant one or more first ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to deny or demote one or more second ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted above, various types of aircraft can operate within the same general airspace, such as when airplanes, helicopters, air taxis, and drones or other unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) can operate over a city or in some other common airspace. In order to avoid collisions or other safety concerns, operators of certain aircraft often need to file flight intents and obtain approval of the flight intents prior to flying into a given airspace. For example, airline operators generally need to file flight plans and receive approval before traveling along the paths identified in those flight plans. This is typically done using a manual process where air traffic controllers and airline operators adjudicate and barter for access to a given airspace. Also, UAS traffic management (UTM) systems are being developed to integrate drones and other UASs into air traffic that is already present in low-altitude airspaces.

Unfortunately, systems for reserving airspace resources for aircraft often use a first-come, first-served approach in which the first airspace operator to file a flight intent is granted access to the airspace. A flight intent may represent a request for permission to follow a specified flight plan in a given airspace during a given time period. Ideally, this approach allows each airspace operator to reserve adequate airspace resources based on the intended flight operations by those airspace operators. However, in reality, “greedy” airspace operators can use this type of system to monopolize an airspace by filing multiple flight intents in advance so that their aircraft can operate in the airspace while preventing competitors from operating in the airspace. As a particular example, multiple companies are deploying drone package delivery fleets with numerous drones that will be delivering packages from those companies. One of those competitors could attempt to reserve excessive amounts of airspace resources in an attempt to thwart its competitors. As a general rule, each individual airspace operator is typically not interested in “fairness” and is more interested in protecting its own business. This problem will likely become worse over time as various jurisdictions adopt the use of autonomous airspace management systems in which flight intents will be submitted, processed, and approved/rejected in an automated manner. In these types of autonomous systems, humans may not be “in the loop” and therefore may not provide oversight and equitable access.

This disclosure provides various techniques supporting equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests. As described in more detail below, a system can obtain data from various sources regarding airspace usage and flight intents associated with airspace operators. For example, the system may identify volumes of flights and flight plans or trajectories of the flights within a given airspace over time. The system analyzes the information in order to identify expected distributions of flight intents from various airspace operators. Using the expected distributions, the system can flag flight intents from airspace operators that are outside of an expected distribution. For instance, the system may evaluate the number of flight intents by each airspace operator, such as by counting and categorizing the flight intents over a time period. The flight intents can be evaluated in order to identify any intervals of time in which the flight intents are outside of at least one expected or desired range. When this condition is detected, the associated airspace operator may be flagged as being a “greedy” operator, which means that the airspace operator appears to be requesting excessive airspace resources. Current or subsequent flight intents from that airspace operator may then be managed by rejecting or demoting the priority of those flight intents, which can help to facilitate compliance with a flight volume policy or other specified policy.

In this way, the techniques described in this disclosure enable more equitable access to airspace resources. This is accomplished by identifying parties who submit excessive resource requests and handling those requests appropriately in order to reduce or prevent excessive usage of the airspace resources by the identified parties. This technique can be easily expanded as new autonomous aircraft or other aircraft enter into use within a given airspace, such as small drone logistics companies and companies engaging in “last mile” or “middle mile” deliveries. Moreover, these techniques can be easily incorporated into autonomous airspace management systems in order to automatically manage airspace access. In addition, this approach can still enable those airspace operators identified as “greedy” to operate, such as by proposing at least one alternate date or time for a requested flight. As a result, airspace operators who submit numerous flight intents can still be allowed to operate effectively, just not excessively within given time periods.

Note that while the techniques described in this disclosure are often described in the context of analyzing flight intents by airspace operators in order to provide equitable access to airspace resources, the same or similar approaches may be used for other types of resources. For example, the techniques described in this disclosure may be applied to controlling access to any scarce or limited resources by parties requesting access to those resources, such as when multiple parties may request access to space-based satellite constellations or other space-based systems.

FIG.1illustrates an example airspace100in which equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests can be supported according to this disclosure. As shown inFIG.1, the airspace100generally includes or is associated with airspace resources above, near, or within an urban environment or other environment. The airspace100is also associated with airspace resources that are used by one or more types of aircraft. For example, portions of the airspace100can be used by various airplanes102, which in this particular example may take off and land at one or more airports104. Portions of the airspace100can also be used by air taxis106, which represent aircraft used to transport individuals or small groups of people to different locations within the urban environment or other environment. Portions of the airspace100can further be used by various unmanned aircraft systems, which in this particular example include larger drones108and one or more fleets of smaller package-delivery drones110. Note that these types of aircraft are used as examples only and that any other or additional types(s) of aircraft may operate within the airspace100.

