Internet of things to come?

Meanwhile, the IoT itself is evolving, nearly as quickly as the consumer technology it emulates. Three years ago, Amazon’s Echo had only just arrived in homes, and Apple Pay hadn’t even arrived in Australia. The definition of the IoT we used nearly three years ago aimed to achieve a future where “objects equipped with electronics, software, sensors and access to a network can transmit information without needing operational input from humans”.

Yet, intriguingly, three years later, the definition of the Internet of Things for the aviation industry hasn’t changed much — a remarkable achievement from IoT players in an industry where change is a paradoxical constant.

“Rockwell Collins considers IoT to be any device connected to a network that produces or consumes information within the aviation community. We use a definition that essentially allows any device that senses and reports, or processes data to be an eligible IoT appliance. We do not require the network to be ‘the Internet’,” Joel Otto, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development in Rockwell Collins’ Information Management Services division, tells Australian Aviation. “Rather, we define it such that the device must have the ability to transfer data — directly or through a gateway — using the Internet Protocol, or IP.”

Crucially, an internet of things does not have to be on the Internet of Things, the capitalised, proper-nouned latter of which operates on the same set of global interconnected protocols as Google, Facebook, Twitter, email, Amazon, iView, and so on. Providers can create their own interconnected networks — small-i internets — and, with the additional security advantages closed networks can bring in the aviation context, this option can look attractive.

A little more formally and in corporate language, Pratt and Whitney’s Director of Digital Technology Sean Pearson defines the IoT as “an interconnected system of devices, software, and analytics that captures data about the real-world and enables intelligent, proactive actions to be taken that drives better business outcomes and operational efficiencies. The Internet of Things is a strategic consideration for Pratt & Whitney, as it can improve customer experiences, operational efficiency and overall profitability of businesses by enabling greater visibility into real-world events and statuses.”

‘The Internet of Things is a vehicle that transforms connectivity.’

Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, “regards the Internet of Things as a vehicle that transforms connectivity and provides opportunities to deliver passengers more reliably and more efficiently than ever before. It is an enabler of a wider Rolls-Royce vision, that of the IntelligentEngine, which sees a future where the worlds of product and service have become so closely connected that they are now inseparable. The coming together of product and service, supercharged by digital technology, offers Rolls-Royce a wealth of opportunities to improve the way it provides power to its customers,” the company explains via spokesperson Bill O’Sullivan.

Notably, and despite some rather lofty promises in the early days of the IoT’s applications for the aviation industry, much of its benefits are now being seen as evolutionary rather than revolutionary, particularly by enginemakers, who have been doing the IoT since before it was called the IoT.
“Rockwell Collins doesn’t necessarily see IoT as a big win play. Rather, we see IoT more as a series of incremental value adds that each airline or operator will put in place to enhance the efficiency of their operations or to serve their customers better. It’s clear there is no “magic bullet” application driving the industry to broadly adopt IoT,” says the company’s Joel Otto. “we believe that each airline will chart their own course to apply IoT according to their operational and customer engagement strategies.”

From the airline perspective, meanwhile, Virgin Australia’s Chief Information Officer Cameron Stone defines the IoT as “a growing collection of objects that, through the use of embedded technology, are able to be connected to the internet, allowing interaction and reporting not previously possible. This includes everyday objects that can now be connected to the internet such as vehicles, equipment — and passenger handling processes, like security and baggage handling — as well as a growing array of sensors and beacons.”

Bringing it back to the basics, technology integrator SITAONAIR’s Portfolio Head for e-Aircraft Pierre-Yves Benain tells Australian Aviation that the IoT “is about delivering value from data generated by sensors attached to or embedded into ‘things’. From SITAONAIR’s perspective, the aviation IoT represents a set of technologies embracing sensors, connectivity, data management and analytics, that are intelligently combined to generate value.”
For some early use cases, the IoT is here already.

For some early use cases, the IoT is here already.

