Method of operating a vehicle
An aircraft includes at least one source collecting a set of navigational parameters of the aircraft, the at least one source obtaining flight data for the aircraft and including at least one of a global positioning system, an inertial reference system, or a sensor. The aircraft further includes a flight control computer communicatively coupled to the source and including a first processor and a first memory having a machine-readable medium, as well as a flight management system communicatively coupled to the flight control computer.
1. An aircraft, comprising:
at least one source collecting a set of navigational parameters of the aircraft, the at least one source obtaining flight data for the aircraft and comprising at least one of a global positioning system, an inertial reference system, or a sensor;
a flight control computer communicatively coupled to the source and comprising a first processor and a first memory having a machine-readable medium; and
a flight management system communicatively coupled to the flight control computer and comprising a second processor and a second memory having a machine-readable medium;
wherein at least one of the first processor or the second processor is configured to:
collect the set of navigation parameters of the aircraft from the at least one source;
apply a correction to each navigational parameter in the set of navigational parameters to determine a corresponding set of preliminary navigational solutions;
determine a statistical uncertainty corresponding to each preliminary navigational solution in the set of preliminary navigational solutions to define a set of statistical uncertainties;
associate a statistical weight to each navigational parameter in the set of navigational parameters, based on the set of statistical uncertainties, to define a set of statistical weights;
blend the set of preliminary navigational solutions, based on the set of statistical weights, to determine a single navigational solution for the aircraft; and
operating the aircraft in accordance with the single navigational solution.
2. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the first processor or the second processor is further configured to apply the correction by way of a Kalman filter.
3. The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein the at least one of the first processor or the second processor is further configured to determine the statistical uncertainty by a covariance matrix.
4. The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising a display configured to provide a visual output to a user.
5. The aircraft of claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the first processor or the second processor is further configured to provide the visual output to the display.
6. The aircraft of claim 5 , wherein the visual output comprises at least one of an estimate of position uncertainty, an actual navigational performance, or a required navigational performance.
7. The aircraft of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the first processor or the second processor is further configured to compare an estimate of position uncertainty to a required navigational performance.
8. The aircraft of claim 7 , wherein the visual output comprises a visual alert when the estimate of position uncertainty is greater than the required navigational performance.
9. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the flight management system is further configured to alter a current flight path based on the single navigational solution.
10. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the set of navigational parameters comprises flight data from each of the global positioning system, the inertial reference system, and the sensor.
11. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the flight management system is configured to perform a data integrity check on the set of navigational parameters.
12. The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the data integrity check is performed prior to the at least one of the first processor or the second processor applying the correction to determine the set of preliminary navigational solutions.
13. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the set of navigational parameters of the aircraft comprises at least one of a position, a velocity, an acceleration, an angular rate, a heading, a bearing, an attitude, an orientation, or a reference frame.
14. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the at least one source is further configured to collect at least one of external air temperature, external air pressure, relative humidity, icing, turbulence data, braking hydraulics data, acceleration data, deceleration data, landing performance data, take-off performance data, derated thrust data, runway condition parameters, aircraft weight, aircraft class, or fuel temperature.
15. A flight controller for an aircraft, comprising:
a memory comprising a machine-readable medium; and
a processor having access to the memory and receiving a set of navigational parameters for the aircraft comprising at least one of a position, a velocity, an acceleration, an angular rate, a heading, a bearing, an attitude, an orientation, or a reference frame;
wherein the processor is configured to:
collect the received set of navigation parameters of the aircraft;
apply a correction to each navigational parameter in the set of navigational parameters to determine a corresponding set of preliminary navigational solutions;
determine a statistical uncertainty corresponding to each preliminary navigational solution in the set of preliminary navigational solutions to define a set of statistical uncertainties;
associate a statistical weight to each navigational parameter in the set of navigational parameters, based on the set of statistical uncertainties, to define a set of statistical weights;
blend the set of preliminary navigational solutions, based on the set of statistical weights, to determine a single navigational solution for the aircraft; and
operating the aircraft in accordance with the single navigational solution.
16. The flight controller of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to communicatively couple to at least one of a global positioning system, an inertial reference system, or a sensor obtaining flight data for the aircraft.
17. The flight controller of claim 15 , wherein the processor at least partially forms one of a flight control computer or a flight management system for the aircraft.
18. The flight controller of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to apply the correction by way of a Kalman filter and to determine the statistical uncertainty by a covariance matrix.
19. The flight controller of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to compare an estimate of position uncertainty to a required navigational performance.
20. The flight controller of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to alter a current flight path based on the single navigational solution.