US 11,869,375 B2
Intelligent airport ramp and electric taxi-driven aircraft ground movement monitoring system
Jan Vana, Prague (CZ); Isaiah W. Cox, London (GB); and Joseph J. Cox, Portland, OR (US)
Assigned to Borealis Technical Limited, Isle of Man (IM)
Filed by Borealis Technical Limited, North Plains, OR (US)
Filed on Jul. 3, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/502,503.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/693,830, filed on Jul. 3, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0013301 A1, Jan. 9, 2020
Int. Cl. G08G 5/04 (2006.01); G08G 5/00 (2006.01); G08G 5/06 (2006.01); B64C 25/40 (2006.01); G08G 5/02 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); B64C 25/32 (2006.01)
CPC G08G 5/045 (2013.01) [B64C 25/405 (2013.01); G05D 1/0055 (2013.01); G08G 5/0013 (2013.01); G08G 5/0043 (2013.01); G08G 5/025 (2013.01); G08G 5/065 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
9. An artificial intelligence-based airport terminal ramp monitoring method that monitors all real time ground travel of electric taxi drive system-driven aircraft within an airport ramp area and improves safety of ramp operations, comprising: a. equipping aircraft with landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi drive systems to drive the equipped aircraft during all ground travel within an airport ramp area and mounting multiple different monitoring devices in multiple exterior locations at different heights above a ramp surface on the equipped aircraft selected to provide views or images of and information about a monitored volume of exterior ramp space extending from the ramp surface to just above a wing of the equipped aircraft not visible to a pilot in a cockpit of said aircraft and a ramp ground travel path of the equipped aircraft, operating the multiple different monitoring devices, and generating constant streams of real time data with the views or images and information as the equipped aircraft is driven with the electric taxi drive systems within the airport ramp area; b. mounting additional monitoring devices in exterior locations on moving ground service vehicles and equipment within the airport ramp area, mounting other monitoring devices on passenger loading bridges, nonmoving structures, and ground crew within the airport ramp area, operating the additional and the other monitoring devices and generating constant streams of real time data with the views or images of and information about the monitored volume, ramp area surrounding the equipped aircraft, and ramp area ground travel path as the equipped aircraft are driven with the electric taxi drive systems within the airport ramp area; c. driving the equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems along the ramp ground travel path, obtaining the generated constant streams of real time data about the monitored volume, surrounding ramp area, and the ramp ground travel path from the multiple different monitoring devices, the additional monitoring devices, and the other monitoring devices, and transmitting the generated constant streams of real time data with the views or images and information to an artificial intelligence-based processing system capable of intermediate and high level image understanding using artificial intelligence-based processor software; d. processing the transmitted constant streams of real time data by the artificial intelligence-based processor using the artificial intelligence-based processor software, producing real time views and images of and information about the equipped aircraft monitored volume, the ramp ground travel path, and the surrounding ramp area from the processed real time data, and communicating the produced real time views and images and information to at least a cockpit display in the equipped aircraft; e. identifying safety or collision hazards from the processed real time data and communicating an identified safety or collision hazard as a visual or an audio warning signal to the cockpit display and to additional displays located in ramp control locations outside or remote from the equipped aircraft cockpit; and f. altering or stopping ground movement of the electric taxi system-driven aircraft as required to avoid any identified safety or collision hazard.