Abstract:
A method and system for dynamically evaluating a quantity of context sensitive information used by an operator of an airborne mobile platform in performing an operational procedure involving said mobile platform, and determining, in real time, a sub-quantity of context sensitive information that pertains to only that sub-quantity of information required by said operator to execute said operational procedure. The sub-quantity of information is then displayed on a display in real time for the operator. The method and system significantly eases the cognitive workload of the operator by enabling the operator to focus on and digest only that sub-quantity of information that is pertinent to performing the operational procedure with the specific type of mobile platform being operated. In one embodiment the sub-quantity of information pertains to minima information for performing an aircraft landing approach operation.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/868,812 filed Oct. 8, 2007. The aforementioned related patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to information management systems and methods, and particularly to a method and system for dynamically evaluating a quantity of context sensitive information available to be displayed to an aircraft pilot and determining a minimum subset of relevant information to be provided to the pilot to enable the pilot to more easily digest the information while operating the aircraft. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
         [0004]    Current landing approach information for aeronautical applications is typically depicted on a cockpit display or paper charts to a pilot and/or co-pilot as pre-composed and non-interactive images. Such images typically contain all approach minima related information which are applicable to a specific approach procedure, covering any applicable aircraft categories, any approach landing maneuvers, various missed approach climb gradients, and several component-out conditions of the airport facilities. One exemplary minima chart for “LFSB” (Basle/Mulhouse Airport, France) is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Five different RVR (Runway Visual Range) requirements are presented to the pilot for evaluation, together with 10 different visibility figures V 1 -V 10 . Two of the RVRs are for ILS (Instrument Landing System) with and without ALS (Approach Lighting System) and two for LOC (Localizer) with and without ALS. In addition, other critical information such as the Decision Height (DH) or Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) are also indicated for varying airports and airport equipment conditions. 
         [0005]    The pilot and/or co-pilot are required to visually and mentally digest and filter the non-relevant information out from that information that applies specifically to the operational situation at hand. For example, if the aircraft being flown is a category “e” aircraft, then the minima information pertaining to the category “A”, “B” and “D” aircraft will not be needed by the pilot or co-pilot. As will be appreciated, this can significantly add to the cognitive workload of the pilot and/or co-pilot while the pilot and/or co-pilot are attempting to perform a flight maneuver, such as a landing approach, in the aircraft. 
         [0006]    Even within digital Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) devices, the aeronautical approach charts do not allow real-time user interaction to filter  10  information, to alter displayed data or to use real-time and current operational parameters to de-clutter approach charts automatically and dynamically. 8y “de-clutter”, it is meant the operation of removing minima information that the pilot does not need, based on real-time weather conditions, real-time airport operational conditions, the specific aircraft being piloted, and various other factors. Alternatively, the “de-clutter” terminology can be thought of as the operation of “masking” certain minima information that the pilot and co-pilot do not need, so that certain information non-pertinent is not presented to the pilot and/or co-pilot. As a result, approach charts typically contain significantly more information than a flight crew requires for executing a landing approach under a certain condition (e.g., aircraft approach category). Even though some present day airlines have custom made paper charts for them that only indicate the aircraft category that is applicable for their flight rules, such charts typically still present information pertaining to a plurality of different airport and/or visibility conditions. Thus, such custom charts still require the pilot and/or co-pilot to cognitively filter out a relatively large amount of information that will not be pertinent to the specific airport and weather conditions that are present at the time an approach is being executed. This can significantly add to the cognitive workload imposed on the pilot and/or co-pilot. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present disclosure relates to a method and system for dynamically determining a condensed quantity of context sensitive information pertaining to a mobile platform operational procedure, in real time, from a larger quantity of available context sensitive information, and displaying the condensed quantity of context sensitive information to the mobile platform operator in real time. 
         [0008]    In one particular implementation the method includes analyzing context sensitive data, in real time, relating to an operational procedure of an airborne mobile platform to be carried out by an individual operating the airborne mobile platform. A subset of context sensitive information is dynamically determined from a larger quantity of context sensitive information relating to the operational procedure. The subset of context sensitive information is then displayed to the individual operating the airborne mobile platform. 
         [0009]    In one specific implementation the context sensitive information comprises minima information relating to a landing approach at a particular airport. The subset of context sensitive information relates to a subset of all the available minima information, and is tailored to only the specific operational and weather conditions present at a particular airport at a given time, as well as the specific type of aircraft and other factors pertaining to the approach. Thus, that portion of minima information that is not pertinent for enabling the pilot and/or co-pilot to execute the approach is filtered out to produce the subset of minima information. The subset of minima information is presented to the pilot and/co-pilot via a display system, in real time, which significantly reduces the cognitive workload of the pilot and/or co-pilot (i.e., particularly the individual who is actually flying the aircraft), and enables the pilot and/or co-pilot to more completely focus their attention on executing the landing approach. 
