Landing zone designation system and method
View Patent ↗A landing zone designation system is provided that includes a master and a slave landing strobes. A detector on an aircraft can detect master and slave optical signals, and a processor can be coupled to the detector to compute placement of the aircraft relative to the master and slave landing strobes. A method is provided for designating a landing zone for an aircraft. The method includes emitting first and second optical signals, where a determination is made whether the aircraft is to land at a first landing zone or a second landing zone depending on a difference between the first optical signal and the second optical signal. A distance to landing within the determined first landing zone or the second landing zone can also be determined.
1. A landing zone designation system, comprising:
a first landing zone comprising a first plurality of landing strobes arranged in a first spaced geometric shape and configured to emit a first optical signal;
a second landing zone comprising a second plurality of landing strobes arranged in a second spaced geometric shape and configured to emit a second optical signal;
a detector provided on an aircraft above the first landing zone and the second landing zone, wherein the detector is configured to detect the first optical signal and the second optical signal; and
a processor coupled to the detector for determining whether the aircraft is to land at the first landing zone or the second landing zone depending on a difference between the first optical signal and the second optical signal.
2. The landing zone designation system of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of landing strobes arranged in a first spaced geometric shape comprises three first landing strobes arranged in a first spaced triangular shape, and wherein the second plurality of landing strobes arranged in a second spaced geometric shape comprises three second landing strobes arranged in a second spaced triangular shape.
3. The landing zone designation system of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the first plurality of landing strobes is a predefined distance displaced N number of pixels apart appearing on a frame of the detector and stored in a memory coupled to the processor, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.
4. The landing zone designation system of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to compute a distance between the aircraft and the first landing zone as a function of the difference between Y number of pixels captured on a frame between at least two of the first plurality of landing strobes and the N number of pixels stored in the memory, wherein Y is an integer greater than or equal to 1.
5. The landing zone designation system of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to compute a distance between the aircraft and the second landing zone as a function of the difference between Y number of pixels captured on a frame between at least two of the second plurality of landing strobes and the N number of pixels stored in the memory, wherein Y is an integer greater than or equal to 1.
6. A method for determining a distance to landing for an aircraft, comprising:
storing a pixel number rate of change between landing strobes corresponding to different heights of the aircraft above a landing zone;
beginning approach of the aircraft toward the landing zone;
computing a rate of pixel change; and
determining the distance to landing at a height above the landing zone corresponding to the rate of change at that height.