The Internet Of The Air

“In general,” Inmarsat’s Captain Mary McMillan, vice president for safety and operational services tells Australian Aviation, “shared situational awareness improves planning and supports collaborative decision-making. Enhanced position information (both faster reports and richer data) improves predictability, which supports better airspace and surface traffic flow and capacity management. There are many possibilities for air traffic management applications that leverage real-time data from the aircraft delivered via broadband. ” Lufthansa Systems’ project manager for its Lido/Navigation product, Ingo Ludwig, elaborates: “From the airline perspective increased and permanent air/ground connectivity allows the exchange of up-to-date flight-related information and the participation of the flightdeck in collaborative decision-making (CDM) processes with the actors on ground. This will contribute positively to aspects of the flight operations like predictability, punctuality, efficiency and safety. ” Yet, as McMillan says, “connectivity for the aircraft represents a major paradigm shift for the industry. Broadband service and the capabilities it delivers will save fuel, increase capacity in congested airspace, improve the speed and quality of communications, deliver the highest levels of information security and enhance safety. These capabililities also benefit the environment with reduced CO2 emissions delivered by more efficient routes and lower fuel burn. ”

In late 2016, connectivity is in a time of transition

More, wider, faster connectivity options are coming online, including global Ka-band coverage with Inmarsat’s Global Express product, increasing coverage and partnerships from ViaSat, faster HTS and XTS satellites for Panasonic Avionics, double-radome 2Ku from Gogo, together with faster air-to-ground solutions in Europe (from Deutsche Telekom) and the United States (from Gogo and SmartSky). New partnerships are reaping benefits, whether with governments in securing approvals to operate over national airspace, or with satellite providers to both launch new connectivity into space and make the most of existing options.

“Broadband connectivity unlocks many new opportunities for airlines resulting from two primary factors,” Gogo’s product manager for airline operational systems TJ Horsager tells Australian Aviation, “reduced bandwidth cost, which unlocks new business cases, and new technical solutions which depend upon increased bandwidth. ” Indeed, some of these benefits are already being realised in addition to in-cabin opportunities like passenger connectivity, live streaming entertainment, and real-time transactions on point-of-sale systems.

Broadband connectivity unlocks many new opportunities for airlines. TJ HORSAGER

“The potential offered by maximising connectivity to the aircraft has already been experienced by Airservices Australia as part of a recent evaluation in the region,” Inmarsat’s McMillan says.

“Airservices and two major international Australian airlines have done evaluations of reduced reporting intervals of 14 minutes and below, in line with ICAO’s recommendations, using existing ADS-C capability. The success of these evaluations demonstrated that with enhanced connectivity, greater situational awareness of all aircraft can be achieved and separation standards may be reduced. This results in increased operational efficiencies and enhanced safety. These airlines have also been actively investigating the potential of greater capacity to the cockpit, using a secure Inmarsat broadband connection, to understand potential operational benefits and cost savings. ”

Better connectivity is moving towards the cockpit, but regulation issues remain a constraint

Since inflight connectivity went mainstream in the late 2000s, there has been an understandable resistance to allowing publicly accessible systems to also be used for safety-critical functions. Yet this resistance is lessening as more in-service hours are accumulated by the systems concerned, regulators get up to speed on information security, and connectivity providers work through certification processes.

“There continues to be a movement toward the paperless cockpit with centralised EFB document management applications enabling the sharing of data across platforms,” ViaSat’s Don Buchman, vice president & general manager of commercial mobility, explains.

“As more data flows through this paperless environment, not only will a big data pipe be needed today, but it must be ready to take on the data demands of tomorrow. Weather, turbulence, other local environmental data has become important to get into the flightcrew’s hands real-time. ” Communication between the flightdeck, air traffic control, and airline operations will see key upgrades with improved connectivity, explains Lufthansa Systems’ Ludwig.

