Patent Application Titled “Collision Awareness System For Ground Operations” Published Online (USPTO 20210005095)

2021 JAN 25 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Defense & Aerospace Daily -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors Govindillam, Sreenivasan K (Bengaluru, IN); Kanagarajan, Sivakumar (Madurai, IN), filed on July 1, 2019, was made available online on January 7, 2021.

The assignee for this patent application is Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, New Jersey, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “There are some areas where vehicle collisions are more likely to occur, such as roadway intersections and certain areas of airports. The attention of a vehicle operator is split between many tasks when operating in these areas. For example, a vehicle operator may be watching a traffic light, looking for pedestrians, watching oncoming traffic and cross traffic, and maintaining the speed of the vehicle.

“At an airport, a pilot is looking for traffic such as other aircraft, ground vehicles such as automobiles, tow tugs, and baggage carts, and employees on foot. The pilot also must pay attention to the protrusions on an aircraft such as the wingtips and tail to avoid a collision. This traffic and the structures of the airport represent a potential for collisions for vehicles.

“Wingtip collisions during ground operations are a key concern to the aviation industry. Wingtip collisions are important because of the increased volume of aircraft at the space around airport terminals, the different kinds of airframes, and the increased surface occupancy in the space around airport terminals. The increased traffic and complexity creates safety risks, airport surface operational disruptions, and increased costs.

“Airports can have major operational disruptions when large aircraft are conducting ground operations. Aircraft damage, even for slow-moving collisions, leads to expensive and lengthy repairs, which result in operational issues for air carriers. There may also be liability issues and increases in insurance costs for airport operators and air carriers due to wingtip collisions. The risk of wingtip collisions increases as airlines upgrade their fleets because pilots are not accustomed to the larger wingspans and wing shapes that may include sharklets.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “In general, this disclosure relates to systems, devices, and techniques for generating an alert indicating a potential collision using images and traffic clearances. Each vehicle can receive a clearance instructing the vehicle to take a travel path or hold at a position. A collision awareness system receives the clearances and an image of at least one of the vehicles. The collision awareness system can determine whether one of the vehicles is positioned correctly based on a clearance for the vehicle and the image. The collision awareness system may be configured to generate an alert in response to determining that the vehicle is positioned incorrectly.

“In some examples, a collision awareness system includes a receiver configured to receive a first clearance for a first vehicle, receive a first image of the first vehicle, and receive a second clearance for a second vehicle. The collision awareness system also includes processing circuitry configured to determine that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the first image. The processing circuitry is also configured to generate an alert based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly.

“In some examples, a method for providing collision awareness includes receiving a first clearance for a first vehicle, receiving a first image of the first vehicle, and determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the first image. The method also includes receiving a second clearance for a second vehicle and generating an alert based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly.

“In some examples, a device includes a computer-readable medium having executable instructions stored thereon, configured to be executable by processing circuitry for causing the processing circuitry to receive a first clearance for a first vehicle, receive a first image of the first vehicle, and determine that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the first image. The instructions are also configured to cause the processing circuitry to receive a second clearance for a second vehicle, and generate an alert based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly.

“The details of one or more examples of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A collision awareness system comprising: a receiver configured to: receive a first clearance for a first vehicle; receive a first image of the first vehicle; and receive a second clearance for a second vehicle; and processing circuitry configured to: determine a position of the first vehicle based on the first image; determine that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the first image; construct a safety envelope for the first vehicle based on the position of the first vehicle determined from the first image; determine that the second clearance instructs the second vehicle to enter the safety envelope for the first vehicle; and generate an alert based on the second clearance, in response to determining that the second clearance instructs the second vehicle to enter the safety envelope for the first vehicle, and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly.

“2. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a second image of first vehicle after receiving the first image, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that the first vehicle is positioned correctly based on the first clearance and the second image; and generate a caution based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned correctly.

“3-4. (canceled)

“5. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the second vehicle is an aircraft, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a wingspan of the aircraft, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the second clearance instructs the aircraft to enter the safety envelope based on the wingspan of the aircraft.

“6. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly by: determine that the first clearance instructs the first vehicle to travel to a first position; and determine, based on the first image, that the first vehicle is not within an acceptable distance of the first position.