There may also be certain locations within the airspace100that are restricted in terms of the type(s) of aircraft that may be used. For example, passenger aircraft and other airplanes are often restricted from flying too close to buildings or other structures in urban environments or other environments. As another example, drones and other unmanned aircraft systems are often restricted from flying over, close to, or around airports104since this can represent a safety hazard to passenger aircraft and other airplanes. As yet another example, all aircraft may be restricted from flying within the airspace around some types of ground-based facilities, such as a nuclear power generation facility112or other sensitive ground-based facility.

While the airspace100shown inFIG.1has been simplified for ease of illustration and explanation, it is easy to envision how the airspace100may quickly become crowded. For example, numerous passenger aircraft and other airplanes may take off and land at the airports104throughout the day. Also, a large number of air taxis106may operate within the airspace100throughout the day, and the flight paths of the air taxis106can vary widely depending on the starting and ending destinations of the people who are traveling. In addition, a very large number of drones108,110and other unmanned aircraft systems may operate within the airspace100and may travel along flight paths determined by operators of the unmanned aircraft systems, and those flight paths can vary widely depending on the needs of the UAS operators.

Using a conventional first-come, first-served approach here can suffer from a number of shortcomings. For example, a greedy airspace operator could submit numerous flight intents for airspace resources (possibly including flight intents for which the airspace operator has no intention of using), which can crowd out other aircraft from operating within the airspace100. To help compensate for these or other issues, an equitable resource allocation system114may be provided to support equitable resource access. As described in more detail below, the equitable resource allocation system114may (among other things) engage in adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests. For example, the equitable resource allocation system114can analyze flight intents from airspace operators and other information in order to identify expected distributions of the flight intents, and the equitable resource allocation system114can use the expected distributions to identify flight intents that are outside the expected distributions. When flight intents that are outside the expected distributions are identified, the associated airspace operators may be flagged as being greedy operators, and current or subsequent flight intents from those airspace operators may be rejected or demoted (at least for one or more certain periods of time). In some cases, the flight intents from the greedy operators may simply be rejected. In other cases, the flight intents from the greedy operators may be demoted, such as to alternative date or time slots. Decisions by the equitable resource allocation system114(such as approved and rejected/demoted flight intents) can be output from the equitable resource allocation system114for display to one or more users or can be output for use by any other suitable system (such as an autonomous airspace management system).

Note that while the equitable resource allocation system114is shown here as being positioned within an environment associated with the airspace100, this is not necessarily required. The equitable resource allocation system114may be positioned at any suitable location(s) in which the equitable resource allocation system114can obtain specified information for processing, and the equitable resource allocation system114can provide its outputs to any suitable destination(s). For example, in some embodiments, the equitable resource allocation system114may be implemented using at least one remote server or in a cloud-based computing environment, in which case the processing operations performed by the equitable resource allocation system114may be located remote (and possibly very remote) from the actual airspace100being controlled. Also, in some embodiments, flight intents may be submitted to the equitable resource allocation system114by various users (such as air traffic control personnel and air taxi/UAS operators) or by one or more automated systems and flight intent decisions may be received from the equitable resource allocation system114via one or more graphical user interfaces, application programming interfaces (APIs), or other mechanisms. In general, this disclosure is not limited to any specific physical implementation of the equitable resource allocation system114or any specific input/output mechanisms for interacting with the equitable resource allocation system114.

AlthoughFIG.1illustrates one example of an airspace100in which equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests can be supported, various changes may be made toFIG.1. For example, the airspace100may be associated with any suitable environment and with any suitable type(s) and number(s) of aircraft, and the specific examples of the airspace100and the aircraft shown inFIG.1are for illustration and explanation only. Also, equitable resource access may be provided for any other suitable resources based on any suitable access requests, and this disclosure is not limited to controlling access to airspace resources through adjudication of flight plan requests having the form of flight intents.

FIG.2illustrates an example functional architecture200supporting equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests according to this disclosure. For ease of explanation, the functional architecture200is described as being performed or supported by the equitable resource allocation system114. However, the functional architecture200may be implemented using any suitable device or system, and the functional architecture200may be used with any suitable airspace resources or other shared resources.

