MRO’s – Page 46 – Aviation, Inflight and Aero Connectivity Consultants

NASA-Funded Research Team Explores Electric Aircraft Development

University researchers have made strides towards the development of advanced fuel cells and electricity-conducting technology for generating the power that will be necessary to enable fully-electric aircraft. (Photo: Phillip Ansell, University of Illinois)

In recent years, the sustainability and environmental impacts of air travel have been brought under intense scrutiny from governments, nonprofits and the public. This has led to aircraft manufacturers and other aviation companies alike focusing on creating more sustainable and efficient aircraft for use in both commercial and private segments of the industry. Supported by NASA, CHEETA (the Center for High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft), is a group of researchers and students that are looking to take this movement further by cutting carbon emissions from aircraft entirely through the development of fully electric aircraft.

Electrifying aviation, while a relatively new concept, has gained traction in the industry. Its popularity has been seen specifically in recent months, as Icelandair conducted its first test flight for an all-electric training aircraft that could have future application in some of the carrier’s short-haul, domestic markets. However, CHEETA is thinking bigger, aiming to harness the power of fuel cells to power large aircraft beyond the size of training aircraft.

While created as a component of NASA’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI), CHEETA is composed of researchers, graduates and undergraduate students from nine universities across the country. It fulfills the ULI’s goal by allowing talented minds across many disciplines to collaborate with funding from NASA to develop advanced solutions to the challenges facing the aerospace industry today. Phillip Ansell, CHEETA’s director, highlights the benefit of this campus involvement, explaining, “The students are just so enamored with our work, which has been really cool to see.”

The focus for CHEETA is to harness the power of fuel cells to generate sustainable power for large aircraft. These cells would create electricity by combining oxygen in the air with hydrogen. This chemical process would only result in the emission of water, making this science a promising lead toward sustainable air travel.

While developments like this are much closer in reach thanks to technological advancements, a goal to create electricity to power aircraft using fuel cells comes with logistical challenges that must be faced by the ULI. For one, hydrogen must be in its liquid state in order to be used in the process of generating electricity. This becomes a significant obstacle for CHEETA researchers, as hydrogen must be stored at -423℉ in order to remain in its liquid state.

“Storing this supercold, or cryogenic, liquid requires tanks that are heavier than those used to hold regular jet fuel, which has made it difficult for fuel cells from achieving widespread use in aviation,” writes NASA’s Lillian Gipson.

Even if the team is able to address the challenges, they must also find a way to ensure that the fuel cells can power a large aircraft and the complex systems needed for operation.

Despite these headwinds, CHEETA seems determined to propel the aviation industry forward through its research. Its progress toward sustainable air travel is proving to be a unifying cause in the industry, as even companies like GlobalX are indicating interest in electric aircraft. Given the support for electric aircraft and the bright minds working toward the application of fuel cell generated electricity, CHEETA is taking steps toward making sustainable aviation a reality.

The post NASA-Funded Research Team Explores Electric Aircraft Development appeared first on Avionics International.

—————
Boost Internet Speed–
Free Business Hosting–
Free Email Account–
Dropcatch–
Free Secure Email–
Secure Email–
Cheap VOIP Calls–
Free Hosting–
Boost Inflight Wifi–
Premium Domains–
Free Domains

Skyfire and Textron Partner to Offer Actionable Data for Drone First Responder Programs

Skyfire Consulting and Textron Systems are collaborating in an effort to offer actionable data for public safety officials and first responders using drones. (Photo: Skyfire Consulting)

Skyfire Consulting recently announced a partnership with Textron Systems to offer useful data to public safety agencies as well as Drone First Responder programs. Skyfire’s team offers consulting services for the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in public safety applications. Textron’s industry-leading geospatial products include the SeeGEO software, which enables the creation of detailed mapping products from video footage taken by drones. First responders can apply artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to make informed decisions about the data they collect.

“We specialize in getting the right tools to the public safety agencies, the right hardware, software, and regulatory approvals,” Matt Sloane, founder and CEO of Skyfire, told Avionics International. “We have a close working relationship with the FAA and have done a few novel waivers with them.” Skyfire’s team has also worked with the FBI, Secret Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Skyfire announced this week that it assisted PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) in obtaining a waiver for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in California under Part 107. PG&E will use the BVLOS waiver, which covers operations throughout the entire state, to monitor parts of their critical infrastructure within districts that are most vulnerable to fires.

Textron Systems’ SeeGEO software (Photo: Skyfire)

Matt Sloane and the team at Skyfire have expanded the company over the past nine years. “As we were building these programs out,” Sloane explained, they realized that “public safety pilots are really good at flying the drones and getting the data in an immediate fashion, but they don’t take it beyond the immediate. They’re great at collecting the data but they don’t really leverage it in a novel way.”

