TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein relate generally to air traffic communication. More particularly, embodiments of the subject matter relate to automating an aircraft's response to air traffic command messages.

BACKGROUND

Listening and responding to air traffic command messages can place significant cognitive stress on pilots, particularly in high-traffic areas (such as terminal areas) where the pilot must quickly and accurately parse numerous messages—many of which may not apply to that aircraft. This cognitive load can cause a pilot to make mistakes when processing and interpreting important air traffic voice messages and lead to costly delays (e.g., missed approach). The inherent risks and costs involved in air traffic routing and control make it imperative that air traffic commands are quickly, accurately, and safely processed and acted on. New systems and methods for reducing pilot workload can aid the advancement toward single pilot and autonomous flight operations.

Hence, it is desirable to provide a system and method for automating the response to air traffic command messages. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to describe select concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

An air traffic command automation system on an aerial vehicle for automating the process of listening to, interpreting, adhering to, and responding to air traffic commands is disclosed. The system includes one or more processors configured by programming instructions on non-transient computer readable media. The system is configured to: receive an air traffic command message directed to the aerial vehicle, from an entity other than flight crew on the aerial vehicle, that includes one or more tasks for the aerial vehicle to perform; determine from the air traffic command message the one or more tasks for the aerial vehicle to perform; generate a sequence of actions for each task that the aerial vehicle can undertake to accomplish the task; verify the coherence, feasibility, and safety of each action individually and together; relay an interpretation of the air traffic command message to the air traffic command originator; preview the verified sequence of actions with the flight crew; and issue commands to execute actions at appropriate points during a mission.

A processor-implemented method in a vehicle for automating the process of listening to, interpreting, adhering to, and responding to air traffic commands is disclosed. The method includes: receiving, by the processor, an air traffic command message directed to the vehicle, from an entity other than the flight crew, that includes one or more tasks for the vehicle to perform; determining, by the processor, from the air traffic command message the one or more tasks for the vehicle to perform; generating, by the processor, a sequence of actions for each task that the vehicle can undertake to accomplish the task; verifying, by the processor, the coherence, feasibility, and safety of each action individually and together; relaying, by the processor, an interpretation of the air traffic command message to the command message originator; previewing, by the processor, the verified sequence of actions with the flight crew; and issuing, by the processor, commands to execute actions at appropriate points during a mission.

Non-transient computer readable media encoded with programming instructions configurable to cause a processor to perform a method is disclosed. The method includes: receiving an air traffic command message, from an entity other than the flight crew, that includes one or more tasks for an aerial vehicle to perform; determining from the air traffic command message the one or more tasks for the aerial vehicle to perform; generating a sequence of actions for each task that the aerial vehicle can undertake to accomplish the task; verifying the coherence, feasibility, and safety of each action individually and together; relaying an interpretation of the air traffic command message to the command message originator; previewing the verified sequence of actions with the flight crew; and issuing commands to execute actions at appropriate points during a mission.

Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the preceding background.

