Abstract:
A system and method is provided for controlling an aircraft. At least one transceiver is provided to receive a voice instruction from an air traffic controller, and transmit a voice response to the air traffic controller. A response logic unit can be provided to interpret the received voice instruction from the air traffic controller, determine a response to the interpreted voice instruction, and translate the interpreted voice instruction to a command suitable for input to at least one autopilot unit. An autopilot unit can also be provided to receive the command from the response logic unit, wherein the command is configured to guide the flight of the unmanned aircraft.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is based on, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/783,579, filed Mar. 17, 2006, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to the control of unmanned aircrafts and the automated control of manned aircrafts using speech recognition techniques.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Background  
         [0005]     Unmanned aircrafts (UAs) have grown in increased popularity and complexity over the years. Such increased popularity and complexity of UAs have raised the issue of ways to control these vehicles. There are currently in existence operator interfaces for planning and controlling UAs such as the Multi-Modal Immersive Intelligent Interface for Remote Operation (MIIIRO), and/or the Integrated Sensor Suite-Integrated Mission Management Computers (ISS-IMMC). As used herein, MIIIRO refers to an operator interface for planning and controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned tactical aircrafts (UTAs) and other remote systems. The ISS-IMMC refers to sensors and computers that provide the flight and navigation controls for the aircraft. The UAs can be operated in either of three control modes namely autonomous control mode, manual control mode, or shared control mode.  
         [0006]     In the autonomous control mode, the UA flies according to an approved flight plan and executes specific tasks at various locations along the route of flight. The flight plan comprises a sequence of commands. Each command initiates a different task. Some commands may be configured to fly the UA back to its base location, while others may be configured to cause the UA to execute tasks such as orbiting around a location, capturing images, and/or landing. Manual control mode can incorporate input from either a joystick or a graphical user interface (GUI) to provide control inputs to the UA. An instrument panel may aid the operator in controlling the UA when it is under manual control. Operators are then able to view airspeed, altitude, vertical speed and other vehicle status indicators such as fuel remaining and total flight time on their instrument panel. Shared control can be achieved by mixing inputs from the operator and the autonomous flight control system. Shared control may be useful in situations such as maneuvering to evade potential threats or flying at low altitudes in order to capture close-up images of items of interest along the route of flight. The operator can select, from the shared control panel, the axes to be controlled autonomously and those to be controlled manually.  
         [0007]     Civil and commercial market UA applications are so much more varied in scope than government/military applications, and are virtually untapped especially in the commercial sector. The current state of the art is embodied in the Northrup Grumman&#39;s Global Hawk®. The Global Hawk® was the first UA certified for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations through a radio relay link. This feature allows the Global Hawk® to fly within controlled airspace during a ferry mission even though typical operations of the Global Hawk® are outside of most civilian airspace. Communications from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) are relayed to the operator monitoring the flight of the Global Hawk® who in turn responds to ATC. However, there is a need to eliminate the role of the operator who is monitoring the flight of the UA so that control of the aircraft can be directed by the ATC while still adhering to system reliability and safety requirements mandated by the FAA.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     A system and method is provided for controlling an unmanned aircraft. According to one embodiment, there is provided a system and method for controlling an unmanned aircraft, including at least one transceiver to receive a voice instruction from an air traffic controller, and transmit a voice response to the air traffic controller. At least one response logic unit is also provided to interpret the received voice instruction from the air traffic controller, determine a response to the interpreted voice instruction, and translate the interpreted voice instruction to a command suitable for input to at least one autopilot unit. The at least one autopilot unit is provided to receive the command from the response logic unit, wherein the command is configured to guide the flight of the unmanned aircraft.  
