EP3217378B1 - Method and device for guiding traffic, in particular aircraft - Google Patents

Method and device for guiding traffic, in particular aircraft Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3217378B1
EP3217378B1 EP17158692.8A EP17158692A EP3217378B1 EP 3217378 B1 EP3217378 B1 EP 3217378B1 EP 17158692 A EP17158692 A EP 17158692A EP 3217378 B1 EP3217378 B1 EP 3217378B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
instruction
traffic
traffic management
electronic
controller
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EP17158692.8A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP3217378C0 (en
EP3217378A1 (en
Inventor
Jürgen Rataj
Oliver Ohneiser
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Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und Raumfahrt eV
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Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und Raumfahrt eV
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Publication of EP3217378C0 publication Critical patent/EP3217378C0/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
    • G08G5/0004—Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft
    • G08G5/0013—Transmission of traffic-related information to or from an aircraft with a ground station
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
    • G08G5/0017—Arrangements for implementing traffic-related aircraft activities, e.g. arrangements for generating, displaying, acquiring or managing traffic information
    • G08G5/0026—Arrangements for implementing traffic-related aircraft activities, e.g. arrangements for generating, displaying, acquiring or managing traffic information located on the ground
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
    • G08G5/0043—Traffic management of multiple aircrafts from the ground
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G5/00—Traffic control systems for aircraft, e.g. air-traffic control [ATC]
    • G08G5/0073—Surveillance aids
    • G08G5/0082—Surveillance aids for monitoring traffic from a ground station

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method for guiding the traffic of vehicles located in a traffic area by transmitting traffic instructions from a traffic control center controlling the traffic area to a relevant vehicle within the controlled traffic area.
  • the invention also relates to an instruction assistance system for carrying out the method.
  • traffic control centers (often colloquially referred to as centers or towers or control rooms), which control the respective traffic in their sphere of influence control and also control by transmitting instructions to the vehicle crew or vehicle driver.
  • the human factor plays a major role here, since even today a large part of the traffic management tasks that are carried out by the traffic control center are still carried out by the so-called pilot.
  • a controller regulates the traffic within the operational area of the traffic area entrusted to him, with direct traffic management and traffic routing usually taking place.
  • Direct instructions to a vehicle in question which only affect the vehicle in question and are intended for this purpose, initiate the actions of the driver of the vehicle in question based on the direct instructions from the controller, so that all traffic within the traffic area can be regulated and controlled.
  • a driver has a significantly higher situational awareness with regard to the overall traffic situation in the traffic area than the individual vehicle drivers of the vehicles in the traffic area.
  • the controller is an air traffic controller who is responsible for air traffic within the area of application entrusted to him and has to ensure that the aircraft are safe and if necessary, also be managed economically through the catchment area entrusted to him.
  • the controller is an air traffic controller who is responsible for air traffic within the area of application entrusted to him and has to ensure that the aircraft are safe and if necessary, also be managed economically through the catchment area entrusted to him.
  • landing at an airport and taking off from an airport and the subsequent guidance of the aircraft through the airspace plays a particularly important role.
  • the US 2010/0027768 A1 discloses a communication system between air traffic controller and pilot, in which case the voice instructions are converted into text with the aid of a speech recognizer, the text is to be transmitted to the aircraft via a communication link and shown there on the display.
  • a terminal for an air traffic controller is known, in which appropriate aircraft can be selected using the visual focus and then data can be entered through a user interface. This data is then transferred to the respective air traffic control system for the respective aircraft on which the view rests on the display. The input of data should be controlled accordingly with the help of the focus of the gaze, which should be recognized by a suitable detection system.
  • the unmanned aircraft has a corresponding detection device with which the voice announcements from the air traffic controller are converted into text and then analyzed in such a way that these voice announcements from the air traffic controller can serve as input for the autopilot.
  • the D2 discloses a system in which the controller transmits instructions to an unmanned aircraft in a conventional manner, as if communicating with a manned aircraft, which are then received by captured by the unmanned aircraft and converted into corresponding control signals for the autopilot.
  • the object is achieved with the method according to claim 1 and the assistance system according to claim 10 according to the invention.
  • a method for traffic management of vehicles located in a traffic area is proposed by transmission of traffic management instructions from a traffic control center controlling the traffic area to a relevant vehicle within the controlled traffic area, the traffic management instructions consisting of or having a plurality of instruction parts which at least partially entered by a controller of the traffic control center, then issued by the traffic control center as traffic management instructions to the vehicle and received there, the traffic management instructions then being presented to the vehicle driver visually or acoustically and the vehicle driver then having to carry out corresponding actions for driving the vehicle in accordance with the individual parts of the instruction, in order to follow traffic instructions.
  • An instruction part of a traffic management instruction is understood to be a special date or specific information in the traffic management instruction, which alone or together with other instruction parts is intended to convey information to the vehicle driver or to trigger an action to be carried out by the vehicle driver.
  • the instruction parts of a traffic management instruction are therefore individual, semantically separate information blocks.
  • Such instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction that are transmitted from a flight control center to a relevant aircraft and perceived there by the pilot
  • the identifier call sign
  • the type climb, sink, change of direction
  • the value specific altitude, speed, direction
  • special statistical information that only changes very slowly, such as temperature, air pressure, coefficient of friction the runway, etc.
  • one or more instruction parts of a traffic management instruction which is to be transmitted to a relevant vehicle in the controlled traffic area, are entered manually by a controller of the traffic control center using an input device.
  • the manual input can take place, for example, in the form of speech, gestures, via eye recognition and/or input or selection on a screen.
  • the manually entered instruction parts of the traffic management instruction are then checked for plausibility by examining the individual instruction parts and their corresponding effects in relation to the current state of the traffic area to be controlled provided by an electronic traffic management system, e.g. a radar system, using an electronic evaluation unit. In particular, it is checked whether the parts of the instruction themselves contain discrepancies or whether the parts of the instruction could possibly lead to dangerous situations.
  • an electronic traffic management system e.g. a radar system
  • a simple example would be input instruction parts that contain the flight guidance instruction that an aircraft should climb to a specified altitude, but the aircraft is already flying at a significantly higher altitude than the specified target climb altitude. In this case, it is likely that the controller was wrong about the type of instruction (climb instead of descent), the value of the target climb altitude, or the aircraft itself. Such instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction would therefore not be plausible with regard to the overall context of the airspace to be controlled and are thus recognized in advance.
  • an electronic traffic management instruction is generated from the instruction parts, which are available in electronic form, by means of an electronic instruction generator.
  • the electronic traffic instructions are assembled from the individual instruction parts in the correct form and sequence, so that the content of the electronic traffic instructions ultimately has a form that corresponds at least to a purely spoken traffic instructions of a conventional type.
  • These automatically generated electronic traffic instructions are then transmitted to the vehicle in question by means of a communication interface connected to an electronic communication device, for example in such a way that the electronic traffic instructions are electronically converted into speech and then transmitted to the vehicle and then to the vehicle driver via a voice communication path.
  • the electronic traffic instructions it is also conceivable for the electronic traffic instructions to be transmitted, for example, using a digital communication connection that exists to the vehicle in question, where they can then be output to the vehicle driver, for example, optically or acoustically.
  • corresponding information regarding the current status of the traffic area to be controlled, regarding a traffic junction relating to the traffic control center and/or regarding the environment of the traffic junction relating to the traffic control center is determined from a database in order to provide the traffic management instruction with further statistical or Insert quasi-static information and data without the controller having to enter this data manually in any way whatsoever.
  • This information is automatically determined from the database and used as instruction parts of the traffic management instruction, the electronic traffic management instruction being generated from the manually entered instruction parts on the one hand and the instruction parts contained in the database information on the other hand by means of the instruction generator.
  • an instruction context relating to this instruction part is determined alternatively or additionally as a function of at least one manually entered instruction part and a further instruction part is automatically determined by the input device depending on the determined instruction context, with the electronic traffic routing instruction being made up of the manually entered instruction parts and the at least one instruction part automatically determined from the instruction context is generated by means of the instruction generator.
  • the focus of the pilot's gaze is captured by a gaze capture device within a display that at least partially simulates the current state of the traffic area to be controlled. based on the recorded visual focus, the area on the display can then be recognized to which the controller has just directed his foveal visual range (visual focus). For example, if the focus of the gaze lingers on an object shown on the display (for example an airplane) for a certain period of time, this object can be selected as the destination of a traffic routing instruction.
  • the instruction assistance system determines a unique identifier (e.g. aircraft name, call sign) of the vehicle based on the selected focus, with the determined identifier of the selected vehicle being used as an instruction part of the traffic management instruction.
  • This instruction part of the traffic management instruction is the communication goal of the traffic management instruction and is usually at the very beginning of such an instruction.
  • the controller can use the visual focus to select or mark a vehicle on the display (e.g. radar screen), with the controller then being shown suggestions for the content of a traffic guidance instruction in relation to the selected vehicle, which the system considers useful in relation to the current situation or the current state of the traffic area.
  • a traffic management instruction can, for example, be displayed directly in the radar label of the selected aircraft on an air traffic controller's radar screen.
  • the controller now has the option of accepting these suggestions by manually confirming the suggested contents of the traffic management instruction, which means that these suggestions are then used as a basis for the further process as manual input of instruction parts of a traffic management instruction.
  • the air traffic controller can also overwrite the proposed content of the traffic management instruction by entering something else if he does not consider the proposed content of the traffic management instruction to be sensible.
  • a manual input is made for the respective instruction part of the traffic management instruction, which in turn is then used as a basis for the further process of automatically generating electronic traffic management instructions and sending out the traffic management instructions.
  • acoustic speech signals from the controller are recorded by means of a microphone unit of the input device and from the recorded acoustic speech signals At least one instruction part of a traffic management instruction is then determined by means of speech recognition and used for the traffic management instruction.
  • the air traffic controller in the area of air traffic control had selected an aircraft using his visual focus and was presented with a corresponding suggestion for the content of a flight guidance instruction for the selected aircraft on the display in the radar label, he can overwrite the suggestions shown there, for example by speaks new values or content into a microphone.
  • the acoustic speech signals spoken by the air traffic controller are then recognized using speech recognition and converted into electronic content or electronic values for specific instruction parts of the flight guidance instruction. These spoken instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction are then used as a basis for the further process of automatically generating electronic flight guidance instructions.
  • the controller in this way, the possibility is created for the controller to be able to make corresponding entries in the system via at least two different communication channels that differ from one another, all of which together enable the possibility of entering data for a traffic management instruction.
  • a body movement of the controller is detected by means of a contactless or touch-based gesture input device.
  • a body movement can be, for example, a finger or hand movement on a touch-sensitive input device (touch display), the pattern of the body movement being detected and interpreted as a gesture.
  • at least one instruction part of a traffic management instruction is then determined from the gesture of the controller and used for the traffic management instruction.
  • Such a gesture can be, for example, a translatory movement of a finger or a hand of the pilot upwards (with respect to the ground plumb) or downwards, which can be interpreted in the area of air traffic control, for example, as a type of flight guidance instruction.
  • a finger movement up this means that the instruction "Climb” should be inserted as the instruction type in the flight guidance instruction.
  • the instruction "climb” is derived from the finger gesture as part of the instruction.
  • the communication interface is used to select a communication path of the electronic communication device that can be selected from various communication paths for transmission of the electronic traffic management instruction, and the electronic traffic management instruction is then transmitted to the vehicle in question using the selected communication path .
  • the best communication path can thus be selected automatically from the available communication paths, as a result of which the burden on the vehicle driver can also be reduced.
  • the communication path is selected depending on the utilization of the selectable communication paths.
  • a radio link for example a VHF radio link
  • the electronic traffic instructions are converted into spoken, acoustic traffic instructions by means of a text-to-speech unit and then transmitted to the vehicle via the radio link.
  • the vehicle receives the acoustic traffic guidance instruction and gives it acoustically to the driver of the vehicle via appropriate output means, such as headphones. If, for example, it is recognized that, due to the current situation, a large number of acoustic traffic guidance instructions for different vehicles are being transmitted, which are also being heard by all other vehicle drivers due to the broadcast method, it is not conducive to the mental stress on the vehicle driver, even if it is for them relevant traffic management instructions are transmitted via the same communication path.
  • the communication path represents a digital data connection, so that the electronic traffic management instruction is transmitted to the vehicle via a so-called "data link".
  • the vehicle receives the electronic traffic management instruction and issues it to the driver of the vehicle, for example by displaying it on a screen or, if necessary, acoustically.
  • the traffic area to be controlled can, for example, be an airspace to be controlled in the area of air traffic control, which is traveled over by a plurality of aircraft as vehicles.
  • An air traffic controller in a flight control center is responsible for the airspace, with the traffic hub being an airport.
  • figure 1 shows schematically the structure of a flight guidance instruction FA, which consists of several instruction parts AT 1 to AT 5 .
  • the individual instruction parts AT 1 to AT 5 each have a different information context, the embodiment of the figure 1 shall be explained in more detail below.
  • the first instruction part AT 1 contains the so-called identifier of the aircraft, which often represents the call sign of the aircraft in question. In the embodiment of figure 1 is the call sign of the relevant aircraft DLH001.
  • instruction type as instruction part AT 2 , which indicates a corresponding basic option for action by the pilot.
  • instruction part AT 2 This is the "DESCEND" command that is intended to cause the pilot to steer the aircraft to a lower altitude.
  • the third and fourth subsequent instruction part AT 3 and AT 4 contains the value in relation to the instruction type AT 2 and in the exemplary embodiment figure 1 indicates the altitude to which the aircraft, identified by the instruction part AT 1 , is to descend.
  • AT 3 indicates the altitude reference, which in the field of aviation can be specified both in actual altitude (feet) and in the form of flight levels (flight level).
  • the instruction part AT 3 is in the embodiment figure 1 defines that the altitude in AT 4 is the flight level.
  • the value 70 has now been entered for AT 4 , so that in connection with AT 3 the instruction was given that the aircraft should descend to Flight Level 70 (FL70).
  • the instruction part AT 3 can be generated automatically by the input device if the air traffic controller only enters the value “70” as the new altitude.
  • the flight level is meant here as a reference scale, since on the one hand an altitude of 70 feet is only reached during the landing approach and on the other hand from a certain flight altitude all aircraft receive or set their altitude information in flight levels. In this way, even if the air traffic controller deviates from the rules, correct flight instructions can be generated that correspond to the general rules of air traffic control.
  • the instruction part AT 5 of the flight guidance instruction FA contains quasi-statistical information regarding the airport or the immediate vicinity of the airport, namely the atmospheric pressure in the vicinity of the airport. This information comes from a database and was not manually entered by the air traffic controller.
  • the individual instruction parts AT 1 to AT 5 enter the system in different ways or via different man-machine interfaces, and the flight guidance instruction is automatically generated from the individual instruction parts and transmitted to the relevant aircraft .
  • FIG 2 shows schematically the structure of the instruction assistance system 10 according to the invention.
  • the instruction assistance system 10 has an input device 20 with which the air traffic controller can enter appropriate manual inputs of instruction parts for the flight guidance instruction. Furthermore, the instruction assistance system has an electronic evaluation unit 30 with which the instruction parts of the flight guidance instruction can be examined with regard to plausibility. Finally, the instruction assistance system 10 has an instruction generator 31 with which the flight guidance instruction can be automatically generated electronically based on the instruction parts entered.
  • the input device 20 has an eye-tracking system 21 (gaze detection device) with which the focus of the gaze 22 can be determined on a display 41 of an electronic flight guidance system. With the aid of the visual focus 22 detected by the eye-tracking system 21, it can be determined in relation to the display 41 on which area the air traffic controller is focusing his gaze. If the focus of the gaze lingers for longer than 1 second, for example, on a flying object 42 shown on the display 41, the focused flying object 42 is marked or selected in the electronic flight guidance system 40 and the input device 20 then accepts the identifier of the selected aircraft 42 as an instruction part AT 1 for a flight instruction.
  • eye-tracking system 21 gaze detection device
  • a radar label 43 which contains information about the selected flying object 42, can advantageously also be displayed.
  • the ID of the selected aircraft, the current flight altitude and other relevant flight information are displayed here.
  • a suggestion unit 50 based on the current state or the current situation of the airspace to be controlled, that the suggestion unit 50 receives from the electronic flight guidance system 40, a suggestion for the contents of a flight guidance instruction is generated and displayed in the corresponding radar label 43 41 issued as proposals 44.
  • the air traffic controller immediately receives relevant information on possible flight guidance instructions, which represent a meaningful instruction based on the system's situational awareness.
  • the suggestions 44 made by the suggestion unit 50 can be accepted directly as the content of instruction parts.
  • the air traffic controller may change the suggestions in whole or in part if the suggestions made do not correspond to his intention.
  • the input device 20 also has an acoustic input unit 23 in the form of a microphone, with which acoustic speech signals from the air traffic controller can be recorded and further processed.
  • acoustic speech signals can now be recognized electronically and used as the content of instruction parts. It is thus conceivable, for example, for the new height to be input as a value of an instruction type, for example the value “70”, using the microphone 23 and the voice recognition 24 .
  • the input device 20 has a gesture recognition device 25 with which gestures 26 of a finger movement by the air traffic controller can be recognized.
  • These finger gestures can define the instruction type, for example, with this instruction type being defined by the direction of the finger gesture.
  • a finger gesture 26 in the direction of the ground means that the aircraft should descend, while a finger gesture 26 upwards (relative to the ground plummet) should mean that the aircraft should climb.
  • the respective new flight level can be entered by the pilot in the form of speech using the microphone 23 and the speech recognition 24 . It is also conceivable for a finger gesture 26 to be input by translatory sideways movements, which is intended to mean an increase in the speed or a decrease in the speed of the aircraft.
  • 3D gestures with a "Leap Motion Control” are also conceivable, in which the hand is guided upwards (in relation to the earth plumb) with outstretched fingers.
  • a long-lasting press would be conceivable for approaching a waypoint.
  • a two-finger twist gesture could symbolize a change in heading.
  • the input device 20 can have further input devices with which the air traffic controller can enter corresponding manual inputs of instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction.
  • This can be a sensitive display or a keyboard, for example.
  • All of the suggestions 44 entered by the air traffic controller or suggested by the suggestion system 50 are now brought together and possibly implemented statistical information from a database 52 added.
  • the instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction brought together at point 52 are now checked for plausibility using an evaluation unit 30, with each instruction part also being assessed in relation to the current state or the current situation of the airspace to be controlled.
  • the evaluation unit 30 receives the information about this from the electronic flight control system 40. If the instruction parts on which the flight control instruction is based are plausible and without objection, the electronic flight control instruction FA is generated with the aid of an electronic instruction generator 31 and transmitted to an aircraft 100 via a communication interface 32.
  • the communication interface 32 has several communication paths 33a, 33b of a communication device 34 available, which the interface 32 selects depending on the utilization of the respective communication path 33a, 33b. It is conceivable for this purpose, for example, for the instruction generator 31 to convert the electronic flight control instruction into an acoustic flight control instruction and then to transmit the flight control instruction to the aircraft 100 using the communication interface 32 via a voice connection.