         [0010]    In one specific implementation the subset of context sensitive information may be displayed in two or more different colors on the display to further visually signal to the pilot and/or co-pilot whether the context sensitive information (e.g., minima information) is near a minimum condition or is below a minimum condition. 
         [0011]    Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a prior art illustration of an aircraft approach chart for Basle/Mulhouse Airport, France (LFSB/MLH); 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of operations performed in accordance with one exemplary implementation of the present disclosure; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is an example of an aircraft approach chart having condensed minima information, as may be generated by the present system and method. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. While the following description will reference a “mobile platform”, and more specifically an airborne mobile platform such as an aircraft, it will be appreciated that the teachings herein are applicable to the navigation/operation of any type of vessel. For example, the teachings herein could be just as readily applied to operators of marine vessels or land vehicles, where the operator may be required to view a large quantity of context sensitive information and to cognitively process such information before (or while) performing a specific operational procedure. Accordingly, the reference to an “airborne mobile platform” or “aircraft” throughout the following discussion is merely meant to illustrate one potential application of the teachings of the present disclosure. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a system  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The system is used, in this example, with a vessel that forms an airborne mobile platform. The airborne mobile platform is illustrated as an aircraft  12 . The aircraft  12  has an avionics subsystem  14  for generating traditional information (e.g., altitude, airspeed, etc.) for use by other subsystems and for consideration of the flight crew. It is also possible for the system to be employed at a fixed location to dynamically evaluate a large quantity of information or data and to selectively generate only a relevant sub-quantity of information or data that is needed by an individual, in real time, for accomplishing a specific operation or task. Thus, it will be appreciated that the system  10  may find significant utility outside of aerospace and aircraft applications. 
         [0019]    Referring further to  FIG. 2 , the aircraft  12  may typically also include an RF (radio frequency) communications subsystem  16  for receiving information and data from an airport weather/condition information transmitting station  18  via RF signals  18   a  transmitted from the weather/condition information transmitting station. This information may be used by the pilot (i.e., operator) and/or co-pilot (collectively referred to as the “flight crew”), but in one example, to be explained in greater detail below, it may be input to the system  10  for use by the system in determining (or enhancing) information that is to be displayed. 
         [0020]    The system  10  generally includes a dynamic flight information evaluation system  20  (hereinafter after the “DES”  20 ) and a display system  22 . The display system  22  may form a pre-existing display component carried by the aircraft  12  that is used for displaying aeronautical navigation charts stored in a database  24 , and particularly landing approach charts. The display system  22  may be directly interfaceable with the DES  20 , but in some applications a suitable interface (not shown) may be required. The display system  22  preferably has a color display screen (e.g., either CRT 30 or LCD) that is able to selectively display specific types of information in different colors to even further aid the flight crew in quickly visually assimilating and cognitively processing the information being presented. 
         [0021]    In general operation, the DES  20  is loaded with information from the database  24  containing aeronautical information, for example, landing approach charts. Verbal information broadcast from the airport weather/condition information may be converted using any suitable voice recognition software to text information and also input to the DES  20 . The DES  20  analyzes this information, together with information from the avionics subsystem  14  to dynamically evaluate what minimum sub-quantity of approach information is required by the flight crew piloting the aircraft  12 . In effect, the DES  20  takes a large quantity of approach information (also termed  10  “minima” information) and eliminates portions of the information that are not pertinent, and not required, for the flight crew to consider while executing a landing operation. For example, the approach chart for a given airport may provide several RVR distances for four different types of aircraft, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , but if the aircraft  12  is a category “D” aircraft, then only the RVR  15  distances pertaining to a category D aircraft will be pertinent for the flight crew to consider. Additionally, an operator may provide a configuration parameter that selects a given aircraft category as per their Operational Approval that is more restrictive than the minimum requirements (e.g., flying a category D aircraft but using Cat C minimums). Still further, if the Approach Lighting  20  System (ALS) at the airport is working properly, then the RVR corresponding to the ALS “out” condition is irrelevant to the flight crew, and does not need to be displayed on the display  22 . And still further yet, if the ALS is operating properly, and a localizer (LOC) is operational at the airport, then a different RVR distance is applicable. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the DES  20  is able to determine exactly that specific sub-quantity of context sensitive information (e.g., a sub-quantity of minima of the overall available minima) that needs to be presented to the flight crew based on various specific conditions existing at the time an approach is being executed. Such conditions typically will include, without limitation, the specific airport at which the aircraft is landing, the specific aircraft being flown, the specific approach selected or assigned, and whether various lighting and approach systems are available and operational at the airport. The DES  20  may also include, as part of the context sensitive sub-quantity of information selected for display, and without limitation, information originating from the airport weather/condition transmitting station  18 . An example of an approach chart that may be displayed on the display system  22  is shown in  FIG. 4 . In this example the 5 condensed minima is presented at the upper middle area of the chart and denoted by reference numeral  26 . 