         [0009]     In another embodiment, there is provided a system and method for controlling a manned aircraft, including at least one transceiver to receive a voice instruction from an air traffic controller, and transmit a voice response to the air traffic controller. The system and method also provides at least one response logic unit connected to the at least one transceiver to interpret the received voice instruction from the air traffic controller, determine a response to the interpreted voice instruction, and translate the interpreted voice instruction to a command suitable for input to at least one autopilot unit. The at least one autopilot unit receives the command from the response logic unit, wherein the command is configured to guide the flight of the unmanned aircraft. At least one visual display unit is also provided to display the received voice instruction from the air traffic controller so that the received instruction is understood by a pilot of the manned aircraft. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     Reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein elements having the same reference designations represent like elements throughout and wherein:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a Response Expert System (RES) for controlling the operations of an unmanned aircraft (UA) in controlled airspace.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of a Response Expert System for general aviation (GA) applications.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of the functional interfaces for implementing standard instrument flight rules (IFR) in a manned aircraft.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of functional interfaces for operating an unmanned aircraft using the Response Expert System (RES) during instrument flight rules operations.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram of the functional interfaces and operations of an enhanced manned operation of a general aviation aircraft. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a Response Expert System (RES)  100  for controlling the operations of an unmanned aircraft (UA) in controlled airspace. The controlled airspace can be a civilian airspace. The embodiments described below are methods and systems involving a device that operates as a man-in-loop to mimic the radio communications of piloted air vehicles. Ninety-eight percent of the UA market is currently used for government or military applications, which are serviced by more than fifty producers with over 150 UA designs. The UA industry desire to penetrate the commercial UA market. However, current UA designs either fail to meet expected commercial market needs and/or fail to meet most aviation authority restrictions (e.g., Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)) for use in a controlled airspace environment. Therefore, the FAA, for example, allows UAs in controlled airspace on a case by case basis only. When operating in controlled airspace, UAs must follow Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) as manned aircraft do. These rules govern civilian aircraft operations in controlled airspace. IFR aircraft must have an ATC clearance for the flight. Such clearance can contain the route of flight, altitude restrictions, and a clearance limit for the flight. System reliability and safety issues, especially see-and-avoid problems are major contributing factors to the hesitation to open controlled airspace to UAs.  
         [0017]     In instrument flight rules (IFR) operations, communication between the air traffic controller (ATC) and the pilot is constant during the flight cycle. Such communication enables collision avoidance by ensuring that an aircraft adheres to a collision-free flight pattern. For redirection during flight from a previously filed flight plan, the ATC commands piloted vehicles through maneuvers during all aspects of IFR operations. The RES  100  receives radio messages from an ATC, executes directives based on the radioed messages, and reports back to the ATC that the messages have been received and are being executed. To the tower operator or ATC, there is no perceived difference in his/her communication with the unmanned aircraft than with a manned vehicle. The RES  100  is configured to hear the message and respond. Such embodiments described herein differs from that used to control the Global Hawk® by eliminating the role of the operator who is monitoring the flight.  
         [0018]     The RES  100  allows an UA to safely operate in controlled airspace and to comply with all of an aviation authority&#39;s requirements for manned aircrafts. The air traffic controller may have the ability to direct and/or control all aircrafts in the airspace regardless of whether it is manned or unmanned. The control methodology of the RES  100  also addresses issues arising from see-and-avoid problems. In an embodiment, the RES  100  controls the UA operations in civilian airspace. As used herein, the UA RES  100  is a computer based unit that runs in parallel with other systems on an aircraft. The UA RES  100  can include a Response Logic Unit (RLU)  106 , a transceiver  108 , and/or a transponder  110 . As used herein, the transponder refers to an electronic device that produces a response when it receives a radio-frequency interrogation. An aircraft may have transponders to assist in identifying such aircrafts on radar and on other aircraft&#39;s collision avoidance systems. A transponder may receive signals from an uplink station (e.g., an ATC), and then convert the received signals to a new frequency. Such converted signals may be amplified, and then sent (downlinked) back to the ATC. The transponder may be configured with two-way interfaces (uplink and downlink) with the autopilot, and onboard sensors and instruments. The RLU  106  is the “smart” component that interprets ATC communication messages which are received by the RES  100 . The RLU  106  then provides the corresponding response messages which are relayed to the ATC via the RES.  