Description

Die Erfindung betrifft ein Verfahren zur Verkehrsführung von in einem Verkehrsraum befindlichen Fahrzeugen durch Übertragen von Verkehrsführungsanweisungen von einer den Verkehrsraum kontrollierenden Verkehrsleitzentrale an ein betreffendes Fahrzeug innerhalb des kontrollierten Verkehrsraumes. Die Erfindung betrifft ebenso ein Anweisungsassistenzsystem zur Durchführung des Verfahrens.The invention relates to a method for guiding the traffic of vehicles located in a traffic area by transmitting traffic instructions from a traffic control center controlling the traffic area to a relevant vehicle within the controlled traffic area. The invention also relates to an instruction assistance system for carrying out the method.

Zur Sicherung und Kontrolle von Verkehrsräumen, insbesondere eines Luftraumes in der Umgebung von Flughäfen oder eines Seeraumes in der Umgebung eines Hafens, existieren in der Regel Verkehrsleitzentralen (umgangssprachlich oft auch als Center bzw. Tower oder Warte bezeichnet), die den jeweiligen Verkehr in ihrem Einflussgebiet kontrollieren und auch steuern, indem Anweisungen an die Fahrzeugbesatzung bzw. Fahrzeugführer übermittelt werden. Hierbei spielt der Faktor Mensch eine große Rolle, da auch heute noch ein Großteil der Verkehrsführungsaufgaben, die von der Verkehrsleitzentrale durchgeführt werden, durch den sogenannten Lotsen erfolgen.To secure and control traffic areas, in particular airspace in the vicinity of airports or a sea area in the vicinity of a port, there are usually traffic control centers (often colloquially referred to as centers or towers or control rooms), which control the respective traffic in their sphere of influence control and also control by transmitting instructions to the vehicle crew or vehicle driver. The human factor plays a major role here, since even today a large part of the traffic management tasks that are carried out by the traffic control center are still carried out by the so-called pilot.