As shown inFIG.2, one or more users202associated with each airspace operator may provide information204regarding the aircraft of the airspace operator. The aircraft identified here can represent the aircraft that may use airspace resources within a given airspace being managed using the functional architecture200. For example, the users202may provide aircraft performance parameters (APP) associated with the aircraft, where the aircraft performance parameters define certain physical, operational, or other characteristics of the aircraft. Specific examples of aircraft performance parameters may include parameters defining how the aircraft can take off and land (such as horizontally or vertically) and the aircraft's associated runway allocations, how much separation from the aircraft needs to be maintained by other aircraft during flight, restrictions on the aircraft from taking off or landing (such as the amount of time a smaller aircraft needs to wait before taking off or landing at the same location where a larger aircraft has recently taken off or landed), or other information related to the physical, operational, or other characteristics of the aircraft. A maintenance function206can be used to persist the information204in a data store208.

One or more users210associated with specified airspace resources or other resources may also provide information212regarding the resources. For example, the users210may provide information defining which portions of an associated airspace100are available for use by different types of aircraft and which portions of the associated airspace100are restricted from use by different types of aircraft. This type of information may be obtained from any suitable source(s), such as a governmental entity or other resource owner or manager. A maintenance function214can be used to persist the information212in a data store216.

When each airspace operator would like to operate aircraft within a given airspace100, one or more users218(who may or may not represent the same users202) can submit flight intents220to the equitable resource allocation system114. In some cases, the users218may submit the flight intents220directly to the equitable resource allocation system114, such as by using one or more systems of the associated airspace operator to submit the flight intents220to the equitable resource allocation system114. In other cases, the flight intents220may be generated by at least one separate system based on inputs from the users218, such as when the users218can use one or more UAS service supplier (USS) or provider of services for urban air mobility (PSU) systems244to generate the flight intents220. In whatever manner the flight intents220are generated, a maintenance function222can be used to persist the flight intents220in a data store224. The flight intents220can also be provided to a discovery and synchronization service (DSS)226, which generally operates to identify the airspace operators that are operating within one or more airspaces and to provide access to the flight intents220associated with those airspace operators. For instance, the discovery and synchronization service226may allow other functions of the functional architecture200to obtain and analyze the flight intents220for a given airspace in order to generate expected distributions of the flight intents220over time.

The flight intents220from the users218, USS/PSU system(s)244, or other source(s) are also provided to an evaluation function228, which generally operates to analyze those flight intents220in order to identify one or more statistics or other information about those flight intents220. For example, the evaluation function228may determine the average number of flight intents220submitted by a flight operator for each minute or other interval of time for a given resource in an airspace. This can be performed across all resources and for all airspace operators who use those resources. In this example, that information is used by a determination function230, which generally operates to analyze the statistics or other information generated by the evaluation function228in order to determine a frequency of aircraft flights associated with the flight intents220submitted by each airspace operator for each resource in the airspace during each minute or other interval of time.

An evaluation function232generally operates to analyze the flight intents220from various airspace operators received over time in order to estimate what the distributions of the flight intents220are expected or desired to be for a given airspace or airspace resource. For example, the evaluation function232may analyze historical or current flight intents220as provided by the discovery and synchronization service226in order to identify an average number of aircraft flights flown by airspace operators for each of various airspace resources. This can be done for various times of day, such as by identifying average numbers of aircraft flights for each hour of the day (and possibly by identifying average numbers of aircraft flights for each hour of different days). This can also be performed for various types of aircraft, such as by identifying average numbers of aircraft flights for airplanes, helicopters, air taxis, and drones or other UASs (and this can itself be subdivided into airplanes, helicopters, air taxis, or UASs of different weights or other types). In addition, this can be performed for various airspace resources, such as by identifying average numbers of aircraft flights for different locations in which the aircraft take off and land (like airports or air taxi/drone/UAS hubs) and other locations within the given airspace100. Overall, the evaluation function232can be used to generate any suitable distributions identifying average or other expected or desired flight intents220for the airspace operators over time. These distributions can form a baseline of what is considered “fair” or “equitable” flight intents.