         [0019]     The RLU  106  can be developed using computer software that is recognizes and adheres to IFR requirements. Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) as used herein refer to a set of regulations and procedures for flying an aircraft without the assumption that pilots will be able to see and avoid obstacles, terrain, and other air traffic. IFR can be an alternative to visual flight rules (VFR) where the pilot is primarily or exclusively responsible for see-and-avoid. Under IFR, navigation and control of the aircraft is done by instruments. While flying through clouds may be permitted by an aviation authority for an aircraft flying under IFR, such flying through clouds may be prohibited under VFR.  
         [0020]     The RLU  106  can contain speech recognition and response capabilities. Such capabilities enable the RES  100  to respond accurately to voice commands received from the ATC by converting, for example, the voice commands into computer text that is then processed by the RES  100 . Further, the RLU  106  interfaces with other aircraft instruments (e.g., altimeter, airspeed, vertical velocity, GPS, transponder, etc.) via the instrument interface  104 . When an incoming radio transmission is received, it is determined whether such transmission pertains to the UA. If it is determined that the radio transmission pertains to the UA, the UA RES  100  may respond to the ATC via the transceiver  110 . Appropriate action is determined and performed by the RLU  106  when the radio transmission calls for a change to the current autopilot settings, the transceiver frequency and/or or the transponder code. The ATC can have control over the UA when the UA is flying in controlled air space.  
         [0021]     Such control by the ATC and the RES  100  offer increased safety to GA aircraft operations. As an example, an ATC control can instruct the UA to land, if necessary. The ATC can have the ability to transmit an override signal from its ground control in order to activate an emergency override protocol of the UA. Such emergency override can be activated to override certain functions (e.g., autopilot) of the UA. The emergency override signal can be transmitted via radio and/or wireless communications to the RES  100  from the ATC in order to deactivate the autopilot and place the aircraft in manual control mode. As one example, when a pilot fails to respond to the ATC, a series of diagnostics are run. The ATC determines if the aircraft received its transmitted messages. If so, the ATC can infer a host of corresponding factors. The ATC may infer that the transmission communication is operating in good condition; the aircraft is within range; the pilot must be tuned in to the proper radio frequency; and/or the pilot is able to respond. In the absence of a response from the pilot, the RES  100  can be configured to respond to the ATC. Thus, the ATC would have a better understanding of the situation, and may be able to eliminate any failure points between the transmission and reception of the signal. If the pilot continues to be non-responsive, the controller can direct the aircraft to conduct maneuvers in order to maneuver clear of conflicting traffic, avoid controlled airspace regions, and/or stabilize the flight path of the aircraft. Further, the device could be coupled with life-saving devices such as a ballistic recovery system to allow for safe recovery of the aircraft.  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of the RES for general aviation (GA) applications. The GA RES  200  may include a RLU  206 , an autopilot interface  202 , an instrument interface  204 , and a visual display  212 . The visual display  212  helps enhance a pilot&#39;s understanding of an air traffic controller&#39;s messages by displaying such messages. This helps reduce errors in the pilot&#39;s understanding of the messages. The pilot can then confirm receipt of the communication message and then execute instructions associated with the message, as required. The RLU  206  can be configured to use a GA aircraft transceiver  208  and/or transponder  210 . The RLU  206  may be developed with computer software that is IFR trained. Such software may also be developed to contain speech recognition and response capabilities. RLU  206  interfaces with other instruments (e.g., altimeter, airspeed, vertical velocity, GPS, transponder, etc.) via the instrument interface  204 . Such interfacing between the RLU  206  and the instruments may occur on a read-only basis in non-emergency situations wherein such readings help increase the awareness of the RLU  206 . However, in order for the GA RES  200  to provide commands to the aircraft in emergency situations (e.g., where the pilot has not responded appropriately to ATC instructions) the transceiver, transponder, and autopilot can be configured to permit overriding commands from the RLU. An emergency override signal can also be transmitted via radio and/or wireless communications to the RES  200  from the ATC in order to deactivate the autopilot and place the aircraft into a manual control mode.