The subject of the invention is a method for determining a quality of at least one mobile communications network in an air corridor (8), which method comprises: an unmanned aerial vehicle (1) comprising a mobile communications receiver (3) configured to determine the quality of the at least one mobile communications network, and comprising a positioning device (4) configured to determine a position of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) in the air corridor (8), and comprises the steps: arranging a plurality of radio-based control devices (2) along a ground path (6) corresponding to a linear path (7) in the air corridor (8), each of said control devices (2) being configured to control the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) through the air corridor (8) and being spaced apart from one another on the ground (5), such that the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) when flying the linear path (7) at no position is farther than in visual contact range (9) from at least one of the control devices (2); flying the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) along the linear path (7) by controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) by means of the plurality of control devices (2) in turn; and during the flying of the linear path (7), determining the quality of the at least one mobile communications network at the given position in the air corridor (8).

The invention relates to a motorizing device (1) for moving an aircraft (A) provided with a landing device (L) having wheels (W) on the ground, the motorizing device comprising at least one electric motor (2) having an output shaft provided with means for its rotational connection to at least one of the wheels (W) of the landing device for driving said wheel in rotation, and an electronic control unit (3) connected on the one hand to the motor to control it and on the other hand to a control interface (4) from which the aircraft pilot can transmit control signals which the electronic control unit (3) is arranged to transform into motor control signals, characterized in that the control unit is arranged to implement a first control law having determined dynamics to promote an aircraft movement speed and a second control law having dynamics to promote aircraft manoeuvrability.

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media storing instructions for determining cross-track error of an aircraft on a taxiway are disclosed herein. The disclosed techniques capture electronic images of a portion of the taxiway using cameras or other electronic imaging devices mounted on the aircraft, pre-process the electronic images to generate regularized image data, apply a trained multichannel neural network model to the regularized image data to generate a preliminary estimate of cross-track error relative to the centerline of the taxiway, and post-process the preliminary estimate to generate an estimate of cross-track error of the aircraft. Further embodiments adjust a GPS-based location estimate of the aircraft using the estimate of cross-track error or adjust the heading of the aircraft based upon the estimate of cross-track error.

A no/low visibility automatic takeoff system for an aircraft obtains a runway reference centerline and aircraft pointing direction (via the aircraft's sensors) and automatically controls the aircraft pointing direction to track the runway reference centerline. An initial vector is obtained based on the initial position of the aircraft the first piloted initiation of the takeoff roll. After the system obtains a centerline, it automatically tracks the centerline and corrects aircraft trajectory so the aircraft heading closely matches the runway centerline as the aircraft proceeds down the runway,

The invention relates to a method for controlling the torque of a drive device (1) for rotating wheels (2) of an aircraft comprising actuators for selectively driving rotating wheels of the aircraft to ensure its movement on the ground, comprising the step of regulating a torque generated by the drive device according to a torque setpoint (4) issued by the pilot. According to the invention, the method involves the step of generating, as long as the torque setpoint is not sufficient to guarantee a stable movement speed of the aircraft, a replacement torque setpoint (5) to allow the aircraft to move at a stable speed, and substituting the replacement torque setpoint for the torque setpoint generated by the pilot.

Route planning and movement of an aircraft on the ground based on a navigation model trained to improve aircraft operational efficiency is provided herein. A system comprises a memory that stores executable components and a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, that executes the executable components that comprise an assessment component, a sensor component, and a route planning component. The assessment component accesses runway data, taxiway data, and gate configuration data associated with an airport. The sensor component collects, from a plurality of sensors, sensor data related to performance data of an aircraft and respective conditions of the runway, the taxiway, and the gate configuration data. The route planning component employs a navigation model that is trained to analyze the sensor data, the runway data, the taxiway data, and the gate configuration data, and generate a taxiing protocol to navigate the aircraft to improve aircraft operational efficiency.

To provide a safety device that, when a crosswind is present, allows an aircraft to more safely land on a runway in an airport. This safety device 10 for landing in a crosswind is designed for landing of an aircraft 1 on a runway 3 in a crosswind across the runway 3, and provided with a control unit 14 for controlling, when the nose cone 1T of the fuselage 8 of the aircraft 1 is directed windward, the orientation of the wheels of the aircraft 1 such that the wheels are oriented in the direction of travel of the aircraft 1.

An example computing device may detect through a sensor that an aircraft started a particular phase of flight. The computing device may autonomously take independent actions on behalf of service operators to automatically allocate and assign resources to the aircraft based on availability of the resources and the flight phase of the aircraft. The computing device may thus trigger preparation of a particular service ahead of arrival of the aircraft, such that the associated service equipment is ready when the aircraft arrives at the gate.

A system for controlling a trajectory of an aircraft on the ground, includes a determining module configured to determine a current trajectory of the aircraft on the ground including a series of waypoints planned for an element of the aircraft with unchanged conditions of the lateral movement devices of the aircraft, and at least one limit trajectory, including a series of limit waypoints that may be reached by the element by actuating at least one lateral movement device. The system includes a display assembly comprising a viewer configured to display a view (200) of a runway portion located near the aircraft, and a display generating module configured to display, on the viewer, a current trajectory curve (202) representative of the current trajectory and at least one limit curve (204a, 204b, 206a, 206b) representative of the limit trajectory, superimposed on the view (200).

Example implementations relate to autonomous airport runway navigation. An example system includes a first sensor and a second sensor coupled to an aircraft at a first location and a second location, respectively, and a computing system configured to receive sensor data from one or both of the first sensor and the second sensor to detect airport markings positioned proximate a runway. The computing system is further configured to identify a centerline of the runway based on the airport markings and receive sensor data from both of the first sensor and the second sensor to determine a lateral displacement that represents a distance between a reference point of the aircraft and the centerline of the runway. The computing system is further configured to control instructions that indicate adjustments for aligning the reference point of the aircraft with the centerline of the runway during subsequent navigation of the aircraft.