US 11,928,976 B2
Cross-checking localization during aircraft terminal operations
Michael Andrew Sherback, Mountain View, CA (US); Robert W. Rose, Los Altos, CA (US); Matthew T. Nehrenz, San Jose, CA (US); and John P. Couluris, Mountain View, CA (US)
Assigned to Reliable Robotics Corporation, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Reliable Robotics Corporation, Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 25, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/830,008.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/824,945, filed on Mar. 27, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0312170 A1, Oct. 1, 2020
Int. Cl. G08G 5/02 (2006.01); B64D 47/08 (2006.01); G01C 5/00 (2006.01); G07C 5/08 (2006.01); G08G 5/00 (2006.01); H04L 9/08 (2006.01)
CPC G08G 5/025 (2013.01) [B64D 47/08 (2013.01); G01C 5/005 (2013.01); G07C 5/0808 (2013.01); G08G 5/0013 (2013.01); G08G 5/0021 (2013.01); H04L 9/0872 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
monitoring a status of an aircraft in operation by determining position data of the aircraft in relation to a landing site, the position data of the aircraft determined by a navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft;
in response to the status satisfying a condition, performing, by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, a localization cross-check procedure to cross-check the position data of the aircraft determined by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, comprising:
receiving, by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, a radiofrequency signal from a ground based transponder grid that is separate from the aircraft;
estimating, by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, a position of the aircraft in relation to the landing site based on a time-of-flight analysis of the radiofrequency signal received from the ground based transponder grid; and
cross-checking, by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, the position data of the aircraft determined by the navigation-related subsystem with the estimated position of the aircraft in relation to the landing site that is estimated based on the radiofrequency signal received from the ground based transponder grid;
updating, by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, one or more protection levels of the aircraft including a horizontal protection level of the aircraft and a vertical protection level of the aircraft based on the cross-check of the position data of the aircraft and the estimated position of the aircraft that is performed by the navigation-related subsystem on the aircraft, wherein the horizontal protection level is a radius of a circle in a horizontal plane with the aircraft being at the center of the circle and the vertical protection level is the radius of the circle in the vertical plane; and
based on the updated one or more protection levels, generating an updated set of instructions for operational control of the aircraft.