System for certifying a planned trajectory of an aircraft and associated certification method

1 . A certification system for certifying a planned trajectory of an aircraft, the certification system being remote from the aircraft, the system comprising:

at least one processor configured to:

receive the planned trajectory,

certify a specific trajectory according to at least one certification rule specific to a respective processing module; of a plurality of processing modules of the at least one processor,

select one or more of the processing modules as one or more active modules to certify the planned trajectory; based on one or more of equipment of the aircraft, a regulation by an airspace authority, and a mission of the aircraft, and

send a signal comprising a piece of certification information relating to the certification of the planned trajectory by all of the one or more active modules to the remote aircraft.

2 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more active modules is selected based on a user's choices made from a remote terminal.

3 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein each processing module is configured to use external data relating to an external environment of the aircraft, from a certified database.

4 . The certification system according to claim 1 , further comprising a processing modification device, configured to add or remove at least one processing module independently of an operation of the other processing modules.

5 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one certification rules is independent of each other.

6 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein the planned trajectory comprises a take-off point, a landing point, and a flight portion of the planned trajectory connecting the take-off point and the landing point.

7 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein each processing module is configured to certify the planned trajectory according to at least one piece of data relating to an element of the list consisting of:

terrain;

obstacles;

areas of turbulence;

time-restricted areas;

reception coverage for satellite navigation system signals;

mobile telephone or satellite telephone communications coverage; and

trajectories of other aircraft.

8 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein each specific certification rule comprises determining the absence of conflicts between data for the planned trajectory and at least one condition selected from the list consisting of:

the planned trajectory has a minimum margin to obstacles, the minimum margin at least depending on the wind around the planned trajectory at the time of flight of the planned trajectory;

the planned trajectory is confined within a cage, with no position within the cage overlapping with an obstacle or a prohibited area;

the planned trajectory being continuous, the continuity of the planned trajectory depending on a calculation of the energy required to fly the planned trajectory completely;

the planned trajectory has a minimum distance to the terrain;

the planned trajectory has a minimum distance to obstacles and/or time-restricted areas;

the planned trajectory lies within a defined corridor around a predefined flight trajectory;

the planned trajectory has an altitude above a minimum threshold above the terrain;

the planned trajectory has a minimum reception coverage for satellite navigation system signals;

the planned trajectory has a minimum mobile phone or satellite phone communications; and

the planned trajectory has a minimum distance to other trajectories.

9 . The certification system according to claim 1 , wherein the piece of certification information comprises a piece of safety data determined by a cyclic redundancy check of the certified trajectory.

10 . The certification system of claim 1 , wherein each said processing module is configured to certify the given trajectory according to DO-178C avionics software certification standards.

11 . The certification system of claim 10 , wherein the certifying of the planned trajectory is based on equipment on board the aircraft and airspace authority regulations.

12 . The certification system of claim 11 , wherein the sending of the signal comprising the piece of certification information relating to the certification of the planned trajectory is performed over an encrypted communication link to enable autonomous aircraft operation.

13 . The certification system of claim 12 , wherein the piece of certification information comprises a piece of safety data determined by a cyclic redundancy check of the certified trajectory.

14 . A method for certifying a planned trajectory of an aircraft, implemented by a certification system remote from the aircraft, the certification system including a receiving device configured to receive the planned trajectory, at least one processor comprising a plurality of processing modules, each processing module of the plurality of processing modules being configured to certify a specific trajectory according to at least one certification rule specific to a respective processing module of the plurality of processing modules, a selection device configured to select one or more of the processing modules as one or more active modules to certify the planned trajectory, and a sending device configured to send a signal comprising a piece of certification information relating to the certification of the planned trajectory by all of the one or more active modules, the certification method comprising:

receiving the planned trajectory;

selecting the one or more active modules used to certify the planned trajectory based on one or more of equipment of the aircraft, a regulation by an airspace authority, and a mission of the aircraft; and

sending the signal comprising the piece of certification information relating to the certification of the planned trajectory by all of the one or more active modules to the remote aircraft.

15 . The certification method according to claim 14 , wherein the piece of certification information comprises safety data determined by a cyclic redundancy check of the certified trajectory.

16 . The method for certifying a planned trajectory of an aircraft of claim 14 , wherein the certifying performed by the processing module is implemented according to DO-178C avionics software certification standards.

17 . The method for certifying a planned trajectory of an aircraft of claim 16 , wherein the planned trajectory comprises geographical coordinates, time information, and speed parameters for autonomous aircraft flight,

the sending of the signal is performed over an encrypted communication link to enable autonomous aircraft operation.