The evaluation function232can also compare the determinations generated by the determination function230for current flight intents220to the expected distributions. For instance, the evaluation function232may determine whether each of the determined flight frequencies for the current flight intents220(as generated by the determination function230) falls within one or more standard deviations of an average flight frequency for a given resource or airspace. Flight intents220having higher flight frequencies are generally associated with smaller intervals of time between flights, and a decision function234generally operates to determine whether any of the current flight intents220have a flight frequency that is too small. These flight intents220can be indicative of a greedy airspace operator who is attempting to monopolize an airspace resource (at least for some period of time). For example, the decision function234can determine whether any of the current flight intents220have an excessively small time interval, such as a time interval below a threshold. For flight intents220having a time interval that does not fall below the threshold, an approval function236can generally operate to approve those flight intents220.

For flight intents220having a time interval that falls below the threshold, a decision function238generally operates to determine whether there is other demand for the associated airspace resource. For example, the decision function238may determine whether other airspace operators have requested use of the same airspace resource. If not, the excess flight intents220can still be approved by the approval function236since there are no competing operators who are requesting use of the same resource during the same time period (so there is no concern about inequitable resource access by approving the flight intents220). Otherwise, a deny/demote function240generally operates to deny at least some of those flight intents220or to demote at least some those flight intents220(such as by moving those flight intents220to other date/time slots that might not have been requested by the associated greedy airspace operator). Optionally, a replanning function242can be invoked and can request that a user218or USS/PSU system244resubmit one or more flight intents220or accept/reject any demoted flight intents220.

As can be seen here, the functional architecture200enables more equitable access to airspace resources by multiple airspace operators. Airspace operators are permitted to submit flight intents220, and the distributions of those flight intents220over time can be compared to expected distributions of the flight intents220in order to identify greedy operators. If excessive flight intents220from an airspace operator are detected, it is possible to demote or deny those flight intents220when other airspace operators wish to have access to the same airspace resource(s). However, the flight intents220(even if excessive) may be approved if other airspace operators do not request access to the same airspace resource(s).

It should be noted that the functions shown in or described with respect toFIG.2can be implemented in any suitable device(s) and in any suitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, at least some of the functions shown in or described with respect toFIG.2can be implemented or supported using one or more software applications or other software instructions that are executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, such as a server or other computer. In other embodiments, at least some of the functions shown in or described with respect toFIG.2can be implemented or supported using dedicated hardware components. In general, the functions shown in or described with respect toFIG.2can be performed using any suitable hardware or any suitable combination of hardware and software/firmware instructions. Also, the functions shown in or described with respect toFIG.2can be performed by a single device or by multiple devices.

AlthoughFIG.2illustrates an example functional architecture200supporting equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests, various changes may be made toFIG.2. For example, various components and functions inFIG.2may be combined, further subdivided, replicated, omitted, or rearranged and additional components and functions may be added according to particular needs. Also, while multiple data stores are shown here, the information contained in the data stores may be stored at a single location (such as in a single database) or across multiple locations (such as in multiple databases). Further, the types of information collected and used by the equitable resource allocation system114may vary from the types of information shown here. In addition, the equitable resource allocation system114may perform any other or additional analysis or analyses of the flight intents220in order to identify flight intents220that are outside of expected distributions.

FIG.3illustrates an example distribution300for identifying airspace operators requesting excessive airspace resources according to this disclosure. For example, the distribution300shown inFIG.3may represent one example of a distribution determined using the evaluation function232and used by the equitable resource allocation system114as a baseline in order to identify excessive flight intents220requesting airspace resources. Note, however, that the equitable resource allocation system114may generate and use any other suitable distributions.

As shown inFIG.3, this example of the distribution300generally takes the form of a bell curve or normal distribution. In this particular example, the distribution300includes two sections302and304positioned on opposite sides of an average value of flight frequencies (denoted p). These two sections302and304may identify groups of flight frequencies falling within one standard deviation (denoted σ) of the average value. As a particular example, these two sections302and304may identify groups of flight frequencies that are approximately equal to two flights per minute. The distribution300also includes two sections306and308positioned on opposite sides of the sections302and304. These two sections306and308may identify groups of flight frequencies falling outside one standard deviation but within two standard deviations of the average value. As a particular example, these two sections306and308may identify groups of flight frequencies that are approximately equal to three to five flights per minute. In addition, the distribution300includes two sections310and312positioned on opposite sides of the sections306and308. These two sections310and312may identify groups of flight frequencies falling outside one and two standard deviations but within three standard deviations of the average value. As a particular example, these two sections310and312may identify groups of flight frequencies that are approximately equal to six or more flights per minute.

