An aircraft avionics unit that enhances the emergency location capability of existing Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs). This aircraft avionics unit can be integrated with a wide range of existing ELTs and their existing aircraft interfaces by changes to a small number of the signal wires between the ELT and the aircraft systems and the addition of limited inputs from aircraft systems. This system requires no changes to either the current ELTs or the associated aircraft systems. The integrated system maintains the current ELT concept of operations while providing significantly enhanced ELT activation triggering with a low-impact, low-cost approach.

Digital recording and replay system for an aircraft, comprising a Mission Computer with an Operational Flight Program for generating instrument data for onboard instruments of the aircraft; a Mission Data Recorder connected to said Mission Computer for recording said instrument data; and a Mission Debriefing System; wherein the Mission Debriefing System is configured to reproduce the onboard instruments of the aircraft based on instrument data retrieved from the Mission Data Recorder. Method for reproduction of onboard instrumentation of an aircraft, comprising the steps of connecting a Mission Data Recorder to a Mission Computer of an aircraft having an Operational Flight Program for generating instrument data for onboard instruments; recording instrument data; providing a Mission Debrief System and causing it to reproduce the onboard instruments of the aircraft based on instrument data retrieved from the Mission Data Recorder.

An ejectable flight data recorder for robust retention of flight data and aiding in locating an aircraft after an emergency situation comprises: a buoyant housing comprising an internal cavity, a door for access to at least a portion of the internal cavity, and an aerodynamic outer shape having a longitudinal axis; an energy-dissipating nose cone for reducing an impact load on the housing when the flight data recorder impacts a water surface; a nonvolatile memory configured to store flight data; a position sensor for detecting a geographic position of the flight data recorder; a radio transmitter; an antenna electrically coupled to the radio transmitter; a sustainable power system; and a hydrophone for acoustically tracking a sinking trajectory of the aircraft in a body of water.

A flight information storage system for an airplane according to the present invention may include: one or more of a video acquiring device mounted on the airplane; a recording device for recording video acquired through the video acquiring device(s) during a flight of the airplane; and a travel storage device which simultaneously stores the video data recorded by the recording device. Here, the travel storage device may be a USB cartridge, and the video acquiring device may be one or both of a digital camera and a radar device. The digital camera may include a first digital camera that is installed in front of the cockpit of the airplane to capture an image to the front of the airplane during flight, and two or more second digital cameras installed behind the cockpit of the airplane to capture an image of the instrument panel of the airplane and the area surrounding the instrument panel.

A system for locating a debris field resulting from a plane crash comprises a plurality of low-power, battery operated electronic transponder tags, and at least one locator operative to the interrogate the tags to determine the location thereof. The tags are placed on or in an airplane in multiple locations, thereby enabling the locator to determine the location of a debris field in the event of a crash. The locator, which may be airborne, preferably reports tag positions for map display. The tags may be hermetically sealed to prevent water infiltration, and may be triggered to an active state in response to a large acceleration or always in an ON state. Tags placed on or in the airplane may be mounted in a manner to intentionally detach. The tags may further include a barometric pressure sensor, a shock sensor and/or an accurate time base to record the time of a crash.

When flights meet disaster in the mid-air, the cause of the mishap is unknown immediately. Teams are dispatched in difficult conditions to retrieve the flight data recorder (FDR) also known as black box. Until the black box is found, the exact cause of the crash cannot be determined. Sometimes it may take years to find the black box. For example, Air France flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Jun. 1, 2009. The cause of the accident remained unknown mainly because the black box was missing. It was found after almost two years in May 2011. The delay in finding the flight data creates risks for future flights if the crash occurred due to a manufacturing defect in the model of the plane. The ability to reach the data without the burden and need for a physical black box has obvious benefits. This idea has been discussed in the literature but no one has put forth a functional and effective method for the implementation of this concept, for example no one has determined an appropriate software scheme that would enable a universal system that doesn't need a black box or which can function in parallel with black box. In this project, a set of algorithms for reliable transmission of flight data in real-time to distributed ground servers is developed. The attached description presents an overall structure of the proposed scheme. We also describe the methods of communicating between at least one plane server, several data servers and at least one central server controlling various components of data transmission, and the algorithms that enable the communication of data. In addition, the proposed packet header formats, the packet type codes and fault tolerance features are described.

A system for a vehicle includes a non-volatile memory device, a database, a plurality of vehicle data sources, and a processor. The database has data stored therein that are representative of at least terrain or man-made obstacles the vehicle may potentially impact. Each vehicle data source is configured to supply vehicle parameter data that are representative of a vehicle parameter. The processor is coupled to acquire data from the database and to receive the vehicle parameter data and is configured to store at least selected portions of the vehicle parameter data and internally processed parameters in a history data file in the non-volatile memory device. The processor is also configured to determine if the vehicle will impact terrain or a man-made obstacle within a predetermined time, and stop storing data in the history data file upon determining that the vehicle will experience an impact within the predetermined time.

An apparatus and method for a task and energy efficient Black Box (BB) are disclosed. The various embodiments of the disclosure enable, support and/or provide a configuration paradigm enabling an energy limited device or “BB” to achieve optimal energy usage and the communication transmission scheme used. In the “deployed mode”, rather than wasting precious energy broadcasting a signal when no one can receive such energy, the unit operates in a stand-by dormant mode, managing its resources at a low level of energy consumption. In this mode, the unit simply listens to an activation signal coming from an “interrogator” transponder hat has actually deployed in the vicinity (within range). When the device detects an activation signal, it becomes “awaken” and it will then start broadcasting its ping.

A method includes obtaining operational data recorded by a data recorder onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), determining timing of a maintenance operation for the UAV based on the operational data, and providing a reminder of the maintenance operation for the UAV based on the determined timing.

An avionics system can provide data to a first receiving component associated with a proprietary first protocol and a second receiving component associated with a non-proprietary second protocol. A configuration tool generates a first configuration file comprising instructions for a data access component to provide a first data output to the first receiving component, and a second data output to the second receiving component. The configuration tool can generate a second configuration file including instructions to convert the second data output. The data access component can receive a definition database defining the first protocol to convert the data according to the non-proprietary second protocol. The data access component can provide the requested data to the first and second receiving components in accordance with the non-proprietary second protocol. The second receiving component is configured convert the data received based on the second configuration file.