“We assume in the near future more and more data communication changes from the ACARS systems to fast IP-based internet connections in almost all flight phases. Furthermore, it can be expected that today’s voice communication between the flightdeck and the actors on ground will be replaced partially by data communication as further evolution of the current CPDLC (controller pilot data link communication). ” “Due to the critical nature of air traffic management, only certain services are approved to carry air traffic management communications,” Panasonic’s Lars Ringertz, director of global communications services, adds. “The introduction of broadband communications systems offers a way to offload Airline Operational Communications (AOC) from the ACARS communications services, freeing up much needed bandwidth on the ACARS system. AOC traffic has traditionally used ACARS because it was the only available way of communicating with the aircraft. With new forms of communication becoming mainstream we can see operational AOC communication moving to pure IP and higher bandwidth services because of the benefits the more capable pipe can bring. ” Just how large an impact can that make? “As a rule of thumb,” Ringertz estimates, “75 per cent of an airline’s ACARS traffic is AOC, so services like [Panasonic’s Ku-band] eXConnect can play a big role in helping to ease the frequency congestion we see today in Europe. The higher capacity of the new services will, over time, lead to a move of AOC traffic to a pure IP environment, which will enable airlines to run more rich and data intensive applications than we see today. ” “Today, Ka, Ku and 2Ku are not typically being used for safety services,” Rockwell Collins’ Andrew Onken, director of air traffic services, says. “The primary reason is that regulatory authorities must go through a certification process, which can take a long time given the significant implications associated with change. As a leader in the industry, Rockwell Collins is often involved in these certifications processes. ” Onken’s Rockwell Collins colleague Dan Pendergast, director of global product management for flightdeck connectivity services, concurs. “There’s a lot of excitement about the potential benefits of these new, wider pipes for flightdeck comms. We are still in a transition phase, which involves integrating the complete end-to-end capability to support these ‘pipes’ in the aircraft within the airline’s IT infrastructure. When the end-to-end capability is in place, some expected benefits include the ability to get a more complete weather picture created by inputs from onboard weather radar and related systems, for the dispatchers and even other aircraft. Other capabilities include enhanced flight plan and technical logs, uploaded in real time, as well as new flight and crew recordkeeping tools to instantly share data with back-office operations for better management of human assets. ” At the end of the day, increasing safety through boosting efficiency and lightening the load for the flightdeck, airline operations, and air traffic control tower is likely to be the greatest – and yet most invisible – benefit.

More, better navigational information can improve flightdeck situational awareness and decision-making

“Faster communications with higher rates of position reporting provide reduced separation and better routing paths,” Inmarsat’s McMillan says. “Reduced separation means that more aircraft can safely fly in a given airspace at the same time. This is especially important in congested airspace, such as over the North Atlantic. In addition to position reporting, controller–pilot data link communications is revolutionising pilot-controller communications, leading to efficiency of operations and better use of the radio spectrum. ” Spectrum efficiency is a double benefit for connectivity with new technologies looking to reuse parts of the spectrum, and certain sections of the spectrum more suitable than others for communications use.

McMillan continues: “we also see the future ability to use connectivity and advanced flightdeck applications to improve shared situational awareness between pilot and controller. With an IP-based broadband connection, pilots are capable of receiving real-time traffic, weather and special use airspace status to improve decision-making and dynamically optimise routes and flight plans based on changing air traffic environments. ” Further, McMillan notes, “the controller and traffic flow management systems will benefit from real-time flight profile information provided by the aircraft. Greater accuracy in an aircraft’s flight information increases predictability, which improves traffic flow management, resulting in better capacity management and thus greater efficiency. An example of this positive effect is the support of trajectory-based operations, such as continuous descent operations, which can greatly impact fuel savings and costs. ”

Weather information is an early big win for inflight connectivity

Airlines are both collectors of meteorological data and customers for the weather products that it generates. Through the use of systems like Panasonic Avionics’ TAMDAR, a small meteorological sensor is installed on the nose of aircraft, and data is recorded and transmitted as the aircraft climbs and descends. Sub-cruise levels are the most meteorologically significant, and as a result numerous smaller operators are part of the network. Key geographic players like Icelandair, given Reykjavik’s North Atlantic location, also participate.