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  illustrates the functional interface for standard IFR aircraft operations. In The ATC  310  communicates with a manned aircraft via the aircraft&#39;s flight communications  308 . The flight communications may be in the form of an aircraft transceiver radio. The aircraft&#39;s radio  308  (transceiver) receives the radio signals and provides them audibly to the pilot  306 . The pilot  308  can then communicate back to the ATC  310 , the status of the aircraft. Such status may include information relating to the location, altitude, airspeed, and/or heading of the aircraft. The pilot  306  can then make any necessary adjustments to the flight path through the flight control system  304  of the aircraft either through manual control or the autopilot. The pilot adjustments to the flight control may be mechanical or electronic in form. The pilot  306  may visually verify any adjustments made to the status of the aircraft using the flight instruments  302  having navigation displays associated with each flight instrument.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of functional interfaces for operating an unmanned aircraft using the Response Expert System (RES) during instrument flight rules operations. In an embodiment, the ATC  410  may communicate with the aircraft via radio and/or transponder that are associated with the aircrafts flight communication  408 . The ATC communications to the aircraft are determined through speech recognition software configured within the RLU of UA RES  414 . Such speech recognition capabilities enable the UA RES  414  to respond accurately to voice commands received from the ATC by converting, for example, the voice commands into computer text that is then processed by the UA RES  414 . Further, the UA RES  414  interfaces with flight instruments  402  (e.g., altimeter, airspeed, vertical velocity, GPS, transponder, etc.). The UA RES  414  can determine the status of the aircraft either through the use of the flight instruments  402 , as in a manned aircraft scenario or through the UA sensors  412 . Such status information can be downlinked from the UA RES  414  to the ATC  410 . Thus, the UA RES  414  can communicate back to the ATC  410  and instruct the UA&#39;s autopilot to make any adjustments to the flight plan of the aircraft based on the status information. When necessary, the UA RES  414  can initiate communications with ATC  410 , such as when the UA RES  414  completes a directed maneuver, or when the UA RES  414  is requested to accomplish other tasks such as, changing ATC frequencies. The UA RES  414  can then make any necessary adjustments to the flight path through the UA flight controller  404  of the aircraft. The UA RES  414  adjustments to the flight control may be digital in form, and can depend on the sensors readings received from the UA sensors  412 . The directed maneuvers may then be accomplished via the UA actuators  406  based on information it receives from the UA flight controller  404 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram of the functional interfaces and operations of an enhanced manned operation of a general aviation aircraft. The GA RES  512  serves as an extra communication path between the ATC  510  and the pilot  506 . In addition to the audible messages, the GA RES  512  can display the text of messages associated with the ATC  510 . The GA RES  512  can also alert the pilot  506  of additional concerns such as, immediate compliance with the directed maneuvers. The dotted paths, as shown in  FIG. 5 , indicate emergency operations of the GA RES  512  in a manned aircraft. The GA RES  512  may be able to determine the current status of the aircraft through the downlink used to display aircraft instruments  502 , and then, be able to execute the necessary maneuvers through the uplink to the aircraft&#39;s autopilot system or flight controls  504 .  
         [0026]     The GA RES  512  can receive audio signals from an aircraft transceiver in the same manner that the pilot hears it over his/her headset. In an embodiment, the GA RES  512  may be connected to the transceiver&#39;s headset output and microphone input. The RLU uses speech recognition software to determine the words being spoken by ATC  510 . This speech recognition and response can be limited to vocabulary associated with aviation and/or to individuals trained in proper diction. The RLU then parses the message and displays it on a visual display associated with the GA RES  512 .  
         [0027]     In an embodiment, the GA aircraft is configured with emergency safety features. Therefore, if the pilot  506  does not respond as required, the GA RES  512  may make contact with the ATC  510  via the flight communications  508 . The ATC  510  then determines whether the GA RES  512  should control the aircraft by commanding the transceiver, transponder, and/or autopilot. An emergency override signal can be transmitted via radio and/or wireless communications to the GA RES  512  from the ATC  510  in order to deactivate the autopilot and place the aircraft into a manual control mode. This is also referred to as the Emergency Override Protocol (EOP).  
         [0028]     While the present invention has been described in connection with the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated and understood that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.