In some cases, the distribution300shown inFIG.3may be used as an expected distribution of flight intents and may be based on prior or current flight intents220received from airspace operators. When flight intents220are processed for approval or denial/demotion, the frequencies of those flight intents220can be compared to the distribution300. If a frequency of certain flight intents220falls within one or more sections of the distribution300, those flight intents220can be viewed as excessive and can be denied or demoted. As a particular example, flight intents220having frequencies within the sections302-304may be viewed as permissible and granted since those flight intents220are around the average. Flight intents220having frequencies within the sections306and310may also be viewed as permissible and granted since those flight intents220have a lower frequency and are unlikely to involve one operator monopolizing an airspace resource.

Flight intents220having frequencies within the section308and/or the section312may be viewed as problematic, and the equitable resource allocation system114can take one or more actions to ensure that the flight intents220having frequencies within the section(s)308,312are handled appropriately to provide equitable use of the airspace resources. For example, the flight intents220having frequencies within the section312may be viewed as very excessive and may be denied outright, while the flight intents220having frequencies within the section308may be viewed as excessive and may be demoted (such as to later date/time slots). Of course, these actions relative to these sections of the distribution300are for illustration only, and flight intents220having higher frequencies may be handled in any other suitable manner.

AlthoughFIG.3illustrates one example of a distribution300for identifying airspace operators requesting excessive airspace resources, various changes may be made toFIG.3. For example, while the distribution300is described as being based on frequencies of flight intents220, other measures (such as intervals of time between aircraft flights associated with the flight intents220) may be used to form the distribution300. Also, while the distribution300is shown here as having the shape of a normal distribution, the distribution300may have any other suitable symmetrical or asymmetrical form, which will depend (at least in part) on how the flight intents220are analyzed in order to form a baseline for what constitutes an expected or desired distribution of flight intents220.

FIG.4illustrates an example graphical user interface400identifying results of equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests according to this disclosure. For example, the graphical user interface400shown inFIG.4may be generated based on approval and denial/demotion decisions made by the equitable resource allocation system114based on flight intents220requesting access to airspace resources. Note, however, that the equitable resource allocation system114may generate any other suitable outputs, which may or may not be intended for display to one or more human users.

As shown inFIG.4, the graphical user interface400includes a table that presents decisions made by the equitable resource allocation system114. In this example, the table includes different entries402associated with different flight intents220and their related decisions by the equitable resource allocation system114. In this particular example, each entry402is associated with one of the flight intents220and includes a resource identifier (ID) identifying a specific airspace resource associated with the flight intent220and a sequence number identifying a number of the flight intent220within a series of flight intents220associated with the specific airspace resource. Each entry402also includes a request identifier (such as a callsign) identifying a specific aircraft associated with the flight intent220and an airspace operator associated with the aircraft. Each entry402further includes an identification of the determined equitable status associated with the flight intent220and an action associated with the flight intent220. In addition, each entry402includes a requested time associated with the flight intent220, a requested duration associated with the flight intent220, and an estimated time to be assigned to the flight intent220.

In this example, the determined equitable status associated with each flight intent220is expressed as an indication of whether the flight intent220falls with one, two, or three standard deviations of the associated distribution300. Of course, the determined equitable status may be expressed using other notations or explanations. Each equitable status may also have a suitable color or other indicator404identifying the equitable status. For instance, each equitable status may have a green background or other indicator404when the equitable status indicates that the associated flight intent220falls within one standard deviation in the associated distribution300. Each equitable status may have a yellow background or other indicator404when the equitable status indicates that the associated flight intent220falls within two standard deviations (but outside one standard deviation) in the associated distribution300. Each equitable status may have a red background or other indicator404when the equitable status indicates that the associated flight intent220falls within three standard deviations (but outside two standard deviations) in the associated distribution300. Note, however, that these colors are for illustration only, and any other or additional indicators404may be used.

The actions associated with the flight intents220here generally correspond to the determined equitable statuses. For example, flight intents220that fall within one standard deviation in the associated distribution300may be approved, flight intents220that fall within two standard deviations (but outside one standard deviation) in the associated distribution300may be demoted, and flight intents220that fall within three standard deviations (but outside two standard deviations) in the associated distribution300may be denied. Note, however, that other actions may be associated with the same equitable statuses or with different collections of equitable statuses.