Ein Lotse regelt dabei den Verkehr innerhalb des ihm anvertrauten Einsatzgebietes des Verkehrsraumes, wobei in der Regel eine direkte Verkehrsführung und Verkehrsführung erfolgt. Durch direkte Anweisungen an ein betreffendes Fahrzeug, die nur das jeweilige Fahrzeug selber betreffen und dafür gedacht sind, werden Handlungen der Fahrzeugführer des betreffenden Fahrzeuges aufgrund der direkten Anweisungen des Lotsen initiiert, sodass hierrüber der gesamte Verkehr innerhalb des Verkehrsraumes geregelt und gesteuert werden kann. Ein Loste hat dabei in der Regel in deutlich höheres Situationsbewusstsein bezüglich der gesamten Verkehrssituation in dem Verkehrsraum als die einzelnen Fahrzeugführer der Fahrzeuge des Verkehrsraumes.A controller regulates the traffic within the operational area of the traffic area entrusted to him, with direct traffic management and traffic routing usually taking place. Direct instructions to a vehicle in question, which only affect the vehicle in question and are intended for this purpose, initiate the actions of the driver of the vehicle in question based on the direct instructions from the controller, so that all traffic within the traffic area can be regulated and controlled. As a rule, a driver has a significantly higher situational awareness with regard to the overall traffic situation in the traffic area than the individual vehicle drivers of the vehicles in the traffic area.

Handelt es sich bei dem Verkehrsraum bspw. um einen Luftraum, bspw. in der Umgebung einen Flughafens, so ist der Lotse ein Fluglotse, der für den Flugverkehr innerhalb des ihm anvertrauten Einsatzgebietes verantwortlich ist und dafür Sorge zu tragen hat, dass die Flugzeuge sicher und ggf. auch ökonomisch durch den ihm anvertrauten Einzugsbereich geführt werden. Hierbei spielt insbesondere das Landen auf einem Flughafen sowie das Starten von einem Flughafen und die sich daran anschließende Führung des Flugzeuges durch den Luftraum eine besonders große Rolle.If the traffic area is, for example, an airspace, e.g. in the vicinity of an airport, the controller is an air traffic controller who is responsible for air traffic within the area of application entrusted to him and has to ensure that the aircraft are safe and if necessary, also be managed economically through the catchment area entrusted to him. In particular, landing at an airport and taking off from an airport and the subsequent guidance of the aircraft through the airspace plays a particularly important role.

Allerdings werden auch heute noch insbesondere bei der Luftverkehrsführung benötigten Anweisungen an die Piloten eines betreffenden Luftfahrzeuges mithilfe einer klassischen Sprachkommunikation (beispielsweise UKW) übertragen, die dann von dem Luftfahrzeug mithilfe von Antennen empfangen und an entsprechende Ausgabegeräte (meist Kopfhörer) an die Piloten ausgegeben werden. Die Piloten empfangen die vom Fluglotsen gesprochenen Sprachnachrichten, extrahieren die darin enthaltenen Anweisungen zur Flugführung und müssen dann diese Anweisungen durch entsprechende Handlungen umsetzen.However, even today, instructions required for air traffic management in particular are still transmitted to the pilots of an aircraft in question using classic voice communication (e.g. VHF), which are then received by the aircraft using antennas and given to the pilots on appropriate output devices (usually headphones). The pilots receive the voice messages spoken by the air traffic controller, extract the flight guidance instructions contained therein and then have to implement these instructions by appropriate actions.

Zwar gibt es mittlerweile auch direkte Datenverbindungen, um so an das Luftfahrzeug über diesen elektronischen Kommunikationsweg entsprechende Daten übertragen zu können. Allerdings ist dies auf eine sehr begrenzte Anzahl von Informationen und meist sicherheitsunkritischen Anweisungen begrenzt.It is true that there are now also direct data connections in order to be able to transmit corresponding data to the aircraft via this electronic communication path. However, this is limited to a very limited amount of information and mostly safety-uncritical instructions.

Mit zunehmender Anzahl von Luftfahrzeugen innerhalb des kontrollierten Luftraumes sowie dem Entstehen von plötzlichen kritischen Situationen steigt die mentale Belastung eines Fluglotsen stark an, was die Wahrscheinlichkeit von Fehlentscheidungen erhöht und somit das Risiko von Unfällen steigen lässt. Dies betrifft letztlich jeden Lotsen, der für einen bestimmten Verkehrsraum die Verantwortung trägt.With an increasing number of aircraft within the controlled airspace and the emergence of sudden critical situations, the mental strain on an air traffic controller increases sharply, which increases the likelihood of making wrong decisions and thus increases the risk of accidents. Ultimately, this affects every controller who is responsible for a specific traffic area.

Aus der US 2006/0046715 A1 wird ein Verfahren und eine Vorrichtung für die Sprachkommunikation zwischen Lotse und Pilot offenbart, wobei Sprachanweisungen des Lotsen digitalisiert und dann basierend auf paketbasierten Übertragungsmechanismen mittels eines Kommunikationslinks an den Piloten übertragen werden.From the U.S. 2006/0046715 A1 discloses a method and apparatus for voice communication between controller and pilot, wherein the controller's voice instructions are digitized and then based on packet-based transmission mechanisms be transmitted to the pilot by means of a communication link.

Aus der US 2010/0198489 A1 ist ein Luftverkehrskontrollsystem für Flugzeuge am Boden offenbart, wobei hier der Taxiweg eines Flugzeuges überwacht und bei möglichen Gefahren der Taxiweg des am Boden befindlichen Flugzeuges geändert werden kann, was über eine Datenübertragung via Kommunikationslink an das Flugzeug geschehen soll.From the US 2010/0198489 A1 discloses an air traffic control system for aircraft on the ground, the taxi route of an aircraft being monitored here and the taxi route of the aircraft on the ground being able to be changed in the event of possible dangers, which is to be done via data transmission via a communication link to the aircraft.

Die US 2010/0027768 A1 offenbart ein Kommunikationssystem zwischen Fluglotse und Pilot wobei hier die Sprachanweisungen mit Hilfe eines Spracherkenners in Text umgewandelt, der Text via eines Kommunikationslinks an das Flugzeug übertragen und dort im Display dargestellt werden soll.The US 2010/0027768 A1 discloses a communication system between air traffic controller and pilot, in which case the voice instructions are converted into text with the aid of a speech recognizer, the text is to be transmitted to the aircraft via a communication link and shown there on the display.

Aus der US 4,196,474 A ist schließlich ein System bekannt, mit dem Kollisionshinweise und davon abgeleitete Informationen an ein Flugzeug übertragen und dort in einem Display angezeigt werden sollen.From the US 4,196,474A Finally, a system is known with which collision warnings and information derived therefrom are transmitted to an aircraft and are to be shown there on a display.

Aus der WO 2017/096007 A1 ist ein Terminal für einen Fluglotsen bekannt, bei dem mithilfe des Blickfokus entsprechende Flugzeuge ausgewählt und dann Daten durch eine Bedienoberfläche eingegeben werden können. Anschließend werden diese Daten dann in dem jeweiligen Fluglotsensystem für das jeweilige Flugzeug übernommen, auf dem der Blick auf dem Display ruht. Mithilfe des Blickfokus, der durch ein geeignetes Erfassungssystem erkannt werden soll, soll dabei die Eingabe von Daten entsprechend gesteuert werden.From the WO 2017/096007 A1 a terminal for an air traffic controller is known, in which appropriate aircraft can be selected using the visual focus and then data can be entered through a user interface. This data is then transferred to the respective air traffic control system for the respective aircraft on which the view rests on the display. The input of data should be controlled accordingly with the help of the focus of the gaze, which should be recognized by a suitable detection system.

Aus der US 2008/065275 A1 wird das Kontrollieren eines unbemannten Luftfahrzeuges durch einen Fluglotsen beschrieben. Dabei weist das unbemannte Luftfahrzeug eine entsprechende Erfassungsvorrichtung auf, mit der die Sprachansagen des Fluglotsen in Text umgewandelt und dann so analysiert werden, dass diese Sprachansagen des Fluglotsen als Eingabe für den Autopiloten dienen können. Mit anderen Worten, die D2 offenbart ein System, bei dem der Lotse auf herkömmlichem Wege, so als würde er mit einem bemannten Luftfahrzeug kommunizieren, Anweisungen an ein unbemanntes Luftfahrzeug überträgt, die dann von dem unbemannten Luftfahrzeug erfasst und in entsprechende Steuersignale für den Autopiloten umgewandelt werden.From the U.S. 2008/065275 A1 describes the control of an unmanned aircraft by an air traffic controller. In this case, the unmanned aircraft has a corresponding detection device with which the voice announcements from the air traffic controller are converted into text and then analyzed in such a way that these voice announcements from the air traffic controller can serve as input for the autopilot. In other words, the D2 discloses a system in which the controller transmits instructions to an unmanned aircraft in a conventional manner, as if communicating with a manned aircraft, which are then received by captured by the unmanned aircraft and converted into corresponding control signals for the autopilot.

Aus der US 6,098,014 (KRANZ PETER ) ist ein Verfahren und ein System gemäß dem Oberbegriff des Anspruchs 1 bekannt .From the US 6,098,014 (KRANZ PETER ) a method and a system according to the preamble of claim 1 is known.

Es ist daher Aufgabe der vorliegenden Erfindung ein verbessertes Verfahren und ein verbessertes Assistenzsystem anzugeben, mit dem Lotse auch in kritischen Situationen sowie bei einer hohen Arbeitsbelastung entlastet werden kann, um so das Risiko von Fehlentscheidungen und Unfällen zu senken..It is therefore the object of the present invention to specify an improved method and an improved assistance system with which the controller can be relieved even in critical situations and with a high workload, in order to reduce the risk of wrong decisions and accidents.

Die Aufgabe wird mit dem Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 1 sowie dem Assistenzsystem gemäß Anspruch 10 erfindungsgemäß gelöst.The object is achieved with the method according to claim 1 and the assistance system according to claim 10 according to the invention.

Gemäß einem Aspekt der Erfindung wird ein Verfahren zur Verkehrsführung von in einem Verkehrsraum befindlichen Fahrzeugen durch Übertragung von Verkehrsführungsanweisungen von einer den Verkehrsraum kontrollierenden Verkehrsleitzentrale an ein betreffendes Fahrzeuges innerhalb des kontrollierten Verkehrsraumes vorgeschlagen, wobei die Verkehrsführungsanweisungen aus einer Mehrzahl von Anweisungsteilen bestehen bzw. aufweisen, die zumindest teilweise von einem Lotsen der Verkehrsleitzentrale eingegeben, dann durch die Verkehrsleitzentrale als Verkehrsführungsanweisung an das Fahrzeug ausgegeben und dort empfangen werden, wobei dann die Verkehrsführungsanweisung dem Fahrzeugführer optisch oder akustisch präsentiert wird und der Fahrzeugführer dann entsprechend den einzelnen Anweisungsteilen entsprechende Handlungen zur Fahrzeugführung durchführen muss, um der Verkehrsführungsanweisung Folge zu leisten.According to one aspect of the invention, a method for traffic management of vehicles located in a traffic area is proposed by transmission of traffic management instructions from a traffic control center controlling the traffic area to a relevant vehicle within the controlled traffic area, the traffic management instructions consisting of or having a plurality of instruction parts which at least partially entered by a controller of the traffic control center, then issued by the traffic control center as traffic management instructions to the vehicle and received there, the traffic management instructions then being presented to the vehicle driver visually or acoustically and the vehicle driver then having to carry out corresponding actions for driving the vehicle in accordance with the individual parts of the instruction, in order to follow traffic instructions.