At Australia’s airports, “the Department of Immigration and Border Protection is trialling the use of biometric tech at Sydney Airport that will allow customers to be processed by digital facial recognition, iris and/or fingerprints, matched to existing data,” explains Gareth Bridges, Director of Digital Business for Asia-Pacific at Internet backbone company Equinix. “Passengers will have the potential to pass through bag drop, border processing, security screening, airport lounge and boarding gate after only showing their passport once for initial verification.”

“Already, the use of facial-recognition technology at Sydney Airport’s electronic gates has reduced the average amount of time people spend passing through Customs from four minutes to 23 seconds,” Bridges explains. “The use of automated immigration gates and kiosks has increased globally by 6 per cent in 2017 to almost 60 per cent. Looking ahead, Western Sydney Airport will have technology that enhances the passenger experience in these and other more unimaginable ways.”

Over the last three years, says Pratt & Whitney’s Sean Pearson, “the opportunities to apply IoT across business processes continue to grow at an exponential rate. The associated costs to extract real-time information continue to reduce.”

Rockwell Collins’ Joel Otto, meanwhile, tells Australian Aviation that not everyone is persuaded. “I do believe that the business case for turning certain aircraft equipment into IoT devices has yet to achieve mainstream acceptance.”

Yet Virgin Australia is on board, says chief information officer Cameron Stone. “IoT not only improves the travel experience for guests, but it also streamlines workflows for our ground staff and flight crews to be able to use technology to provide a more tailored customer experience for our guests and the reach that IoT has will only continue to broaden as technology advances.”

Across the IoT, Stone sees “a growing list of items and opportunities that we might not have seen before.”

For early adopter engine suppliers, the IoT is building on existing work

“The aviation industry has a long term history with this type of technology. for example, aircraft engines have had connected sensors for a long time,” Virgin Australia’s Stone tells Australian Aviation.

Pratt & Whitney’s Director of Digital Technology Sean Pearson elaborates. “Pratt & Whitney has been collecting data from aircraft for the last 15 years and offers a successful EHM [Engine Health Management] service called ADEM. This 24/7 service takes advantage of our continuous development of analytics and maintenance recommendations. Thanks to this service, our customers have been able to better manage their fleet and reduce operational event disruptions.”

More widely, says Rolls-Royce’s Bill O’Sullivan, “Airlines have focused on applying digital technologies to improve passenger experience, online revenue generation and back office optimisation with advanced analytics. Fuel and maintenance costs are now more than 50% of airline spend and we look to provide predictive and prescriptive analytics apps, using data fetched from IoT devices, which will help them optimise their operational costs.”
Yet the IoT’s promise remains more than just cutting costs: it’s about these predictions that help to increase reliability, maintain schedules, and improve safety. A key destination on the road to getting there is the concept of a digital twin: a computerised version of, in this case, any particular engine that matches its physical counterpart.

“The ability to diagnose engine issues is important, but even better if the Artificial Intelligence can determine an accurate remaining useful life for the key components,” explains O’Sullivan. “This allows maintenance and inspection intervals to be optimised. Rolls-Royce is using Big Data tools and the Operational Performance Digital Twin to merge detailed engine performance data with contextual operational data — such as flight track and dust, sand, ice and other environmental contaminants — to accurately measure component wear and predict life. The Operational Performance Digital Twin further extends this concept to allow optimisation of the near-term and long-term maintenance plan.”

Since February, Rolls-Royce has been consolidating its work in this arena in its IntelligentEngine programme, an evolution of its TotalCare service package that débuted in the 1990s.

“In addition to designing, testing, and maintaining engines in the digital realm, the IntelligentEngine vision sets out a future where an engine will be increasingly connected, contextually aware and comprehending, helping to deliver greater reliability and efficiency,” O’Sullivan says, highlighting three ways in which aircraft will be:

“• Connected – with other engines, its support ecosystem, and with its customer, allowing for regular, two-way flow of information between many parties
• Contextually aware – of its operating context, constraints and the needs of the customer, allowing it to respond to the environment around it without human intervention
• Comprehending – learning from its own experiences and from its network of peers to adjust its behaviour and achieve best performance”
But despite this pedigree, it may be more the rise in home-based and office-based IoT devices that encourages the aviation industry to do more with the Internet of Things.