Rockwell Collins’ Pendergast is clear about the meteorological interest in connectivity. “We have a lot of interest around weather-related data. Having real-time weather delivered to the cockpit enables pilots to request more efficient routes around developing weather that is beyond the range of their aircraft’s weather radar. More accurate turbulence predictions and data are also a big area of interest for airlines to enhance the safety of the crew and passengers. ” “In the United States alone,” Inmarsat’s McMillan notes, “it is estimated that the damage, delays and disruption from turbulence cost more than $500 million per year. Recent studies show a considerable rise in incidents of turbulence. Real graphical weather data in the cockpit can help avoid passenger discomfort and unexpected diversions. ” “With the new available pipes,” Lufthansa Systems’ Ludwig says, “it’s possible to send geo-referenced graphical weather information directly into charting applications like Lido/eRouteManual or Lido/mPilot. Pilots don’t have to translate text messages into positions on their charts. It will be directly displayed on the charts together with the flight path and it’s less time consuming and more fail-safe. ”

Airline operations can be improved by better, faster communications and more data

Effective air traffic management is supported by – indeed, is perhaps impossible without – effective airline operations working in concert with controllers and pilots.

“Airline operations teams can support the flightdeck by the provision of up-to-date aeronautical, meteorological, and air traffic related information,” Lufthansa Systems’ Ludwig says.

“This increases the situational awareness of the flightdeck. Moreover, the airline operations team is able to support the decision-making of the flightdeck by updated flight plan alternatives, taking into consideration the operational requirements of the airline. In the other direction the airline operations teams can benefit from more up-to-date information provided by the flightdeck in the coordination of the operational processes on ground. This refers, for instance, to the passengers and their baggage with regard to connecting flights or the aircraft and crew rotation. ” Inmarsat’s McMillan also emphasises the human resources improvements, which have knock-on effects for air traffic management.

“A new generation of enterprise mobility and workforce management applications save time and cost by reducing paperwork and improving communications and real-time availability of airline and crew schedules, updating technical logs and other reports, while also providing up-to-date access to a wide range of necessary information and data. Formerly, these were done when an aircraft was on the ground. Now they can be done in flight, saving time and money. Electronic flight bags (EFBs) started as a replacement for paper charts and manuals but with a broadband connection, will provide many new data sets for pilots. ” “Besides graphical information,” Lufthansa Systems’ Ludwig continues, “it will be possible to exchange information using data encoding formats (like XML or GML). Only wider pipes support the exchange of such information by the provision of the required bandwidth and transfer rate that is needed for the intended amount of data and the exchange frequency. The usage of data encoding formats for the exchange of information allows its direct processing by the connected systems. Automation will improve the timeliness, quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of the processes. ” “The industry is clearly moving toward high speed communications links to the cockpit,” Rockwell Collins’ Onken notes, “but in terms of satellite connectivity, Classic Aero (L-band) is in the safety services spectrum and is the most common link being used today for FANS and other ATC activities. But the industry is evolving. In June 2015, Rockwell Collins announced that it was working with the FAA and Hawaiian Airlines to evaluate the use of Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband to transfer ACARS data messages for safety services, as well as electronic flight bag updates and airline operations communications. ” Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband, for which Rockwell Collins is a partner, is an improved L-band technology. It increases speed by using multiple channels, although debate remains about whether it is truly broadband, given that it is not especially swift.

Two-way maintenance data streams and communications will make maintenance easier and faster

If air traffic management is hard to get right without effective airline operations, reducing technical delays and cancellations is a key part of the puzzle.

Inmarsat’s McMillan explains: “Preventative maintenance data and actions taken by the airlines reduces technical delays and last-minute changes to air traffic management. Since the trend for newer aircraft is for key components to be computer or software controlled, these components can now be remotely monitored and managed in a secure environment. ” “Bottom line,” says ViaSat’s Buchman, “with more capacity, you can get more insight for cost-effective operational support from data acquisition and transfer to aircraft health monitoring. With the amount of capacity ViaSat can deliver to each device/plane, we can enable airlines, MROs and flight operations teams to collect and translate aircraft data into real-time actionable and useful information. This ultimately reduces operating spend, improves safety conditions and empowers operations teams with better situational awareness of flight operations. ”

Predictability and reliability can bring mainline hub operational flow to re-mote outstations

Getting more aspects of commercial aviation online “will increase the predictably of the entire aviation system”, Rockwell Collins’ Onken suggests.