Unter einem Anweisungsteil einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung wird dabei ein spezielles Datum bzw. eine spezielle Information in der Verkehrsführungsanweisung verstanden, die allein oder mit anderen Anweisungsteilen zusammen dem Fahrzeugführer eine Information übermitteln sollen oder eine durch den Fahrzeugführer durchzuführende Handlung auslösen sollen. Es handelt sich bei den Anweisungsteilen einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung somit um einzelne, semantisch voneinander getrennten Informationsblöcken.An instruction part of a traffic management instruction is understood to be a special date or specific information in the traffic management instruction, which alone or together with other instruction parts is intended to convey information to the vehicle driver or to trigger an action to be carried out by the vehicle driver. The instruction parts of a traffic management instruction are therefore individual, semantically separate information blocks.

Derartige Anweisungsteile einer Flugführungsanweisung, die von einer Flugleitzentrale an ein betreffendes Flugzeug übertragen und dort von dem Piloten wahrgenommen wird, können beispielsweise die Kennung (Call Sign), der Typ (Steigen, Sinken, Richtungsänderung), der Wert (konkrete Höhenangabe, Geschwindigkeitsangabe, Richtungsangabe) sowie spezielle statistische Informationen, die sich nur sehr langsam ändern, wie beispielsweise Temperatur, Luftdruck, Reibwert der Landebahn, etc. sein.Such instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction that are transmitted from a flight control center to a relevant aircraft and perceived there by the pilot For example, the identifier (call sign), the type (climb, sink, change of direction), the value (specific altitude, speed, direction) as well as special statistical information that only changes very slowly, such as temperature, air pressure, coefficient of friction the runway, etc.

Gemäß dem erfindungsgemäßen Verfahren werden zunächst eine oder mehrere Anweisungsteile einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung, die an ein betreffendes Fahrzeug des kontrollierten Verkehrsraumes übertragen werden soll, durch einen Lotsen der Verkehrsleitzentrale mittels einer Eingabeeinrichtung manuell eingegeben. Das manuelle Eingeben kann beispielsweise in Form von Sprache, Gesten, über Blickerkennung und/oder Eingabe oder Auswahl an einem Bildschirm erfolgen.According to the method according to the invention, one or more instruction parts of a traffic management instruction, which is to be transmitted to a relevant vehicle in the controlled traffic area, are entered manually by a controller of the traffic control center using an input device. The manual input can take place, for example, in the form of speech, gestures, via eye recognition and/or input or selection on a screen.

Anschließend werden die manuell eingegebenen Anweisungsteile der Verkehrsführungsanweisung hinsichtlich der Plausibilität überprüft, indem die einzelnen Anweisungsteile und ihre entsprechenden Auswirkungen in Bezug auf den durch ein elektronisches Verkehrsführungssystem, bspw. ein Radarsystem, bereitgestellten aktuellen Zustand des zu kontrollierenden Verkehrsraumes mittels einer elektronischen Auswerteeinheit untersucht werden. Dabei wird insbesondere überprüft, ob die Anweisungsteile an sich Unstimmigkeiten enthalten oder ob die Anweisungsteile möglicherweise zu Gefahrensituationen führen können.The manually entered instruction parts of the traffic management instruction are then checked for plausibility by examining the individual instruction parts and their corresponding effects in relation to the current state of the traffic area to be controlled provided by an electronic traffic management system, e.g. a radar system, using an electronic evaluation unit. In particular, it is checked whether the parts of the instruction themselves contain discrepancies or whether the parts of the instruction could possibly lead to dangerous situations.

Ein einfaches Beispiel wären eingegebene Anweisungsteile, die als Flugführungsanweisung beinhalten, dass ein Luftfahrzeug auf eine vorgegebene Höhe steigen soll, das Luftfahrzeug aber bereits auf einer wesentlich höheren Höhe als die angegebene Zielsteighöhe fliegt. In diesem Fall ist davon auszugehen, dass der Fluglotse sich hinsichtlich des Anweisungstyps (Steigen anstelle von Sinken), im Wert der Zielsteighöhe oder im Luftfahrzeug selbst geirrt hat. Derartige Anweisungsteile einer Flugführungsanweisung wären somit nicht plausibel hinsichtlich des Gesamtkontextes des zu kontrollierenden Luftraumes und werden somit im Vorfeld erkannt.A simple example would be input instruction parts that contain the flight guidance instruction that an aircraft should climb to a specified altitude, but the aircraft is already flying at a significantly higher altitude than the specified target climb altitude. In this case, it is likely that the controller was wrong about the type of instruction (climb instead of descent), the value of the target climb altitude, or the aircraft itself. Such instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction would therefore not be plausible with regard to the overall context of the airspace to be controlled and are thus recognized in advance.

Wurde nun bei der Überprüfung der Anweisungsteile der Verkehrsführungsanweisung die Plausibilität festgestellt oder wurde von dem Lotsen eine dementsprechend ausgegebene Warnung, dass die Anweisungsteile nicht plausibel sind, übergangen, so werden aus den Anweisungsteilen, die in elektronischer Form vorliegen, eine elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung generiert, und zwar mittels eines elektronischen Anweisungsgenerators. Mithilfe dieses elektronischen Anweisungsgenerators wird dabei die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung aus den einzelnen Anweisungsteilen in der richtigen Form und Reihenfolge zusammengesetzt, so dass inhaltlich letztlich die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung eine Form aufweist, die mindestens einer rein gesprochenen Verkehrsführungsanweisung herkömmlicher Art entspricht.Was the plausibility determined when checking the instruction parts of the traffic management instruction, or did the controller issue a corresponding one? If a warning is issued that the instruction parts are not plausible, then an electronic traffic management instruction is generated from the instruction parts, which are available in electronic form, by means of an electronic instruction generator. With the help of this electronic instruction generator, the electronic traffic instructions are assembled from the individual instruction parts in the correct form and sequence, so that the content of the electronic traffic instructions ultimately has a form that corresponds at least to a purely spoken traffic instructions of a conventional type.

Anschließend wird diese so automatisch generierte elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung an das betreffende Fahrzeug mittels einer mit einer elektronischen Kommunikationseinrichtung verbundenen Kommunikationsschnittstelle übertragen, beispielsweise derart, dass die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung elektronisch in Sprache umgewandelt und dann auf einem Sprachkommunikationsweg an das Fahrzeug und dann an den Fahrzeugführer übertragen wird. Denkbar ist aber auch, dass die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung beispielsweise mithilfe einer digitalen Kommunikationsverbindung, die zu dem betreffenden Fahrzeug besteht, übertragen wird, wo sie dann beispielsweise dem Fahrzeugführer optisch oder akustisch ausgegeben werden kann.These automatically generated electronic traffic instructions are then transmitted to the vehicle in question by means of a communication interface connected to an electronic communication device, for example in such a way that the electronic traffic instructions are electronically converted into speech and then transmitted to the vehicle and then to the vehicle driver via a voice communication path. However, it is also conceivable for the electronic traffic instructions to be transmitted, for example, using a digital communication connection that exists to the vehicle in question, where they can then be output to the vehicle driver, for example, optically or acoustically.

Hierdurch wird es insbesondere im Luftverkehr möglich, dass die an ein Flugzeug übertragenen Flugführungsanweisungen von einem Assistenzsystem automatisch generiert werden, wobei Eingaben des Fluglotsen dabei auf Plausibilität untersucht werden. Hierdurch kann der Faktor Mensch als Fehlerquelle minimiert werden, während die mentale Belastung des Fluglotsen gleichzeitig gesenkt wird, da die Flugführungsanweisungen automatisiert auf Basis der Eingaben generiert und an das Flugzeug übertragen werden.This makes it possible, particularly in air traffic, for the flight guidance instructions transmitted to an aircraft to be automatically generated by an assistance system, with inputs from the air traffic controller being checked for plausibility. This minimizes the human factor as a source of error, while at the same time reducing the mental burden on the air traffic controller, since the flight instructions are automatically generated based on the inputs and transmitted to the aircraft.

Im Gegensatz zum Individualverkehr, bei dem jeder Fahrzeugführer für die Führung seines Fahrzeuges innerhalb der Regel- und Systemgrenzen selber verantwortlich ist, ist es im lotsengeführten Verkehr äußerst wichtig, dass der Lotse über ein hohes Situationsbewusstsein verfügt, um die einzelnen Fahrzeuge direkt steuern zu können. Die Fahrzeugführer müssen dabei den Handlungsanweisungen des Lotsen folge leisten.In contrast to individual traffic, in which each driver is responsible for driving his vehicle within the control and system limits, in traffic controlled by a traffic controller it is extremely important that the controller has a high level of situational awareness in order to control the individual vehicles directly to be able to The vehicle drivers must follow the instructions of the controller.

Erfindungsgemäß wird zusätzlich zu den manuell eingehenden Anweisungsteilen der Verkehrsführungsanweisung aus einer Datenbank entsprechende Informationen bezüglich des aktuellen Zustandes des zu kontrollierenden Verkehrsraumes, bezüglich eines die Verkehrsleitzentrale betreffenden Verkehrsknotenpunktes und/oder bezüglich der Umgebung des die Verkehrsleitzentrale betreffenden Verkehrsknotenpunktes ermittelt, um so der Verkehrsführungsanweisung weitere statistische bzw. quasistatische Informationen und Daten einzufügen, ohne dass der Lotse diese Daten, wie auch immer, manuell eingeben muss. Diese Informationen werden dabei automatisch aus der Datenbank ermittelt und als Anweisungsteile der Verkehrsführungsanweisung verwendet, wobei die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung aus den manuell eingegebenen Anweisungsteilen einerseits und den die Datenbankinformationen enthaltenen Anweisungsteilen andererseits mittels des Anweisungsgenerators generiert werden.According to the invention, in addition to the instruction parts of the traffic management instruction that are received manually, corresponding information regarding the current status of the traffic area to be controlled, regarding a traffic junction relating to the traffic control center and/or regarding the environment of the traffic junction relating to the traffic control center is determined from a database in order to provide the traffic management instruction with further statistical or Insert quasi-static information and data without the controller having to enter this data manually in any way whatsoever. This information is automatically determined from the database and used as instruction parts of the traffic management instruction, the electronic traffic management instruction being generated from the manually entered instruction parts on the one hand and the instruction parts contained in the database information on the other hand by means of the instruction generator.