In some embodiments, the graphical user interface400may be used by one or more users to obtain situational awareness regarding requests for one or more resources. For example, the graphical user interface400may be used by various users218associated with airspace operators who are submitting the flight intents220. Also, in some embodiments, the graphical user interface400may include an option allowing one or more users to resubmit a rejected flight intent220with a different date/time slot selected (when the user is associated with an airspace operator) or to override any autonomous actions (when the user is associated with a resource manager).

AlthoughFIG.4illustrates one example of a graphical user interface400identifying results of equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests, various changes may be made toFIG.4. For example, the contents, layout, and arrangement of the graphical user interface400may easily vary from those shown here. Graphical user interfaces can come in a wide variety of configurations, andFIG.4does not limit this disclosure to any particular graphical user interface.

FIG.5illustrates an example device500supporting equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests according to this disclosure. One or more instances of the device500may, for example, be used to at least partially implement the functionality of the equitable resource allocation system114shown inFIG.1, such as when the device or devices500are used to perform or support various functions of the functional architecture200shown inFIG.2. However, the various functionalities of the equitable resource allocation system114and the functional architecture200may be implemented in any other suitable manner.

As shown inFIG.5, the device500denotes a computing device or system that includes at least one processing device502, at least one storage device504, at least one communications unit506, and at least one input/output (I/O) unit508. The processing device502may execute instructions that can be loaded into a memory510. The processing device502includes any suitable number(s) and type(s) of processors or other processing devices in any suitable arrangement. Example types of processing devices502include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or discrete circuitry.

The memory510and a persistent storage512are examples of storage devices504, which represent any structure(s) capable of storing and facilitating retrieval of information (such as data, program code, and/or other suitable information on a temporary or permanent basis). The memory510may represent a random access memory or any other suitable volatile or non-volatile storage device(s). The persistent storage512may contain one or more components or devices supporting longer-term storage of data, such as a read only memory, hard drive, Flash memory, or optical disc.

The communications unit506supports communications with other systems or devices. For example, the communications unit506can include a network interface card or a wireless transceiver facilitating communications over a wired or wireless network. The communications unit506may support communications through any suitable physical or wireless communication link(s).

The I/O unit508allows for input and output of data. For example, the I/O unit508may provide a connection for user input through a keyboard, mouse, keypad, touchscreen, or other suitable input device. The I/O unit508may also send output to a display, printer, or other suitable output device. Note, however, that the I/O unit508may be omitted if the device500does not require local I/O, such as when the device500represents a server or other device that can be accessed remotely.

In some embodiments, the instructions executed by the processing device502include instructions that implement the various functionalities of the equitable resource allocation system114and the functional architecture200. Thus, for example, the instructions when executed may cause the processing device502to analyze flight intents220, identify expected distributions of flight intents220, identify excessive flight intents220from greedy airspace operators based on the expected distributions, and arbitrate across flight intents220by approving, denying, or changing the flight intents220.

AlthoughFIG.5illustrates one example of a device500supporting equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests, various changes may be made toFIG.5. For example, computing and communication devices and systems come in a wide variety of configurations, andFIG.5does not limit this disclosure to any particular computing or communication device or system.

FIG.6illustrates an example method600for equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests according to this disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method600shown inFIG.6may be described as being performed using the equitable resource allocation system114shown inFIG.1, where the equitable resource allocation system114may implement the functional architecture200shown inFIG.2and be implemented using one or more devices500shown inFIG.5. However, the method600may be performed using any other suitable device(s) and architecture(s) and in any other suitable system(s).

As shown inFIG.6, information regarding specific resources to be controlled (at least with respect to access) is obtained at step602. This may include, for example, one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114obtaining information regarding airspace resources that are available for use and aircraft that may use the airspace resources. This may also include one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114obtaining historical or current flight intents220associated with usage of the airspace resources. At least one expected distribution of requests from various requestors wishing to access the resources is determined at step604. This may include, for example, one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114analyzing the historical or current flight intents220(possibly by airspace operator, resource, and time) in order to identify one or more distributions300associated with the usage of the airspace resources. Each distribution300can identify a distribution of at least one characteristic of the flight intents220, where the distribution includes expected or desired values of the characteristic(s).

