Patents by Inventor Mark D. Ward

Mark D. Ward has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20210241639
    Abstract: A system and method of landing an aircraft. The system includes a human machine interface responsive to an input from an operator, and a processor. A region of interest for the aircraft is selected. A representation of a potential landing zone associated with the region of interest is presented at a human machine interface. A suitability of the potential landing zone for landing is evaluated to obtain an evaluation score. The evaluation score for the potential landing zone is presented at the human machine interface. An input is received at the human machine interface to select the potential landing zone. The aircraft is landed at the selected landing zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Igor CHEREPINSKY, George Nicholas LOUSSIDES, Margaret M. LAMPAZZI, Prateek SAHAY, Mark D. Ward
  • Patent number: 10528063
    Abstract: An example computer-implemented method for natural language mission planning includes: responsive to receiving a request to initiate mission planning for a selected mission type from a plurality of mission types, constructing, by a processing system, a mission narrative that describes a mission intent based on the selected mission type, the mission narrative comprising a plurality of fields; populating, by the processing system, the plurality of fields in the mission narrative from an autonomous mission manager based on the selected mission type with options to be selected by a mission planner; responsive to presenting the populated plurality of fields to the mission planner, filling, by the processing system, the mission narrative with the received selected options; creating, by the processing system, an optimized mission plan based on the mission narrative; and controlling, by the processing system, a vehicle based on the optimized mission plan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Igor Cherepinsky, Prateek Sahay, Mark D. Ward, Sacha Duff, Margaret M. Lampazzi
  • Patent number: 10459456
    Abstract: A system and method for flying an aircraft is disclosed. A perception system at the aircraft tracks a trajectory of a moving object. A processor determines, from the trajectory of the moving object, a reference frame in which the moving object is stationary and establishes the aircraft at a selected offset from the moving object for the trajectory of the moving object. The aircraft is flown along a flight path based on the selected offset using calculations performed with respect to the determined reference frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Daniel Montrallo Flickinger, Mark D. Ward, William T. McNeill
  • Publication number: 20190139420
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer readable medium includes computer executable instructions for performing a method, the method comprising generating a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display. The GUI can be configured to display aircraft route information and to receive one or more real-time aircraft route inputs. The method also includes receiving, at the GUI, the one or more real-time aircraft route inputs from an input device and conforming the one or more real-time aircraft route inputs to a conformed route. The method includes outputting a conformed route to at least one of the GUI and/or an aircraft control system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2017
    Publication date: May 9, 2019
    Inventors: Mark D. Ward, Margaret M. Lampazzi, Prateek Sahay, John M. Burdis
  • Patent number: 10223922
    Abstract: A system for mission parameterization is provided and includes a vehicle that itself includes a sensor to sense characteristic sensed elements in surroundings of the vehicle and a computing device. The computing device includes a processing unit and a memory unit. The memory unit has a database configured to associate objects disposable in the surroundings with sensible characteristic object elements and executable instructions. The executable instructions are configured to cause the processing unit to find correspondence between any characteristic sensed elements in the surroundings, which are sensed by the activated sensor, and any of the characteristic object elements, identify objects in the surroundings based on the correspondence and set mission parameters based on identifications of the objects in the surroundings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Garrett Pitcher, Mark D. Ward
  • Publication number: 20180259977
    Abstract: An example computer-implemented method for natural language mission planning includes: responsive to receiving a request to initiate mission planning for a selected mission type from a plurality of mission types, constructing, by a processing system, a mission narrative that describes a mission intent based on the selected mission type, the mission narrative comprising a plurality of fields; populating, by the processing system, the plurality of fields in the mission narrative from an autonomous mission manager based on the selected mission type with options to be selected by a mission planner; responsive to presenting the populated plurality of fields to the mission planner, filling, by the processing system, the mission narrative with the received selected options; creating, by the processing system, an optimized mission plan based on the mission narrative; and controlling, by the processing system, a vehicle based on the optimized mission plan.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2018
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Inventors: Igor Cherepinsky, Prateek Sahay, Mark D. Ward, Sacha Duff, Margaret M. Lampazzi
  • Publication number: 20180059689
    Abstract: A system and method for flying an aircraft is disclosed. A perception system at the aircraft tracks a trajectory of a moving object. A processor determines, from the trajectory of the moving object, a reference frame in which the moving object is stationary and establishes the aircraft at a selected offset from the moving object for the trajectory of the moving object. The aircraft is flown along a flight path based on the selected offset using calculations performed with respect to the determined reference frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Publication date: March 1, 2018
    Inventors: Daniel Montrallo Flickinger, Mark D. Ward, William T. McNeill
  • Publication number: 20170278403
    Abstract: A system for mission parameterization is provided and includes a vehicle that itself includes a sensor to sense characteristic sensed elements in surroundings of the vehicle and a computing device. The computing device includes a processing unit and a memory unit. The memory unit has a database configured to associate objects disposable in the surroundings with sensible characteristic object elements and executable instructions. The executable instructions are configured to cause the processing unit to find correspondence between any characteristic sensed elements in the surroundings, which are sensed by the activated sensor, and any of the characteristic object elements, identify objects in the surroundings based on the correspondence and set mission parameters based on identifications of the objects in the surroundings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2017
    Publication date: September 28, 2017
    Inventors: Garrett Pitcher, Mark D. Ward