“7. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a second image, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a travel path for the second aircraft based on the second clearance; determine a location of debris based on the second image; determine that the location of the debris is in the travel path for the second aircraft; and generate the alert in response to determining that the location of the debris is in the travel path for the second aircraft.

“8. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the first clearance by receiving audio data including the first clearance, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a future position of the first vehicle based on the audio data.

“9. The collision awareness system of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter to transmit the alert to the first vehicle.

“10. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle is an aircraft, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a type of the aircraft; determine that the first image is blurry by comparing the first image to an airframe template for the type of aircraft; and process the first image in response to determining that determining that the first image is blurry.

“11. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the first image by receiving the first image from a camera mounted on a pole, a building, or an unmanned aerial vehicle at an airport.

“12. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the first image by receiving the first image of a taxiway intersection or a gate at an airport.

“13. A method for providing collision awareness, the method comprising: receiving a first clearance for a first vehicle; receiving a first image of the first vehicle; determining a position of the first vehicle based on the first image; determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the first image; constructing a safety envelope for the first vehicle based on the position of the first vehicle determined from the first image; receiving a second clearance for a second vehicle; determining that the second clearance instructs the second vehicle to enter the safety envelope for the first vehicle; and generating an alert based on the second clearance, in response to determining that the second clearance instructs the second vehicle to enter the safety envelope for the first vehicle, and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly.

“14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving a second image of first vehicle after receiving the first image; determining that the first vehicle is positioned correctly based on the first clearance and the second image; and generating a caution based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned correctly.

“15-16. (canceled)

“17. The method of claim 13, wherein determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly comprises: determining that the first clearance instructs the first vehicle to travel to a first position; and determining, based on the first image, that the first vehicle is not within an acceptable distance of the first position.

“18. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining a travel path for the second aircraft based on the second clearance; receiving a second image; determining a location of debris based on the second image; determining that the location of the debris is in the travel path for the second aircraft; and generating the alert in response to determining that the location of the debris is in the travel path for the second aircraft.

“19. The method of claim 13, wherein the first vehicle is an aircraft, the method further comprising: determining a type of the aircraft; determining that the first image is blurry based on comparing the first image to an airframe template for the type of aircraft; and processing the first image in response to determining that determining that the first image is blurry.

“20. (canceled)

“21. The collision awareness system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: determine a type of the first vehicle; obtain a wingspan and length of the first vehicle from an airframe database; construct the safety envelope for the first vehicle based on the position of the first vehicle determined from the first image, the wingspan of the first vehicle, and the length of the first vehicle.

“22. A collision awareness system comprising: a receiver configured to: receive a first clearance for a first vehicle; receive a first image of the first vehicle; receive a second clearance for a second vehicle; and receive a second image; and processing circuitry configured to: determine that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the first image; determine a travel path for the second aircraft based on the second clearance; determine a location of debris based on the second image; determine that the location of the debris is in the travel path for the second aircraft; and generate an alert based on the second clearance, in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned incorrectly, and in response to determining that the location of the debris is in the travel path for the second aircraft.

“23. The collision awareness system of claim 22, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a second image of first vehicle after receiving the first image, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that the first vehicle is positioned correctly based on the first clearance and the second image; and generate a caution based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the first vehicle is positioned correctly.

“24. The collision awareness system of claim 22, wherein the first vehicle is an aircraft, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine a type of the aircraft; determine that the first image is blurry by comparing the first image to an airframe template for the type of aircraft; and process the first image in response to determining that determining that the first image is blurry.

“25. A collision awareness system comprising: a receiver configured to: receive a first clearance for an aircraft; receive a first image of the aircraft; and receive a second clearance for a second vehicle; and processing circuitry configured to: determine a type of the aircraft; determine that the first image is blurry by comparing the first image to an airframe template for the type of aircraft; process the first image in response to determining that determining that the first image is blurry; determine that the aircraft is positioned incorrectly based on the first clearance and the processed first image; and generate an alert based on the second clearance and in response to determining that the aircraft is positioned incorrectly.”

For more information, see this patent application: Govindillam, Sreenivasan K; Kanagarajan, Sivakumar. Collision Awareness System For Ground Operations. Filed July 1, 2019 and posted January 7, 2021. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220210005095%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20210005095&RS=DN/20210005095

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