Requests for accessing the specified resources are received a step606. This may include, for example, one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114receiving flight intents220for upcoming aircraft flights of one or more airspace operators. A determination is made whether any of the flight intents is associated with at least one greedy airspace operator at step608. This may include, for example, one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114comparing a frequency or other characteristic(s) of the flight intents220with the frequencies or other characteristic(s) contained in one or more expected distributions300. If a determination is made that flight intents are not associated with a greedy requestor (or that flight intents are associated with a greedy requestor but there are no competing requests for the same resource), the flight intents are approved at step612. This may include, for example, one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114granting access to one or more of the specified airspace resources in accordance with the approved flight intents220. Otherwise, flight intents are denied or demoted at step614. This may include, for example, one or more processing devices502of the equitable resource allocation system114denying access to one or more of the specified airspace resources or granting access to one or more of the specified airspace resources but during one or more different date/time slots than requested.

AlthoughFIG.6illustrates one example of a method600for equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests, various changes may be made toFIG.6. For example, while shown as a series of steps, various steps inFIG.6may overlap, occur in parallel, occur in a different order, or occur any number of times. Also, the method600may be performed to provide equitable resource access for any other suitable resources based on any suitable access requests and is not limited to controlling access to airspace resources through adjudication of flight plan requests having the form of flight intents.

The following describes example embodiments of this disclosure that implement or relate to equitable resource access through adjudication of flight plan requests or other requests. However, other embodiments may be used in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure.

In a first embodiment, a method includes obtaining information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource, where the requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The method also includes generating at least one expected distribution of requests, where the at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource. The method further includes granting one or more first ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the method includes denying or demoting one or more second ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

In a second embodiment, an apparatus includes at least one processing device configured to obtain information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource, where the requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The at least one processing device is also configured to generate at least one expected distribution of requests, where the at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource. The at least one processing device is further configured to grant one or more first ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the at least one processing device is configured to deny or demote one or more second ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

In a third embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to obtain information associated with requests to access at least one shared resource, where the requests are associated with multiple requestors wishing to access or use the at least one shared resource. The non-transitory computer readable medium also stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to generate at least one expected distribution of requests, where the at least one expected distribution of requests defines one or more expected or desired characteristics of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource. The non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to grant one or more first ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more first ones of the requests have the one or more expected or desired characteristics. In addition, the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to deny or demote one or more second ones of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource in response to determining that the one or more second ones of the requests do not have the one or more expected or desired characteristics.

Any single one or any suitable combination of the following features may be used with the first, second, or third embodiment. It may be determined that (i) the one or more first ones of the requests have one or more characteristics falling within one or more first groups of characteristic values associated with the one or more expected or desired characteristics and (ii) the one or more second ones of the requests have one or more characteristics falling within one or more second groups of characteristic values not associated with the one or more expected or desired characteristics. The one or more first groups of characteristic values may include (i) two groups of characteristic values within one standard deviation of an average characteristic value and (ii) one or more groups of characteristic values less than the average characteristic value, and the one or more second groups of characteristic values may include one or more groups of characteristic values greater than one standard deviation above the average characteristic value. The one or more second groups of characteristic values may include (i) a first group of characteristic values within two standard deviations but outside one standard deviation of an average characteristic value and greater than the average characteristic value (any of the one or more second ones of the requests within the first group of characteristic values being demoted) and (ii) a second group of characteristic values within three standard deviations but outside two standard deviations of the average characteristic value and greater than the average characteristic value (any of the one or more second ones of the requests within the second group of characteristic values being denied). The at least one shared resource may include one or more airspace resources, and the requests to access the at least one shared resource may include flight intents associated with airspace operators wishing to fly aircraft through at least one airspace. First ones of the flight intents may be granted so that the airspace operators are permitted to fly associated aircraft through the at least one airspace, second ones of the flight intents may be denied so that the airspace operators are not permitted to fly associated aircraft through the at least one airspace, and third ones of the flight intents may be demoted so that the airspace operators are permitted to fly associated aircraft through the at least one airspace but during different date or time slots. The granting and the denying or demoting of the requests to access or use the at least one shared resource may provide for equitable access by different ones of the airspace operators to the at least one airspace. The one or more expected or desired characteristics may include flight frequencies or flight intervals associated with the aircraft.