Auch hierdurch wird es im Bereich der Flugsicherung möglich, den Piloten von routinemäßigen Eingaben zu entlasten, da diese automatisch der elektronischen Flugführungsanweisung eingefügt und dann an das betreffende Flugzeug übertragen werden.This also makes it possible in the field of air traffic control to relieve the pilot of routine inputs, since these are automatically added to the electronic flight instructions and then transmitted to the aircraft in question.

Des Weiteren wird erfindungsgemäß alternativ oder zusätzlich in Abhängigkeit von mindestens einem manuell eingegebenen Anweisungsteil ein in Bezug zu diesem Anweisungsteil stehender Anweisungskontext ermittelt und in Abhängigkeit von dem ermittelten Anweisungskontext ein weiterer Anweisungsteil automatisch durch die Eingabeeinrichtung ermittelt, wobei die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung aus den manuell eingegebenen Anweisungsteilen und dem mindestens einen aus dem Anweisungskontext automatisch ermittelten Anweisungsteil mittels des Anweisungsgenerators generiert wird.Furthermore, according to the invention, an instruction context relating to this instruction part is determined alternatively or additionally as a function of at least one manually entered instruction part and a further instruction part is automatically determined by the input device depending on the determined instruction context, with the electronic traffic routing instruction being made up of the manually entered instruction parts and the at least one instruction part automatically determined from the instruction context is generated by means of the instruction generator.

In einer vorteilhaften Ausführungsform wird der Blickfokus des Lotsen innerhalb eines den aktuellen Zustand des zu kontrollierenden Verkehrsraumes zumindest teilweise nachstellenden Displays mittels einer Blickerfassungseinrichtung erfasst, wobei basierend auf dem erfassten Blickfokus dann der Bereich auf dem Display erkannt werden kann, auf den der Lotse gerade seinen fovealen Blickbereich (Blickfokus) gerichtet hat. Verweilt der Blickfokus beispielsweise für eine bestimmte Zeitdauer auf einem auf dem Display dargestellten Objekt (beispielsweise einem Flugzeug), so kann dieses Objekt als Ziel einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung ausgewählt werden. Hierfür ermittelt das Anweisungsassistenzsystem basierend auf dem ausgewählten Fokus eine eindeutige Kennung (bspw. Luftfahrzeugzeugname, Call Sign) des Fahrzeuges, wobei die ermittelte Kennung des ausgewählten Fahrzeuges als ein Anweisungsteil der Verkehrsführungsanweisung verwendet wird. Dieser Anweisungsteil der Verkehrsführungsanweisung ist dabei das Kommunikationsziel der Verkehrsführungsanweisung und steht in der Regel ganz am Anfang einer solchen Anweisung.In an advantageous embodiment, the focus of the pilot's gaze is captured by a gaze capture device within a display that at least partially simulates the current state of the traffic area to be controlled. based on the recorded visual focus, the area on the display can then be recognized to which the controller has just directed his foveal visual range (visual focus). For example, if the focus of the gaze lingers on an object shown on the display (for example an airplane) for a certain period of time, this object can be selected as the destination of a traffic routing instruction. For this purpose, the instruction assistance system determines a unique identifier (e.g. aircraft name, call sign) of the vehicle based on the selected focus, with the determined identifier of the selected vehicle being used as an instruction part of the traffic management instruction. This instruction part of the traffic management instruction is the communication goal of the traffic management instruction and is usually at the very beginning of such an instruction.

Hierdurch wird eine manuelle Eingabe eines Teils einer Flugführungsanweisung möglich, die es dem Fluglotsen erlaubt, allein basierend auf seinem Blickfokus eine Auswahl für eine Kommunikation zu treffen und gleichzeitig basierend auf dem Blickfokus Teile einer Flugführungsanweisung einzugeben. Der Pilot brauch hierfür weder die Kennung des Flugzeuges manuell sprachlich eingeben, noch mithilfe anderer Eingabegeräte. Vielmehr reicht hierfür lediglich der Blickkontakt des Fluglotsen mit dem auf dem Display dargestellten Flugzeug innerhalb des zu kontrollierenden Luftraumes.This enables manual input of part of a flight control instruction, which allows the air traffic controller to make a selection for a communication based solely on his visual focus and at the same time to input parts of a flight control instruction based on the visual focus. The pilot does not need to enter the aircraft's identification manually or with the help of other input devices. Rather, it is sufficient for the air traffic controller to make eye contact with the aircraft shown on the display within the airspace to be controlled.

Hierbei ist es beispielsweise ganz besonders vorteilhaft, wenn basierend auf dem detektierten Blickfokus und der Erkennung, dass der Blickfokus auf ein bestimmtes Fahrzeug innerhalb des zu kontrollierenden Verkehrsraumes auf dem Display verweilt, dass dann dieses Fahrzeug ausgewählt und dann basierend auf dem durch ein elektronisches Verkehrsführungssystem bereitgestellten aktuellen Zustand des zu kontrollierenden Verkehrsraumes mithilfe einer Vorschlageinheit Vorschläge erstellt und auf dem Display dargestellt werden, wobei die Vorschläge entsprechende Eingaben für Anweisungsteile einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung darstellen. Mit anderen Worten, mithilfe des Blickfokus kann der Lotse ein Fahrzeug auf dem Display (bspw. Radarbildschirm) auswählen bzw. markieren, wobei dem Lotsen dann in Bezug auf das ausgewählte Fahrzeug Vorschläge für Inhalte einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung angezeigt werden, die das System als sinnvoll in Bezug auf die aktuelle Situation bzw. den aktuellen Zustand des Verkehrsraumes hält. Diese Vorschläge für Inhalte einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung können bspw. bei einem Radarbildschirm eines Fluglotsen direkt in dem Radarlabel des ausgewählten Flugzeuges in dem Display angezeigt werden.It is particularly advantageous here, for example, if based on the detected visual focus and the recognition that the visual focus remains on a specific vehicle within the traffic area to be controlled on the display, then this vehicle is selected and then based on the information provided by an electronic traffic management system current state of the traffic area to be controlled using a proposal unit proposals are created and shown on the display, the proposals represent corresponding inputs for instruction parts of a traffic management instruction. In other words, the controller can use the visual focus to select or mark a vehicle on the display (e.g. radar screen), with the controller then being shown suggestions for the content of a traffic guidance instruction in relation to the selected vehicle, which the system considers useful in relation to the current situation or the current state of the traffic area. These suggestions for the contents of a traffic management instruction can, for example, be displayed directly in the radar label of the selected aircraft on an air traffic controller's radar screen.

Der Lotse hat nun die Möglichkeit, diese Vorschläge zu übernehmen, indem er die vorgeschlagenen Inhalte der Verkehrsführungsanweisung manuell bestätigt, wodurch diese Vorschläge dann als manuelle Eingabe von Anweisungsteilen einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung dem weiteren Prozess zugrunde gelegt werden. Der Lotse kann aber auch durch anderweitige Eingabe die vorgeschlagenen Inhalte der Verkehrsführungsanweisung überschreiben, wenn er aus seiner Sicht die vorgeschlagenen Inhalte der Verkehrsführungsanweisung nicht für sinnvoll hält. Durch das Überschreiben der vorgeschlagenen Inhalte wird eine manuelle Eingabe für den jeweiligen Anweisungsteil der Verkehrsführungsanweisung getätigt, die dann wiederum dem weiteren Prozess einer automatischen Generierung von elektronischen Verkehrsführungsanweisungen und Aussenden der Verkehrsführungsanweisungen zugrunde gelegt wird.The controller now has the option of accepting these suggestions by manually confirming the suggested contents of the traffic management instruction, which means that these suggestions are then used as a basis for the further process as manual input of instruction parts of a traffic management instruction. However, the air traffic controller can also overwrite the proposed content of the traffic management instruction by entering something else if he does not consider the proposed content of the traffic management instruction to be sensible. By overwriting the proposed content, a manual input is made for the respective instruction part of the traffic management instruction, which in turn is then used as a basis for the further process of automatically generating electronic traffic management instructions and sending out the traffic management instructions.

Hierdurch wird es bspw. im Bereich der Flugsicherung möglich, dass der Fluglotse in seiner täglichen Arbeit mental entlastet wird, da nunmehr gängige Routineaufgaben wie das Heraussuchen der Kennung des Flugzeuges und die immer wiederholende Nennung dieser Kennung bei der klassischen Sprachkommunikation mit dem Piloten entfällt. Vielmehr kann der Fluglotse sich hierbei auf die wesentlichen Elemente seiner Flugführungsaufgabe konzentrieren und wird nicht durch wiederholende, routinemäßige Arbeiten belastet. Dabei wird allein mithilfe des Blickfokus ein entsprechendes Flugzeug ausgewählt und dem weiteren Prozess der automatischen Generierung von Flugführungsanweisungen zugrunde gelegt, ohne dass der Fluglotse die Kennung des Flugzeuges in sein Mikrofon sprechen muss.This makes it possible, for example in the area of air traffic control, for the air traffic controller to be mentally relieved in his daily work, since common routine tasks such as finding the aircraft ID and repeatedly naming this ID in classic voice communication with the pilot are no longer necessary. Rather, the air traffic controller can concentrate on the essential elements of his flight management task and is not burdened with repetitive, routine work. A corresponding aircraft is selected with the help of the visual focus alone and forms the basis for the further process of automatically generating flight guidance instructions without the air traffic controller having to speak the aircraft identification into his microphone.

In einer weiteren vorteilhaften Ausführungsform, die alternativ oder zusätzlich zu der oben genannten Ausführungsform die Erfindung bereichern kann, werden akustische Sprachsignale des Lotsen mittels einer Mikrofoneinheit der Eingabeeinrichtung aufgenommen und aus den aufgenommenen akustischen Sprachsignalen mittels einer Spracherkennung dann wenigstens ein Anweisungsteil einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung ermittelt und für die Verkehrsführungsanweisung verwendet.In a further advantageous embodiment, which can enrich the invention as an alternative or in addition to the above-mentioned embodiment, acoustic speech signals from the controller are recorded by means of a microphone unit of the input device and from the recorded acoustic speech signals At least one instruction part of a traffic management instruction is then determined by means of speech recognition and used for the traffic management instruction.

Hatte bspw. im Bereich der Flugsicherung der Fluglotse mittels seines Blickfokus ein Flugzeug ausgewählt und wurde ihm zu dem ausgewählten Flugzeug auf dem Display in dem Radar Label ein entsprechender Vorschlag für Inhalte einer Flugführungsanweisung präsentiert, so kann er diese dort gezeigten Vorschläge überschreiben, indem er beispielsweise neue Werte bzw. Inhalte in ein Mikrofon einspricht. Die von dem Fluglotsen gesprochenen akustischen Sprachsignale werden dann mithilfe einer Spracherkennung erkannt und in elektronische Inhalte bzw. elektronische Werte für bestimmte Anweisungsteile der Flugführungsanweisung umgewandelt. Diese gesprochenen Anweisungsteile einer Flugführungsanweisung werden dann dem weiteren Prozess des automatischen Generierens von elektronischen Flugführungsanweisungen zugrunde gelegt.If, for example, the air traffic controller in the area of air traffic control had selected an aircraft using his visual focus and was presented with a corresponding suggestion for the content of a flight guidance instruction for the selected aircraft on the display in the radar label, he can overwrite the suggestions shown there, for example by speaks new values or content into a microphone. The acoustic speech signals spoken by the air traffic controller are then recognized using speech recognition and converted into electronic content or electronic values for specific instruction parts of the flight guidance instruction. These spoken instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction are then used as a basis for the further process of automatically generating electronic flight guidance instructions.

