Method and apparatus to predict the remaining service life of an operating system

A computer-implemented method for planning maintenance for an operating system, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining data from at least one sensor that measures at least one performance characteristic of said system during operation;
• calculating at least one degradation figure of merit using data from said at least one sensor;
• trending said at least one degradation figure of merit against at least one independent variable using a plurality of window sizes for said at least one independent variable to produce a plurality of regression trendlines;
• assessing performance of said plurality of regression trendlines;
• responsive to said assessing, assigning weights to said plurality of regression trendlines;
• selecting a regression trendline based on said weights;
• and
• communicating at least one of the plurality of regression trendlines to a person to inform the person of any degradation and associated maintenance needs in the future.

A computer-implemented method for monitoring the degradation of an operating system and communicating the degradation to a user, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining data from at least one onboard sensor that measures at least one performance characteristic of said system during operation;
• calculating a plurality of degradation figures of merit using data from said at least one sensor;
• and
• generating a plurality of regression trendlines using respective degradation figures of merit;
• assessing performance of said plurality of regression trendlines;
• responsive to said assessing, selecting a regression trendline;
• and
• displaying said selected regression trendline to the user of said operating system.

An apparatus for monitoring the degradation of an operating system and communicating the degradation to a user, comprising:

• at least one onboard sensor that measures at least one performance characteristic of said system during operation;
• a computer for receiving said sensor data;
• a first instruction set within said computer for calculating at least one degradation figure of merit using said sensor data;
• a second instruction set within said computer for trending said at least one degradation figure of merit against at least one independent variable relative to at least one degradation figure of merit threshold to generate at least one trendline and to estimate the remaining service life of said system;
• and
• a display for communicating said at least one degradation figure of merit as a function of at least one independent variable to the user of said operating system.

An apparatus for predicting the remaining service life of an operating system, comprising:

• at least one sensor that measures at least one performance characteristic of said system during operation;
• a computer for receiving said sensor data;
• a first instruction set within said computer for calculating at least one degradation figure of merit using said sensor data;
• a second instruction set within said computer for trending said at least one degradation figure of merit against at least one independent variable relative to at least one degradation figure of merit threshold to generate at least one trendline and to estimate the remaining service life of said system;
• a third instruction set within said computer for validating said sensor data;
• and
• a fourth instruction set within said computer for assessing performance of said trending and for selecting a trendline from said at least one trendline based on said assessing.

A computer-implemented method for planning maintenance for an operating system, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining data from at least one sensor that measures at least one performance characteristic of said system during operation;
• calculating at least one degradation figure of merit using data from said at least one sensor;
• trending said at least one degradation figure of merit against at least one independent variable to produce a plurality of trendlines;
• setting weights for said plurality of trendlines and combining two or more of said plurality of trendlines into a single trendline based on said weights;
• and
• communicating said single trendline.

A computer-implemented method for monitoring the degradation of an operating system and communicating the degradation to a user, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining data from at least one onboard sensor that measures at least one performance characteristic of said system during operation;
• calculating at least one degradation figure of merit using data from said at least one sensor, wherein said degradation figure of merit is calculated for various states of said operating system;
• trending said degradation figure of merit against at least one independent variable for respective states of said operating system to produce a plurality of trendlines;
• setting weights for said plurality of trendlines;
• combining two or more of said plurality of trendlines into a single trendline based on said weights;
• and
• displaying said at least one degradation figure of merit as a function of at least one independent variable, or displaying said single trendline.