Systems and methods for search and rescue light control for a rotorcraft

1. A system to control a search and rescue (SAR) light on a rotorcraft, the SAR light configured to project a beam of light along a beam axis, the system comprising:

a pan control motor configured to cause the beam axis to pan responsive to a pan command;

a tilt control motor configured to cause the beam axis to tilt responsive to a tilt command;

a navigation system providing a real-time rotorcraft state, including a latitude, a longitude, and an orientation;

a source of a cartesian pattern configured to supply a cartesian input point;

a controller operationally coupled to the navigation system and the source of a cartesian pattern, the controller having a processor programmed to:

receive the cartesian input point;

determine an initial light head orientation as a function of the real-time rotorcraft state;

generate a pan command and a tilt command as a function of the initial light head orientation and the cartesian input point; and

transmit the pan command to the pan control motor and the tilt command to the tilt control motor; and

a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera configured to slave with the beam axis and to continuously have a field of view centered on the beam axis, the PTZ camera configured to capture a video stream and transmit it; and

wherein the cartesian input point is a one of a plurality of cartesian input points in a sequence defining the cartesian pattern, and the processor is further programmed to:

for each cartesian input point in the sequence defining the cartesian pattern,

identify a delta-range;

generate a respective pan command and a respective tilt command;

zoom in on the field of view of the PTZ camera when the delta-range is positive; and

zoom out on the field of view of the PTZ camera when the delta-range is negative.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein generating the pan command and the tilt command includes generating an elevation and an azimuth with respect to the earth.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine that the rotorcraft has deviated in three-dimensional space by more than a predefined threshold; and

adjust pan and tilt commands accordingly.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the SAR light and the PTZ camera are each further configured as dual spectrum with visible light and infra-red light.

5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising a display system configured to receive the video stream and display it.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the source of a cartesian pattern is a manual input device.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the manual input device is a collective stick grip.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the source of a cartesian pattern is a flight management system.

9. The system of claim 5 , wherein the source of a cartesian pattern is a wireless data link.

10. A method for controlling a Search and rescue (SAR) light on a rotorcraft, the SAR light configured to project a beam of light along a beam axis, the method comprising:

at a controller having a processor programmed with a SAR program, performing the operations of:

receiving real-time rotorcraft state data;

receiving a cartesian input point;

determining an initial light head orientation as a function of the real-time rotorcraft state;

calculating a delta-orientation for the SAR light;

generating a pan command and a tilt command as a function of delta-orientation for the SAR light; and

transmitting the pan command and the tilt command; and

wherein the cartesian input point is a one of a plurality of cartesian input points in a sequence defining the cartesian pattern, for each cartesian input point in the sequence defining the cartesian pattern,

identifying a delta-range;

generating a respective pan command and a respective tilt command;

zooming in on the field of view of the PTZ camera when the delta-range is positive; and

zooming out on the field of view of the PTZ camera when the delta-range is negative; and

at a pan control motor, causing the SAR light to pan responsive to the pan command;

at a tilt control motor, causing the SAR light to tilt responsive to the tilt command; and

at a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera configured to slave with the beam axis and to continuously have a field of view centered on the beam axis, capture a video stream and transmit it.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating the pan command and the tilt command includes generating an elevation and an azimuth with respect to the earth.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining that the rotorcraft has deviated in three-dimensional space by more than a predefined threshold; and

adjusting pan and tilt commands accordingly.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising: at a display system, receiving the video stream; and displaying it.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising, receiving the cartesian pattern from a manual input device.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising, receiving the cartesian pattern from a collective stick grip.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising, receiving the cartesian pattern from a flight management system.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising, receiving the cartesian pattern from a wireless data link.

18. A system to control a search and rescue (SAR) light on a rotorcraft, the SAR light configured to project a beam of light along a beam axis, the system comprising:

a pan control motor configured to cause the beam axis to pan responsive to a pan command;

a tilt control motor configured to cause the beam axis to tilt responsive to a tilt command;

a navigation system providing a real-time rotorcraft state, including a latitude, a longitude, and an orientation;

a source of a cartesian pattern comprising a plurality of cartesian input points in a sequence, the source of the cartesian pattern being selectable from among an input device, a flight management system, a memory device, and an external source;

a controller operationally coupled to the navigation system and the source of cartesian pattern, the controller having a processor to:

receive the cartesian pattern; and

for each cartesian input point in the sequence defining the cartesian pattern,

determine an initial light head orientation as a function of the real-time rotorcraft state;

generate a pan command and a tilt command as a function of the initial light head orientation and the cartesian input point;

transmit the pan command to the pan control motor and the tilt command to the tilt control motor; and

identify a delta-range; and

a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera configured to slave with the beam axis and to continuously have a field of view centered on the beam axis, the PTZ camera configured to:

capture a video stream and transmit it;

zoom in on the field of view of the PTZ camera when the delta-range is positive; and

zoom out on the field of view of the PTZ camera when the delta-range is negative.