Hierdurch wird eine Möglichkeit geschaffen, bei der Lotse lediglich die für ihn wichtigen Daten einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung mittels natürlicher Sprache eingibt, während die übrigen Daten entweder über einen anderen Eingabekanal eingegeben oder aus dem Vorschlagsystem stammen. Auch hierdurch kann der Lotse hinsichtlich von Routinearbeiten entlastet werden.This creates a possibility in which the controller only enters the data of a traffic routing instruction that is important to him by means of natural language, while the remaining data is either entered via another input channel or comes from the suggestion system. This can also relieve the controller of routine work.

Dabei wird so die Möglichkeit geschaffen, dass der Lotse über mindestens zwei unterschiedliche, voneinander verschiedenen Kommunikationskanäle entsprechende Eingaben in das System vornehmen kann, die alle zusammen die Möglichkeit der Eingabe von Daten für eine Verkehrsführungsanweisung ermöglichen.In this way, the possibility is created for the controller to be able to make corresponding entries in the system via at least two different communication channels that differ from one another, all of which together enable the possibility of entering data for a traffic management instruction.

Eine weitere vorteilhafte Ausführungsform, die alternativ oder zusätzlich zu den vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen sein kann, wird eine Körperbewegung des Lotsen mittels einer berührungslosen oder berührungsbehafteten Gesteneingabeeinrichtung detektiert. Eine solche Körperbewegung kann beispielsweise eine Finger- oder Handbewegung sein, die auf einem berührungsempfindlichen Eingabegerät (Touchdisplay) sein, wobei das Muster der Körperbewegung detektiert und als Geste interpretiert wird. Anhand einer solchen entsprechend erkannten Geste des Lotsen wird dann wenigstens ein Anweisungsteil einer Verkehrsführungsanweisung aus der Geste des Lotsen ermittelt und für die Verkehrsführungsanweisung verwendet.A further advantageous embodiment, which can be an alternative or in addition to the previous embodiments, a body movement of the controller is detected by means of a contactless or touch-based gesture input device. Such a body movement can be, for example, a finger or hand movement on a touch-sensitive input device (touch display), the pattern of the body movement being detected and interpreted as a gesture. Based on such a correspondingly recognized gesture of the controller, at least one instruction part of a traffic management instruction is then determined from the gesture of the controller and used for the traffic management instruction.

Eine solche Geste kann beispielsweise eine translatorische Bewegung eines Fingers oder einer Hand des Loste nach oben (bezüglich Erdlot) oder nach unten sein, was im Bereich der Flugsicherung beispielsweise als Anweisungstyp einer Flugführungsanweisung interpretiert werden kann. Bei einer Fingerbewegung nach oben bedeutet dies, dass der Flugführungsanweisung als Anweisungstyp die Anweisung "Steigen" eingefügt werden soll. Als Anweisungsteil wird demnach aus der Fingergeste die Anweisung "Steigen" abgeleitet.Such a gesture can be, for example, a translatory movement of a finger or a hand of the pilot upwards (with respect to the ground plumb) or downwards, which can be interpreted in the area of air traffic control, for example, as a type of flight guidance instruction. With a finger movement up, this means that the instruction "Climb" should be inserted as the instruction type in the flight guidance instruction. Accordingly, the instruction "climb" is derived from the finger gesture as part of the instruction.

In einer weiteren vorteilhaften Ausführungsform, die alternativ oder zusätzlich zu den vorhergenannten Ausführungsformen sein kann, wird mittels der Kommunikationsschnittstelle ein aus verschiedenen Kommunikationswegen auswählbarer Kommunikationsweg der elektronischen Kommunikationseinrichtung zur Übertragung der elektronischen Verkehrsführungsanweisung ausgewählt und dann die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung mittels des ausgewählten Kommunikationsweges an das betreffende Fahrzeug übertragen. Je nach konkreter Situation kann somit automatisch der beste Kommunikationsweg aus den zur Verfügung stehenden Kommunikationswegen ausgewählt werden, wodurch auch eine Belastung der Fahrzeugführer reduziert werden kann.In a further advantageous embodiment, which can be an alternative or in addition to the aforementioned embodiments, the communication interface is used to select a communication path of the electronic communication device that can be selected from various communication paths for transmission of the electronic traffic management instruction, and the electronic traffic management instruction is then transmitted to the vehicle in question using the selected communication path . Depending on the specific situation, the best communication path can thus be selected automatically from the available communication paths, as a result of which the burden on the vehicle driver can also be reduced.

So ist es beispielsweise denkbar, dass der Kommunikationsweg in einer Abhängigkeit von einer Auslastung der auswählbaren Kommunikationswege ausgewählt wird.For example, it is conceivable that the communication path is selected depending on the utilization of the selectable communication paths.

Als auswählbarer Kommunikationsweg kommt beispielsweise eine Sprechfunkverbindung, beispielsweise eine UKW-Sprechfunkverbindung, in Betracht, wobei dann die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung mittels einer Text-zu-Spracheeinheit in eine gesprochene, akustische Verkehrsführungsanweisung umgewandelt und dann über die Sprechfunkverbindung an das Fahrzeug übertragen wird. Das Fahrzeug empfängt die akustische Verkehrsführungsanweisung und gibt sie dem Fahrzeugführer des Fahrzeuges über entsprechende Ausgabemittel, wie beispielsweise Kopfhörer, akustisch aus. Wird beispielsweise erkannt, dass aufgrund der momentanen Situation eine Vielzahl von akustischen Verkehrsführungsanweisungen für verschiedene Fahrzeuge übertragen werden, die aufgrund des Broadcast-Verfahrens auch von allen anderen Fahrzeugführern mitgehört werden, ist es für die mentale Belastung der Fahrzeugführer nicht förderlich, wenn auch die für sie betreffenden Verkehrsführungsanweisungen über den gleichen Kommunikationsweg übertragen werden. Daher ist es denkbar, dass basierend auf der Auslastung der Sprechfunkverbindung als ein Kommunikationsweg dann ein anderer Kommunikationsweg verwendet wird, um die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung an das Fahrzeug übertragen zu können. Hierfür ist es denkbar, dass der Kommunikationsweg eine digitale Datenverbindung darstellt, so dass die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung über einen sogenannten "Datalink" an das Fahrzeug übertragen wird. Von dem Fahrzeug wird dann die elektronische Verkehrsführungsanweisung empfangen und dem Fahrzeugführer ausgegeben, beispielsweise durch Anzeige auf einem Bildschirm oder ggf. akustisch.A radio link, for example a VHF radio link, can be considered as a selectable communication path, in which case the electronic traffic instructions are converted into spoken, acoustic traffic instructions by means of a text-to-speech unit and then transmitted to the vehicle via the radio link. The vehicle receives the acoustic traffic guidance instruction and gives it acoustically to the driver of the vehicle via appropriate output means, such as headphones. If, for example, it is recognized that, due to the current situation, a large number of acoustic traffic guidance instructions for different vehicles are being transmitted, which are also being heard by all other vehicle drivers due to the broadcast method, it is not conducive to the mental stress on the vehicle driver, even if it is for them relevant traffic management instructions are transmitted via the same communication path. It is therefore conceivable that, based on the utilization of the voice radio connection, another communication path is then used as a communication path in order to be able to transmit the electronic traffic management instruction to the vehicle. For this purpose, it is conceivable that the communication path represents a digital data connection, so that the electronic traffic management instruction is transmitted to the vehicle via a so-called "data link". The vehicle then receives the electronic traffic management instruction and issues it to the driver of the vehicle, for example by displaying it on a screen or, if necessary, acoustically.

Der zu kontrollierende Verkehrsraum kann bspw. im Bereich der Flugsicherung ein zu kontrollierender Luftraum sein, der von einer Mehrzahl von Luftfahrzeugen als Fahrzeuge befahren wird. Ein Fluglotse in einer Flugleitzentrale hat dabei die Verantwortung für den Luftraum, wobei der Verkehrsknotenpunkt ein Flughafen sein kann.The traffic area to be controlled can, for example, be an airspace to be controlled in the area of air traffic control, which is traveled over by a plurality of aircraft as vehicles. An air traffic controller in a flight control center is responsible for the airspace, with the traffic hub being an airport.

Die Erfindung wird anhand der beigefügten Figuren beispielhaft erläutert. Es zeigen:

Figur 1
- Schematische Darstellung des Aufbaus einer Flugführungsanweisung;
Figur 2
- Schematische Darstellung des erfindungsgemäßen Anweisungsassistenzsystems.
The invention is explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:
figure 1
- Schematic representation of the structure of a flight guidance instruction;
figure 2
- Schematic representation of the instruction assistance system according to the invention.

Die vorliegende Erfindung wird anhand von Beispielen aus der Flugsicherung näher erläutert, wobei die Erfindung hierauf nicht beschränkt ist.The present invention is explained in more detail using examples from air traffic control, the invention not being restricted thereto.

Figur 1 zeigt schematisch den Aufbau einer Flugführungsanweisung FA, die aus mehreren Anweisungsteilen AT1 bis AT5 besteht. Die einzelnen Anweisungsteile AT1 bis AT5 haben jeweils einen anderen Informationskontext, der am Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 1 nachstehend näher erläutert werden soll. figure 1 shows schematically the structure of a flight guidance instruction FA, which consists of several instruction parts AT 1 to AT 5 . The individual instruction parts AT 1 to AT 5 each have a different information context, the embodiment of the figure 1 shall be explained in more detail below.

Der erste Anweisungsteil AT1 beinhaltet die sogenannte Kennung des Flugzeuges, die oft das Call Sign des betreffenden Flugzeuges darstellt. Im Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 1 ist das Call Sign des betreffenden Flugzeuges DLH001.The first instruction part AT 1 contains the so-called identifier of the aircraft, which often represents the call sign of the aircraft in question. In the embodiment of figure 1 is the call sign of the relevant aircraft DLH001.

Daran schließt sich der sogenannte Anweisungstyp als Anweisungsteil AT2 an, der eine entsprechende grundlegende Handlungsoption des Piloten angibt. Im Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 1 handelt es sich hierbei um den Befehl "DESCEND" der den Piloten dazu veranlassen soll, das Flugzeug auf eine niedrigere Flughöhe zu steuern.This is followed by the so-called instruction type as instruction part AT 2 , which indicates a corresponding basic option for action by the pilot. In the embodiment of figure 1 This is the "DESCEND" command that is intended to cause the pilot to steer the aircraft to a lower altitude.