The growth in consumer IoT has spurred aviation to do more

It’s not exactly as clear a line as “Alexa, when will VH-OJA require engine maintenance?” or “Siri, what is our regional subsidiary’s current on-time performance?”, but the growth in the number and power of individual and networked devices living in the homes and offices of C-suite and senior management executives in the aviation industry is a key driver behind increasing the adoption of IoT technology among airlines.

‘Alexa, when will VH-OJA require engine maintenance?’

Home devices can be used off-the-shelf or adapted for aviation purposes, while aviation-specific devices are increasing in number, complexity and networking ability on a continuous basis.

“Rockwell Collins does see that there are more airlines talking about IoT as part of their connected airplane strategies,” says the company’s Joel Otto, although he notes that “most are still working on the business cases to determine how far to take IoT.”

In fairness, that last sentence could be attributed to many consumer and enterprise IoT devices too, but some surprising darts have stuck to the proverbial product dartboard.

“The rising number of IoT devices and venture capitalist investment in IoT startups will fuel competition and innovation across the IoT toolchain,” concurs Pratt & Whitney’s Sean Pearson, highlighting that “IoT growth is driven by business and technological factors, decreasing costs of sensors and increasing capabilities of various tech, such as network bandwidth, cloud services and machine learning.”

SITAONAIR statistics suggest that more than two thirds of airlines are currently planning to invest to increase their adoption of IoT in the future.
“This is overdue and represents a huge business opportunity,” says Equinix’ Gareth Bridges. “The data-driven optimisation of traditional processes not only makes for improved safety and security, it delivers economic efficiencies for business — not to mention that it aligns with customers’ shifting expectations.”

Already, the IoT generates more information than the industry can use

Early generations of sensor-enabled aircraft are already generating more data than airlines, their suppliers, manufacturers and the rest of the industry are using, yet finding a single ‘killer app’ has proven elusive.

Currently, says Virgin Australia’s chief information officer Cameron Stone, “IoT is allowing for the aviation community to enhance the customer experience by eliminating the frictions associated with flying. Each opportunity to utilise IoT solutions is attached to addressing a business problem where the technology is really a secondary consideration. Virgin Australia has a number of areas that are looking at using IoT elements to improve the customer experience throughout their journey, like the ability to check flight status information using Amazon Alexa.”

Yet challenges unique to aviation certainly remain. “For some of our operational areas, power to IoT devices poses an issue so we are looking at some innovative solutions that will increase battery life on beacons and sensors that would make their use more practical,” Stone says.

SITAONAIR’s Pierre-Yves Benain agrees. “The big and understandable barrier to adopting IoT onboard aircraft has been the need to gather certifications before any new technologies can be deployed. For SITAONAIR, we believe industry collaboration, and the creation of open, certified platforms, will be the key to unlocking widespread certified IoT adoption, and its associated benefits.”

It’s also crucial to understand the context of aviation’s disparate, often bespoke, frequently outsourced, and sometimes difficult to update IT backbones — many of which are controlled by data warehousing players. Joining up these disparate systems, which often use different languages, is a tall order.

Commercial powerplant manufacturers are, however, demonstrating that it can be done. Already, Rolls-Royce’s Bill O’Sullivan reminds Australian Aviation. “Intensive analytics is carried out on data collected from sensors on engines which are then transmitted to Rolls-Royce Aircraft Availability Centres across the globe using a combination of online and offline transmission techniques. With advanced data sciences, Rolls-Royce uses diagnostic analytics to determine usage patterns, provides predictive analytics as insight to determine engine life and also provides prescriptive analytics as foresight to control the engine usage. Airlines who have implemented our predictive and prescriptive analytics solutions are able to continue to keep the engines on-wing longer safely and reduce Aircraft On Ground situations.”

As airline operations and management functions become more data-driven and more connected, manufacturers and service providers are creating new sets of tools that can be integrated in existing ops centres and management information systems. General aviation operators, too, have new suites of applications where they can customise notifications for their individual operational needs.