         [0022]    Importantly, the DES  20  determines dynamically, in real time, that specific sub-quantity of pertinent context sensitive information (i.e., pertinent minima) and displays the sub-quantity of information to the flight  10  crew via the display system  22 . This significantly reduces the cognitive workload of the flight crew by significantly reducing the amount of available context sensitive information (i.e., minima) that needs to be visually and cognitively processed by the flight crew while executing a landing approach operation. This frees the flight crew to concentrate their attention more fully on executing the landing approach. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a more detailed presentation of various operations that may be performed by one implementation of the system  10  is shown in flowchart  100 . At operation  102 , a particular navigation chart (e.g., an approach chart) may be selected manually by a flight crew member. Alternatively, the selection may be selected automatically by the system  10  based on a particular flight plan and location. 
         [0024]    At operation  104 , procedure minima data is obtained from the database  24  ( FIG. 1 ) along with any conditional factors that may pertain to the particular flight operation about to be performed. At operation  106 , the presence or absence of any procedure required instrumentation is determined and validated. At operation  108 , any applicable instrumentation factors are applied to the minima such as the present RVR distance, the minimum descent altitude (MDA) and the Ceiling (altitude at which any cloud cover begins). At operation  110 , the system  10  determines the presence or absence of navigation signals such as the Glideslope (GS). The navigation head present on the aircraft mayor may not detect a Glideslope. Different RVR values will apply depending if the Glideslope is operational or not. 
         [0025]    At operation  112 , the appropriate minima is determined based on which one of the GS “OK” or “out” conditions is present. At this point, the DES  20  may encode the minima data so that it is presented in a particular color on the DES  20 . For example, the RVR distance information  5  may be displayed in yellow, red or another color if the GS “out” condition is present. This further visually alerts the flight crew to an important condition existing while the approach is being performed. 
         [0026]    At operation  114 , airport facility conditions are determined either via a data subchannel of the airport weather/condition transmitting  10  station  18  (typically termed the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), or via a digital ATIS). Alternatively, information may be entered into the DES  20  by a pilot or co-pilot after listening to an audio transmission received from the airport weather/condition transmitting station  18 . 
         [0027]    At operation  116 , the minima values based on lighting values present at the time the approach is being executed are either calculated or looked up from a suitable table carried in the database  24  ( FIG. 1 ). At operation  118 , weather conditions (e.g., RVR, Ceiling, etc.) are determined either via a data sub channel of the airport weather/information transmitting station or entered by a pilot after listening to an audio transmission from the  20  airport weather/condition transmitting station  18 . 
         [0028]    At operation  120 , the minima is displayed (i.e., RVR and Ceiling or MDA/DH (Minimum Descent Altitude/Decision Height&gt;&gt; based on the determinations made in the foregoing operations. Optionally, the minima may be displayed on the display system  22  in black if actual conditions (i.e., RVR, Ceiling) are greater than the minima, in yellow if the actual conditions are near the minima, or in red if actual conditions are below the minima. Other colors or coloring schemes are also possible. 
         [0029]    From the foregoing example of a landing approach, it will also be appreciated that certain other factors such as airport weather (WX), Instrument or GS function must be monitored and factored into values during the entire approach procedure. It is preferable that a warning or notification should be shown on the display system  22  if the determined minima should change after the inbound approach procedure has started. Also, it will be appreciated that some changes that occur after the IAF (initial approach fix) has been crossed will cause a display change while other conditions would not change once the approach has started. Also, it will be appreciated that the pilot and/or co-pilot may need to revert to the prior display or be able to fix the display to not change after a certain point in flying the approach. 
         [0030]    From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the system  10  and method of the present disclosure significantly reduces the cognitive workload required by flight crew members while executing an approach. The system  10  dynamically determines only that sub-quantity of available minima data that needs to be displayed to the flight crew under a given set of operational and weather conditions existing at the time an approach is being executed, and displays the condensed minima, in real time, on the display system  22 . Since the system  10  operates dynamically and in real time,  15  various context sensitive conditions and/or data existing at the time an approach is being executed can be evaluated, in real time, and the subset of minima that is generated by the system  10  will be tailored to the precise airport, weather and various other conditions and/or data existing at the time. It will also be appreciated that the teachings of the present disclosure could  20  be readily adapted to other scenarios where it would be helpful to dynamically evaluate and reduce the amount of visual information provided to an individual (or individuals), in real time, who is/are attempting to perform an operation requiring significant concentration and attention. 
         [0031]    While various embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the present disclosure. The examples illustrate the various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.