Der dritte und vierte, sich daran anschließende Anweisungsteil AT3 und AT4 beinhaltet den Wert in Bezug auf den Anweisungstyp AT2 und geben im Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 1 an, auf welche Flughöhe das Flugzeug, identifiziert durch den Anweisungsteil AT1, sinken soll. AT3 gibt hierbei den Höhenbezug an, der im Bereich der Luftfahrt sowohl in tatsächlicher Höhe (Fuß) als auch in Form von Flugflächen (flight level) angegeben werden kann. Im Anweisungsteil AT3 wird im Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 1 definiert, dass die Höhenangabe in AT4 die Flugfläche ist. Für AT4 ist nun der Wert 70 eingegeben worden, sodass in Verbindung mit AT3 die Anweisung eingegeben wurde, dass das Flugzeug auf die Flugfläche 70 (FL70) sinken soll.The third and fourth subsequent instruction part AT 3 and AT 4 contains the value in relation to the instruction type AT 2 and in the exemplary embodiment figure 1 indicates the altitude to which the aircraft, identified by the instruction part AT 1 , is to descend. AT 3 indicates the altitude reference, which in the field of aviation can be specified both in actual altitude (feet) and in the form of flight levels (flight level). In the instruction part AT 3 is in the embodiment figure 1 defines that the altitude in AT 4 is the flight level. The value 70 has now been entered for AT 4 , so that in connection with AT 3 the instruction was given that the aircraft should descend to Flight Level 70 (FL70).

Der Anweisungsteil AT3 kann hierbei automatisch von der Eingabeeinrichtung generiert werden, wenn der Fluglotse nur den Wert "70" als neue Höhe eingibt. Aus dem Kontext ergibt es sich, dass hier als Bezugsskala die Flugfläche gemeint ist, da zum einen eine Höhe von 70 Fuß nur im Landeanflug erreicht wird und zum anderen ab einer gewissen Flughöhe alle Flugzeuge ihre Höhenangeben in Flugflächen erhalten bzw. einstellen. Dadurch kann auch bei Regelabweichung durch den Fluglotsen eine korrekte Flugführungsanweisung generiert werden, die den allgemeinen Regeln der Flugsicherung entspricht.In this case, the instruction part AT 3 can be generated automatically by the input device if the air traffic controller only enters the value “70” as the new altitude. From the context it follows that the flight level is meant here as a reference scale, since on the one hand an altitude of 70 feet is only reached during the landing approach and on the other hand from a certain flight altitude all aircraft receive or set their altitude information in flight levels. In this way, even if the air traffic controller deviates from the rules, correct flight instructions can be generated that correspond to the general rules of air traffic control.

Der Anweisungsteil AT5 der Flugführungsanweisung FA beinhaltet eine quasistatistische Information bezüglich des Flughafens bzw. der näheren Umgebung des Flughafens, nämlich den Atmosphärendruck in der Umgebung des Flughafens. Diese Information stammt aus einer Datenbank und wurde nicht manuell von dem Fluglotsen eingegeben.The instruction part AT 5 of the flight guidance instruction FA contains quasi-statistical information regarding the airport or the immediate vicinity of the airport, namely the atmospheric pressure in the vicinity of the airport. This information comes from a database and was not manually entered by the air traffic controller.

Die einzelnen Anweisungsteile AT1 bis AT5 werden im Sinne der vorliegenden Erfindung zum einen auf verschiedenen Wegen bzw. verschiedenen Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstellen in das System eingehen und zum anderen wird die Flugführungsanweisung aus den einzelnen Anweisungsteilen entsprechend automatisch generiert und an das betreffende Flugzeug übertragen.According to the present invention, the individual instruction parts AT 1 to AT 5 enter the system in different ways or via different man-machine interfaces, and the flight guidance instruction is automatically generated from the individual instruction parts and transmitted to the relevant aircraft .

Figur 2 zeigt schematisch den Aufbau des erfindungsgemäßen Anweisungsassistenzsystems 10. Das Anweisungsassistenzsystem 10 weist eine Eingabeeinrichtung 20 auf, mit der der Fluglotse entsprechende manuelle Eingaben von Anweisungsteilen für die Flugführungsanweisung eingeben kann. Des Weiteren weist das Anweisungsassistenzsystem eine elektronische Auswerteeinheit 30 auf, mit der die Anweisungsteile der Flugführungsanweisung hinsichtlich der Plausibilität untersucht werden können. Schließlich weist das Anweisungsassistenzsystem 10 einen Anweisungsgenerator 31 auf, mit dem automatisch basierend auf den eingegeben Anweisungsteilen die Flugführungsanweisung elektronisch erzeugt werden kann. figure 2 shows schematically the structure of the instruction assistance system 10 according to the invention. The instruction assistance system 10 has an input device 20 with which the air traffic controller can enter appropriate manual inputs of instruction parts for the flight guidance instruction. Furthermore, the instruction assistance system has an electronic evaluation unit 30 with which the instruction parts of the flight guidance instruction can be examined with regard to plausibility. Finally, the instruction assistance system 10 has an instruction generator 31 with which the flight guidance instruction can be automatically generated electronically based on the instruction parts entered.

Die Eingabeeinrichtung 20 weist ein Eye-Tracking-System 21 (Blickerfassungseinrichtung) auf, mit der Blickfokus 22 auf einem Display 41 eines elektronischen Flugführungssystems ermittelt werden kann. Mithilfe des durch das Eye-Tracking-System 21 erfassten Blickfokus 22 kann in Bezug auf das Display 41 festgestellt werden, auf welchen Bereich der Fluglotse seinen Blick fokussiert. Verweilt der Blickfokus beispielsweise für länger als 1 Sekunde auf einem in dem Display 41 angezeigten Flugobjekt 42, wird in dem elektronischen Flugführungssystem 40 das fokussierte Flugobjekt 42 markiert bzw. ausgewählt und die Eingabeeinrichtung 20 übernimmt dann die Kennung des ausgewählten Flugzeuges 42 als ein Anweisungsteil AT1 für eine Flugführungsanweisung.The input device 20 has an eye-tracking system 21 (gaze detection device) with which the focus of the gaze 22 can be determined on a display 41 of an electronic flight guidance system. With the aid of the visual focus 22 detected by the eye-tracking system 21, it can be determined in relation to the display 41 on which area the air traffic controller is focusing his gaze. If the focus of the gaze lingers for longer than 1 second, for example, on a flying object 42 shown on the display 41, the focused flying object 42 is marked or selected in the electronic flight guidance system 40 and the input device 20 then accepts the identifier of the selected aircraft 42 as an instruction part AT 1 for a flight instruction.

Dabei kann vorteilhafterweise zu dem ausgewählten und markierten Flugobjekt 42 zusätzlich ein sogenanntes Radar Label 43 angezeigt werden, das Informationen bezüglich des ausgewählten Flugobjektes 42 enthält. Hier wird beispielsweise die Kennung des ausgewählten Flugzeuges, die aktuelle Flughöhe sowie weitere relevante Fluginformationen angezeigt.In addition to the selected and marked flying object 42, what is known as a radar label 43, which contains information about the selected flying object 42, can advantageously also be displayed. For example, the ID of the selected aircraft, the current flight altitude and other relevant flight information are displayed here.

Mithilfe einer Vorschlageinheit 50 wird nun basierend auf dem aktuellen Zustand bzw. der aktuellen Situation des zu kontrollierenden Luftraumes, dass die Vorschlageinheit 50 aus dem elektronischen Flugführungssystem 40 erhält, ein Vorschlag für Inhalte einer Flugführungsanweisung erzeugt und in dem entsprechenden angezeigten Radar Label 43 auf dem Display 41 als Vorschläge 44 ausgegeben. Der Fluglotse erhält dadurch unmittelbar entsprechende Informationen zu möglichen Flugführungsanweisungen, die basierend auf dem Situationsbewusstsein des Systems eine sinnvolle Anweisung darstellen. Die durch die Vorschlageinheit 50 gemachten Vorschläge 44 können dabei direkt als Inhalt von Anweisungsteilen übernommen werden. Denkbar ist aber auch, dass der Fluglotse die Vorschläge teilweise oder gänzlich abändert, sofern die gemachten Vorschläge nicht seiner Intension entsprechen.With the help of a suggestion unit 50, based on the current state or the current situation of the airspace to be controlled, that the suggestion unit 50 receives from the electronic flight guidance system 40, a suggestion for the contents of a flight guidance instruction is generated and displayed in the corresponding radar label 43 41 issued as proposals 44. As a result, the air traffic controller immediately receives relevant information on possible flight guidance instructions, which represent a meaningful instruction based on the system's situational awareness. The suggestions 44 made by the suggestion unit 50 can be accepted directly as the content of instruction parts. However, it is also conceivable that the air traffic controller may change the suggestions in whole or in part if the suggestions made do not correspond to his intention.

Die Eingabeeinrichtung 20 weist des Weiteren eine akustische Eingabeeinheit 23 in Form eines Mikrofons auf, mit der akustische Sprachsignale des Fluglotsen aufgenommen und weiterverarbeitet werden können. Mithilfe einer Spracherkennung 24 können nun die akustischen Sprachsignale elektronisch erkannt und als Inhalte von Anweisungsteilen verwendet werden. So ist es beispielsweise denkbar, dass mithilfe des Mikrofons 23 und der Spracherkennung 24 die neue Höhe als Wert eines Anweisungstypen eingegeben wird, beispielsweise der Wert "70".The input device 20 also has an acoustic input unit 23 in the form of a microphone, with which acoustic speech signals from the air traffic controller can be recorded and further processed. Using speech recognition 24, the acoustic speech signals can now be recognized electronically and used as the content of instruction parts. It is thus conceivable, for example, for the new height to be input as a value of an instruction type, for example the value “70”, using the microphone 23 and the voice recognition 24 .

Dass es sich hierbei um die Bezugsgröße "FL" für Flugfläche handelt, ergibt sich aus dem Gesamtkontext und wird von der Eingabeeinrichtung automatisch hinzugefügt.The fact that this is the reference variable "FL" for flight level results from the overall context and is automatically added by the input device.

