US 11,687,097 B2 · Method and system allowing automatic take-off of an aircraft

Abstract

A method and system allowing fully autonomous automatic take-off using only images captured by cameras on the aircraft and avionics data. The system includes an image capture device on the aircraft to take a stream of images of the runway, image processing modules to estimate, on the basis of the streams of images, a preliminary current position of the aircraft on the runway and to assign a preliminary confidence index to the estimate. A data consolidation module can determine a relevant current position of the aircraft on the runway by consolidating data originating from the image processing modules with inertial data to correct the estimate of the preliminary current position and determine a relevant confidence index using a current speed of the wheels of the aircraft to refine the preliminary confidence index. A flight control computer can control and guide aircraft take-off.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A system allowing automatic take-off of an aircraft from a runway, the system comprising:

an image capture device onboard the aircraft to take a stream of images of the runway;
image processing modules configured to estimate, on a basis of the stream of images, a preliminary current position of the aircraft on the runway and to assign a preliminary confidence index to the estimate;
a data consolidation module configured to determine a relevant current position of the aircraft on the runway by consolidating data originating from the image processing modules with inertial data to correct the estimate of the preliminary current position and to determine a relevant confidence index by taking into account a current speed of the wheels of the aircraft to refine the preliminary confidence index;
and
a flight control computer configured to control and to guide the take-off of the aircraft as a function of the relevant current position and of the relevant confidence index received from the data consolidation module.

2 more elements

A method allowing automatic take-off of an aircraft from a runway, the method comprising:

taking, using an image capture device onboard the aircraft, a stream of images of the runway from the aircraft;
estimating, using image processing modules and on a basis of the stream of images, a preliminary current position of the aircraft on the runway and assigning a preliminary confidence index to the estimate;
determining, using a data consolidation module, a relevant current position of the aircraft on the runway by consolidating data originating from the image processing modules with inertial data to correct the estimate of the preliminary current position;
determining, using the data consolidation module, a relevant confidence index by taking into account a current speed of the wheels of the aircraft to refine the preliminary confidence index;
and
controlling and guiding, using a flight control computer, the take-off of the aircraft as a function of the relevant current position and of the relevant confidence index received by the data consolidation module.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and system allowing automatic take-off of an aircraft

Life of this patent

Method and system allowing automatic take-off of an aircraft

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18