Request Communication MFD

[luki1997a]

Last time I've been playing Orbiter, I thought there is too silent(maybe it's space, but...).

"Communication MFD" would be great. For example you open it and select DOCK and type spacecraft name, which you want to dock with. Then you hear:

-This is <spacecraft name>, we request docking to port 1 at <tgt name>
-Roger that <spacecraft name>, you re clear to dock.
-Copy.

--5 mins later--

-It's <spacecraft name> we're 100 meters near the station, we proceed for docking to port 1
-Roger.
<50 meters>
<25 meters>
<10 meters>
-This is <tgt name> you have successfully docked. Congratulations.

====
And similar dialogs for other situations such as landing etc.

This so simple MFD would be just playing audio files and it should be a problem for a programmist. My C++ skills are too bad to write it, so I'm requesting it.

 

[Interceptor]

Yeah,that is a cool idea!,I like it.:thumbup:

 

[Cras]

So it would serve as a sort of future space ATC thing? I like the idea for sure.

As it stands now I tend to just say the words to myself out load, and with this I wouldn't seem so crazy to anyone who walks in on my Orbiter time.

 

[Xyon]

Practically implementing this, on a basic level, wouldn't be too difficult - an MFD which plays sound is already in my addons collection. However, how do you propose to speak out loud the (highly) variable components in your script? How should the system accomodate the fact that the vessel's name is very unlikely to be a word it knows?

A text-to-speech process might fit, but listening to TTS trip over the hyphens and trying to pronounce abbreviations as words would not really work well.

This wouldn't really need to be an MFD, by the way. It would work perfectly as a plugin - there's no real "flight" stuff going on here, and plugins can accept user input well enough for the purpose.

 

[Moach]

i say instead of even trying to have it pronounce the actual names of the ships, it lets the user select from a number of predefined callsigns... much easier, i think...

for the more common ground bases and the ISS, there could be special callsigns, but for anything else, things like "eagle one" or "starchaser" and whatnot would pretty much cover all the needed purposes

 

[Radu094]

Well, thinking in terms of normal ATS comm: the ATC has a limited number of digits and letters to speak when identifying a craft: YR854 becomes yankee romeo eight five four,etc.

There is little to suggest any future ?STC? system will not employ a similar feature; assuming it will be done by radio and we will not have moved on to more intelligent systems (ahem: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Air_Navigation_System"]Future Air Navigation System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame])

 

[Cras]

whatever FSX uses for ATC does a pretty good job of saying what the aircraft is. Type in just about anything and it will get it right, or at least pretty darn close.

But Radu094 brings up a good point. As it stands now there is already sectors that use text based ATC, and it stands that it will only become more common. Voice ATC, much like the ground based Navaid system we all have come to love may soon become a thing of the past.

 

[luki1997a]

I think saying custom names wouldn't be too difficult. MFD will have sort of prerecorded dialogs, letters, numbers and spc names. For ex. ship named "Hail probe2011" wiil be spoken as "H A I L P R O B E 2 0 1 1".

To make it simple, audio files will contain:
-every letter from alphabet
-every number from 0 to 9
-STC ~20 dialogs
-some information sounds

TTS is not needed to say everything. Author of this add-on may say himself and record needed dialogs.

 

[Scruce]

Perhaps a designation such as "Hotel Alpha India Lima" (the phonetic alphabet), instead of "H, A, I, L" would sound more radio-like. Alternatively, perhaps giving spacecraft designations such as "Sierra 6" (translates as S6 in the phonetic alphabet), instead of the name.

So communication would say something like "Golf Lima Zero One" (for GL-01).

Phonetic Alphabet:

I second the request for an addon like this. :2cents:

 

[Spacethingy]

Isn't that the NATO phonetic alphabet? Don't we want something slightly less... military? :lol:

What do civilian pilots use worldwide?

 

[garyw]

Isn't that the NATO phonetic alphabet? Don't we want something slightly less... military? :lol:

What do civilian pilots use worldwide?

The same because it works. it is clear and unambigious. After all, you don't want to be a commerical pilot and not being able to understand millitary traffic and vice versa - especially if you are sharing the same airport.

 

[PeriapsisPrograde]

What do civilian pilots use worldwide?

iirc...

Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Ontario
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Wilcox
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu

 

[garyw]

Which is the phonetic alphabet listed above....

I've used it myself many times when reading out car number plates, serial numbers and my postcode.

Don't forget that pilots are constrained in what they say on the radio simply because of the amount of different languages that are first languages of the worlds pilots. Therefore a specific, constrained language is much better than using different types of phrases for the same clearences. It was this type of screw up that lead to the tenerifie disaster.

ICAO guide to pilot phraseology.

 

[luki1997a]

Ok I think planning is done. We're now waiting for someone to develop it.:thumbup:

 

[garyw]

Ok I think planning is done. We're now waiting for someone to develop it.:thumbup:

Not at all. This is not planning, this is discussion. Planning would be generating a specification for what should be said and when it should be send as well as writing down what options (if any) the user would have.

 

[Urwumpe]

I've used it myself many times when reading out car number plates, serial numbers and my postcode.

Same here, it is part of your basic training as soldier, and as such, hard to forget. It happens automatically, you suddenly find yourself using NATO alphabet instead of the still more common German version.

 

[ky]

Would there be a list of replies that a user can select to reply to the ATC.? For example, if you request to taxi to a runway, the options would be: Taxi to Runway 22, Taxi to Runway 15, or Taxi to Runway 31. Say you pick Runway 22, the ATC would then respond saying: Taxi to Runway 22, and hold short, and recontact tower when ready for takeoff.

 

[Urwumpe]

Do you even have an idea, how complex this will get, if you have spaceport management involved? This even overwhelms experienced human operators every other day.

 

[Wishbone]

Wasn't there a game "Kennedy airport" for wannabe controllers?

 

[Cras]

Just a small correction on the phonetic alphabet, W=Whiskey, not Wilcox.

---------- Post added at 10:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ----------

Do you even have an idea, how complex this will get, if you have spaceport management involved? This even overwhelms experienced human operators every other day.

There are a few add-ons made for FSX to replace the default ATC, and complex is not the first word that came to mind.

Since there is no wind, the program just looks to see which runways exists and randomly assigns one, or even like it was mentioned, have the user dictate which runway to use. Look at the available pads, and see which ones are vacant, and randomly assign one to land on, or again leave it up to the user.

Use a text to speech program and off one of ATTs voice packs to speak the ATC's role, and you are off.

Unless people want to have a 100 other DG-IVs and XR-2s flying around in their airspace, I see no need to have ATC actually control the air (space) traffic in the area. It does not need to worry about lining up other ships for landing pattern and things like that. I don't think it would be nearly as complex as you suggest it would be.