Schließlich weist die Eingabeeinrichtung 20 eine Gestenerkennungseinrichtung 25 auf, mit der Gesten 26 einer Fingerbewegung des Fluglotsen erkannt werden können. Diese Fingergesten können dabei beispielsweise den Anweisungstypen definieren, wobei durch die Richtung der Fingergeste dieser Anweisungstyp definiert wird. Eine Fingergeste 26 in Richtung Boden bedeutet dabei, dass das Flugzeug sinken soll, während eine Fingergeste 26 nach oben (bezüglich Erdlot) bedeuten soll, dass das Flugzeug steigen soll. Das jeweils neue Fluglevel kann dabei durch den Piloten in Form von Sprache mithilfe des Mikrofons 23 und der Spracherkennung 24 eingegeben werden. Denkbar ist auch, dass durch translatorische Seitwärtsbewegungen eine Fingergeste 26 eingegeben wird, die ein Erhöhen der Geschwindigkeit oder ein Verringern der Geschwindigkeit des Flugzeuges bedeuten soll.Finally, the input device 20 has a gesture recognition device 25 with which gestures 26 of a finger movement by the air traffic controller can be recognized. These finger gestures can define the instruction type, for example, with this instruction type being defined by the direction of the finger gesture. A finger gesture 26 in the direction of the ground means that the aircraft should descend, while a finger gesture 26 upwards (relative to the ground plummet) should mean that the aircraft should climb. The respective new flight level can be entered by the pilot in the form of speech using the microphone 23 and the speech recognition 24 . It is also conceivable for a finger gesture 26 to be input by translatory sideways movements, which is intended to mean an increase in the speed or a decrease in the speed of the aircraft.

Es sind auch 3D Gesten mit einer "Leap Motion Control" denkbar, bei der die Hand mit ausgestreckten Fingern nach oben (bezüglich Erdlot) geführt wird. Ein langanhaltendes Drücken wäre für das Anfliegen eines Wegpunktes denkbar. Eine Drehgeste mit zwei Fingern könnte eine Steuerkursänderung symbolisieren.3D gestures with a "Leap Motion Control" are also conceivable, in which the hand is guided upwards (in relation to the earth plumb) with outstretched fingers. A long-lasting press would be conceivable for approaching a waypoint. A two-finger twist gesture could symbolize a change in heading.

Selbstverständlich ist es denkbar, dass die Eingabeeinrichtung 20 noch weitere Eingabegeräte aufweist, mit denen der Fluglotse entsprechende manuelle Eingaben von Anweisungsteilen einer Flugführungsanweisung eingeben kann. Dies kann beispielsweise ein empfindliches Display oder eine Tastatur sein.Of course, it is conceivable for the input device 20 to have further input devices with which the air traffic controller can enter corresponding manual inputs of instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction. This can be a sensitive display or a keyboard, for example.

All die von dem Fluglotsen eingegebenen oder von dem Vorschlagssystem 50 vorgeschlagenen Vorschläge 44 werden nun zusammengeführt und ggf. durch statistische Informationen aus einer Datenbank 52 ergänzt. Die im Punkt 52 zusammengeführten Anweisungsteile einer Flugführungsanweisung werden nun mithilfe einer Auswerteeinheit 30 hinsichtlich der Plausibilität überprüft, wobei jeder Anweisungsteil auch in Bezug auf den aktuellen Zustand bzw. die aktuelle Situation des zu kontrollierenden Luftraumes beurteilt wird. Die Information hierüber erhält die Auswerteeinheit 30 von dem elektronischen Flugführungssystems 40. Sind die der Flugführungsanweisung zugrunde liegenden Anweisungsteile plausibel und ohne Beanstandung, so wird mithilfe eines elektronischen Anweisungsgenerators 31 die elektronische Flugführungsanweisung FA generiert und über eine Kommunikationsschnittstelle 32 an ein Flugzeug 100 übertragen. Dafür stehen der Kommunikationsschnittstelle 32 mehrere Kommunikationswege 33a, 33b einer Kommunikationseinrichtung 34 zur Verfügung, welche die Schnittstelle 32 je nach Auslastung des jeweiligen Kommunikationsweges 33a, 33b auswählt. Hierfür ist es beispielsweise denkbar, dass der Anweisungsgenerator 31 die elektronische Flugführungsanweisung in eine akustische Flugführungsanweisung konvertiert und dann die Flugführungsanweisung mithilfe der Kommunikationsschnittstelle 32 über eine Sprachverbindung an das Flugzeug 100 überträgt.All of the suggestions 44 entered by the air traffic controller or suggested by the suggestion system 50 are now brought together and possibly implemented statistical information from a database 52 added. The instruction parts of a flight guidance instruction brought together at point 52 are now checked for plausibility using an evaluation unit 30, with each instruction part also being assessed in relation to the current state or the current situation of the airspace to be controlled. The evaluation unit 30 receives the information about this from the electronic flight control system 40. If the instruction parts on which the flight control instruction is based are plausible and without objection, the electronic flight control instruction FA is generated with the aid of an electronic instruction generator 31 and transmitted to an aircraft 100 via a communication interface 32. For this purpose, the communication interface 32 has several communication paths 33a, 33b of a communication device 34 available, which the interface 32 selects depending on the utilization of the respective communication path 33a, 33b. It is conceivable for this purpose, for example, for the instruction generator 31 to convert the electronic flight control instruction into an acoustic flight control instruction and then to transmit the flight control instruction to the aircraft 100 using the communication interface 32 via a voice connection.

Claims (12)

  1. Method for traffic management for vehicles located in a traffic area by transmitting traffic management instructions from a traffic control centre monitoring the traffic area to a relevant vehicle within the monitored traffic area, comprising the following steps:
    a) manual input of instruction components of a traffic management instruction, which is intended to be transmitted to a relevant vehicle in the monitored traffic area, by a traffic controller of the traffic control centre by means of an input device (20) of an instruction assistance system (10),
    b) checking the instruction components of the traffic management instruction in respect of plausibility in relation to the current state, provided by an electronic traffic management system, of the traffic area to be monitored by means of an electronic evaluation unit (30) of the instruction assistance system in order to check whether the instruction components contain discrepancies or whether the instruction components could lead to hazardous situations,
    c) automatically generating an electronic traffic management instruction from the instruction components by means of an electronic instruction generator (31) of the instruction assistance system if the plausibility is established when the instruction components are checked in step b), and
    d) transmitting the automatically generated, electronic traffic management instruction to the relevant vehicle by means of a communication interface, connected to an electronic communication device (34), of the instruction assistance system,
    characterized
    - in that the instruction components of the traffic management instruction are each individual information blocks semantically separated from one another and
    - in that, in addition to the manually input instruction components of the traffic management instruction, related information regarding the current state of the traffic area to be monitored, regarding a traffic hub concerning the traffic control centre and/or regarding the area surrounding the traffic hub concerning the traffic control centre is ascertained from a database and at least one of these items of information is used as the instruction component of the traffic management instruction, wherein the electronic traffic management instruction is generated from the manually input instruction components and the at least one instruction component containing the database information by means of the instruction generator, and/or
    - depending on at least one manually input instruction component an instruction context in relation to this instruction component is ascertained and depending on the ascertained instruction context a further instruction component is automatically ascertained by the input device, wherein the electronic traffic management instruction is generated from the manually input instruction components and the at least one instruction component automatically ascertained from the instruction context by means of the instruction generator.
  2. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the gaze focus of the traffic controller within a display at least partially showing the current state of the traffic area to be monitored is detected by means of a gaze detection device (21) of the input device, wherein depending on the detected gaze focus a vehicle in the traffic area to be monitored is then selected for a traffic management instruction and a unique identifier for the selected vehicle is ascertained by means of the input device, wherein the ascertained identifier for the selected vehicle is used as an instruction component of the traffic management instruction.
  3. Method according to Claim 2, characterized in that on the basis of the vehicle selected by the gaze focus of the traffic controller and the ascertained identifier and depending on the current state, provided by an electronic traffic management system, of the traffic area to be monitored one or more proposals for instruction components of the traffic management instruction to be transmitted to the selected vehicle is/are generated by means of a proposal unit (50) and these generated proposals for instruction components of the traffic management instruction are displayed within the display at least partially showing the current state of the traffic area to be monitored.
  4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that acoustic voice signals of the traffic controller are recorded by means of a microphone unit of the input device and then at least one instruction component of a traffic management instruction is ascertained from the recorded acoustic voice signals by means of a voice recognition means and used for the traffic management instruction.
  5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a body movement of the traffic controller is detected by means of a contactless or contact-activated gesture input device of the input device and a corresponding gesture of the traffic controller is identified, wherein then at least one instruction component of a traffic management instruction is ascertained from the identified gestures of the traffic controller by means of the input device and used for the traffic management instruction.
  6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that by means of the communication interface a communication path, that can be selected from various communication paths, of the electronic communication device is selected for transmitting the electronic traffic management instruction and then the electronic traffic management instruction is transmitted to the relevant vehicle by means of the selected communication path.
  7. Method according to Claim 6, characterized in that the communication path is selected depending on a utilization of the selectable communication paths.
  8. Method according to Claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a selectable communication path is a voice radio link, wherein the electronic traffic management instruction is converted into an acoustic traffic management instruction by means of a text-to-speech unit in this communication path and the acoustic traffic management instruction is transmitted to the relevant vehicle by means of the voice radio link, and/or in that a selectable communication path is a digital data link, wherein the electronic traffic management instruction is transmitted to the relevant vehicle by means of the digital data link as digital data in this communication path.
  9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the traffic area is an airspace to be monitored, the vehicle located in the airspace is an aircraft, in particular an aeroplane, the traffic control centre is a flight control centre, the traffic hub is an airport and/or the traffic controller is an air traffic controller.
  10. Instruction assistance system for traffic controllers for inputting and transmitting traffic management instructions from a traffic control centre monitoring a traffic area to relevant vehicles within the monitored traffic area, wherein the instruction assistance system is designed for carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising an input device (20), an electronic evaluation unit (30), an electronic instruction generator (31) and a communication interface (32).
  11. Instruction assistance system according to Claim 10, characterized in that the input device comprises a gaze detection device (21) and possibly a proposal unit (50), a microphone unit and voice recognition means and/or a contactless or contact-activated gesture input device.
  12. Instruction assistance system according to Claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the system comprises a database containing corresponding information regarding the current state of the airspace to be monitored, regarding a traffic hub concerning the traffic control centre and/or regarding the area surrounding the traffic hub concerning the traffic control centre.
EP17158692.8A 2016-03-07 2017-03-01 Method and device for guiding traffic, in particular aircraft Active EP3217378B1 (en)

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DE102016104117.3A DE102016104117A1 (en) 2016-03-07 2016-03-07 Method and device for traffic guidance of vehicles, in particular aircraft

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CN109255981B (en) * 2018-08-31 2022-09-13 温州云航信息科技有限公司 Enhanced control instruction support system and method based on attention focus perception

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US20060046715A1 (en) * 2004-08-24 2006-03-02 Burgemeister Alvin H Packetized voice communication method and system
US20100027768A1 (en) * 2006-11-03 2010-02-04 Foskett James J Aviation text and voice communication system
US20100198489A1 (en) * 2009-01-30 2010-08-05 David Rozovski Systems and method for managing airport ground traffic

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