Automating these processes, creating reports that are usable, and translating them between operational and technical specialties, is already showing promise for Rolls-Royce, which launched its Intelligent Insights suite earlier this year. “The first element to be launched is Technical Insight, which benefits both airline technical services teams and Rolls-Royce service delivery specialists as they strive for ever improved dispatch reliability,” explains O’Sullivan. “It automates the application of Natural Language techniques to process engine maintenance log data, unlocking the potential for a step change in delay and cancellation performance. This data is connected with other relevant parameters in the Cloud, and insights are then delivered via visualisation tools for the line maintenance environment in an easy-to-use app, and via the Rolls-Royce Care portal.”

Yet SITAONAIR’s Belain is clear that aviation is only starting to unlock the power of the IoT. “There are many concepts and trials underway at the moment. We see the biggest growth area in the space being in how the data-value potential of IoT is realised.”

But does slower wifi adoption mean Australia is behind the curve?

But how is Australia’s aviation industry measuring up? Airlines in the Southwest Pacific are lagging far behind their North American counterparts in particular when it comes to getting their aircraft online with inflight Internet connectivity, and some of the benefits of the Internet of Things require, well, Internet.

The good news for local airlines is that “Rockwell Collins does not see the strong adoption of inflight internet in North America driving high numbers of IoT applications into those airlines,” says Joel Otto from the company’s Information Management Services division. “The longer lead items in IoT are, firstly, connecting the device if it is not connected, and, secondly, determining how “smart” an aircraft certified device needs to be and updating those devices on the aircraft.”

SITAONAIR’s Pierre-Yves Belain concurs. “So far, inflight Internet has been driven by the passenger entertainment segment. We do not perceive a strong relation with IoT today, although this may change in future.”

With long lead times for selection, testing, provision, installation and entry into service of inflight Internet systems, however, airlines are planning for IoT benefits once the planes are online. “Virgin Australia plans to have all of our B777 aircraft and the majority of our B737 aircraft fitted with wi-fi by the end of 2018, will A330 installation to follow in 2019,” Chief Information Officer Cameron Stone explains. “As guests become more accustomed to using wi-fi inflight, the opportunities to provide new products and services to guests that may or may not utilise IoT will increase dramatically. Early planning for these products and services is already underway.”

Coming up next, says Stone, “new aircraft types, such as the Boeing 737 MAX, are arriving with a growing array of sensors designed to increase safety and deliver greater operational efficiencies to the airline.”

Moreover, “the use of IoT to enhance wayfinding and personal communications in the airport is something that is currently underway. We expect to be utilising this, combined with augmented reality solutions by early 2019, on our new app.”

In addition, Stone says, “We have several asset tracking initiatives that utilise IoT elements also underway, for example with our wheelchairs, and a number of programs to look at improved baggage tagging and tracking.”

Key suppliers, too, are bullish on the future for the IoT. From the Rolls-Royce perspective, says the company’s Bill O’Sullivan, “the increase in digital capability is continually increasing – our Airline Aircraft Availability Centre in Derby, UK, will soon be receiving more than 70 trillion data points from our large engine fleet every year and our R2 Data Labs organisation then uses advanced data analytics, industrial Artificial Intelligence and machine learning techniques to translate that data into new service propositions for customers.”

SITAONAIR’s Pierre-Yves Benain also remains positive. “As SITA’s connected aircraft experts, we are exploring innovation in a number of areas where the IoT will bring clear value onboard aircraft – from monitoring transported goods and assets inflight and sensing the aircraft environment, to keeping tabs on an aircraft’s condition. As a priority, we are collaborating with airlines’ OEMs and IoT vendors to identify where enabling IoT capabilities will make a real difference.”

It’s clear that the Internet of Things is maturing, but while it has moved beyond the bleeding edge the edge is still sharp and often results in a “wait for it” from prospective customers. Just as not every household is clamouring to talk to Alexa, not every operator, manufacturer or supplier wants every part of their operations online. If, after nearly three years of study, the Internet of Things were getting its report card, it might read: “A promising future, but must make new friends and apply itself better.” Clearly, there is more to do, there are more people to persuade, and there are more benefits to show — but it feels like the aviation industry is getting there.