“Aircraft operations are more reliable because we are getting more data. If we have an advanced network that can stream real-time information and analytics that can predict future state, we will increase predictably and improve the performance of our entire aviation system – even on the outside edges (ie smaller, regional airports that fly into and out of the major hubs). Reliability leads to fewer disruptions/less exceptions, resulting in happier passengers that are not stuck at the airport waiting for a delayed flight. ” Inmarsat’s McMillan agrees. “The ability to monitor and ‘drill down’ into engine and other systems data from the ground during flight enables faster diagnosis of maintenance and technical problems and the ability to pre-position the right parts and personnel at the gate to achieve faster turnarounds.

Incident investigation will be improved by live streaming of data, including from the black boxes

Emirates retrieved black box information from the recent crash of a Boeing 777-300 operating flight EK521 at Dubai within minutes of the incident, using an Avionica miniQAR quick access recorder that transmitted the information wirelessly.

In flight, “a cost-effective broadband connection opens up the possibility to securely record and download large amounts of flight data, on the ground, in real time when an aircraft is in a distress situation. This enables the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) as conceived by ICAO and what Inmarsat calls ‘Black Box in the Cloud’, which promises both safety and operational benefits,” Inmarsat’s McMillan says.

It seems clear that streaming black boxes are part of the future of aviation, particularly in the context of recent deep water crashes where searches for flight data recorders have not progressed as quickly as might have been expected.

Diversions can be avoided and passenger emergencies resolved better with live video telemedicine

It’s not just urgent technical issues affecting air traffic management that can be assisted with connectivity. Medical emergencies result in numerous diversions, at a high cost to the airline and air traffic workload. The advances in telemedicine can be even more widely applied over broadband, as Inmarsat’s McMillan explains: “Telemedicine applications will support a different kind of decision-making that must be done in real time onboard the aircraft, but which can save the cost and disruption of unnecessary medical diversions which can incur significant cost and disruption for an airline. ” Essentially, if the current generation of telemedicine is over voice, imagine how much more effective it can be if a flight attendant can point an airline-provided smartphone camera at the passenger to provide more data to the telemedical consultant.

With aircraft designed for the Internet of Things, new applications will be developed to further improve air traffic management efficiency

Future opportunities for connectivity are almost boundless as the Internet of Things truly takes hold inside the aircraft and in a wide variety of other airline operations applications. Improved flight tracking and additional information available to controllers will certainly be at the start of that list.

Maintenance will be high on the list too, as Inmarsat’s McMillan explains. “The ability to use a broadband connection to drill down into aircraft engine and systems data from the ground while the plane is flying helps diagnose problems and pre-position the right parts and personnel on the ground for fast turnaround when the aircraft lands. Real-time exceedance alerts and exception reports can improve both safety and operational efficiency, saving the airline time and money. ‘Big data’ initiatives underway today by the airframe and engine OEMs can enable potential leading indicators of a failure condition to be detected in real time, with appropriate responses being initiated. ” “It can be assumed that a wide variety of devices and components in the aircraft will become in the future a “thing” in the IoT sense,” Lufthansa Systems’ Ludwig predicts. “The amount of data provided by such things requires connectivity that is not available today. The provided data can support a number of different processes – monitoring the health status of the things is only one of them. This monitoring can help to increase the aircraft reliability, for example by planning maintenance activities in advance. ” Big data analysis of quality assurance information will lead to a paradigm shift in information-led planning, contributing to better operations and reduced air traffic management interventions.

Rockwell Collins’ Pendergast expects that “information-enabled flightdecks can bring new understanding to back-office assessments of flight operations and maintenance operations quality assurance (FOQA and MOQA) data, resulting in efficiencies and cost savings. FOQA data – automatically downloaded at the end of a flight to airline operations via Wi-Fi or AeroMACS – can help identify performance trends that can be used to improve approach and landing safety. Or, even more exciting, maintenance data can be sent to operators on the ground in essentially real time, allowing maintenance crews to be ready to immediately repair an aircraft to reduce unplanned aircraft-on-ground issues. ” There will doubtless be more air traffic applications for inflight connectivity as broadband connectivity becomes more widespread, costs drop, decision-makers come to grips with the technology, innovative providers offer new products to airlines, and smart airlines make the most of them.

The advances in telemedicine can be even more widely applied over broadband.