He observed that this was particularly true for applications like search and rescue, where approaches are often outdated and inefficient. Things like machine learning, AI, and data processing could be leveraged to significantly improve the efficiency of search and rescue operations. Textron’s team ended up approaching Skyfire about a year ago to explore how tools like SeeGEO could be applied to public safety.

“It’s critical to understand the needs of the users—and to engage with them—to respond quickly and develop the tools they need to complete their mission,” remarked Darryl Madden, Vice President of Geospatial Systems at Textron.

Textron’s team observed that Skyfire was keenly aware of the pulse of public safety and the first responder community, and they could help Textron to apply its tools in the best possible way.

“Our products needed features to really derive value from collected data,” Madden said. The geospatial information that public safety officials and first responders gather could be leveraged to enhance various missions.

“It’s critical to understand the needs of the users—and to engage with them—to respond quickly and develop the tools they need to complete their mission.” – Darryl Madden, Vice President of Geospatial Systems at Textron (Photo: Skyfire)

Matt Sloane believes that the public safety drone industry is currently at somewhat of an inflection point. Agencies will provide drones to a police officer or firefighter who then needs to get to the scene and deploy the drone, and this process can take up to 15 minutes.

“We’re starting to see the industry move very rapidly into the Drone First Responder [DFR] model where it’s flown directly to the scene from a rooftop,” Sloane stated. “It’s ideal to have these autonomous boxes that deploy drones—now [the challenge is] trying to fit that into the existing manned aviation environment.”

There are now about 10 to 12 agencies in the U.S. with DFR-style programs. It only takes two or three minutes to get the drone deployed to the site. “It’s really accelerating the pace of adoption for public safety drones, and it’s also making the need for better tools obvious,” he commented.

The post Skyfire and Textron Partner to Offer Actionable Data for Drone First Responder Programs appeared first on Avionics International.

Archer Unveils Midnight eVTOL Aircraft

Archer Aviation has publicly unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight. The Midnight eVTOL aircraft is the evolution of the demonstrator aircraft, Maker. (Photo: Archer)

Archer Aviation revealed its production aircraft, Midnight, to the public today following its Open House event in Palo Alto on Nov. 16. The company previously developed a demonstrator aircraft, called Maker, to test out the configuration and functionality of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) concept. The team at Archer expects to certify Midnight with the Federal Aviation Administration towards the end of 2024.

“We built, tested, and flew Maker as a testbed to advance our process with the FAA,” Archer’s CEO and founder, Adam Goldstein, shared in an interview with Avionics International. “We validated a lot of our technology; we validated the configuration, the tiltrotor, and the flight controls. It gave us confidence in the technology and helped set a lot of the frameworks with the FAA that allowed us to get to where we are today—the building and unveiling of our production plane.”

Midnight keeps the same 12 tilt 6 configuration as the Maker testbed. “We’re still using a lot of those same philosophies that we validated with Maker,” said CEO Adam Goldstein. (Photo: Archer)

Midnight is designed with a 100-mile range. Archer’s strategy, however, focuses heavily on 20-mile back-to-back routes conducted in rapid succession. “A typical route would be airport to city center for passengers in and around urban environments,” Goldstein said.

Archer announced its first eVTOL route in partnership with United Airlines last week. The route will take passengers to and from Newark Airport and a heliport in downtown Manhattan. “That’s a really critical key hub for United, and it’s a route that a lot of people take every day,” remarked Goldstein.

For initial urban air mobility (UAM) operations, Archer will rely on existing infrastructure, such as the heliport in Manhattan that will be used for the route to and from Newark. “Over time, we will build more infrastructure or work with companies to build more infrastructure,” he noted.

The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, “is very excited about the opportunity to bring a new sustainable form of low-noise transportation,” Goldstein commented. Los Angeles and Miami are two other cities of interest for UAM operations. He noted that the route between Miami and Fort Lauderdale in particular could be a viable option for introducing eVTOL flights.

Archer is first looking at launching routes in cities that are tech-forward, said CEO Adam Goldstein. “They want these solutions, and they want to bring in sustainable forms of transportation. Heavy congestion a really big part of it—where the airport to city center routes make a lot of sense.” (Photo: Archer)

Archer made several big announcements this week. On Monday, the company revealed plans to build its manufacturing facility near the Covington Municipal Airport in Georgia. This site is expected to have the capacity to produce as many as 650 eVTOL aircraft annually, kicking off initial production in the latter half of 2024.

The eVTOL developer entered into a new agreement, made public on Tuesday, with Garmin. Garmin will supply the G3000 integrated flight deck for Archer’s Midnight. “The compact and lightweight system offers both an extensive certification pedigree and the configurability needed for Archer to bring its aircraft to market,” according to the announcement, and “the large format displays and intuitive controls will provide pilots with the situational awareness needed to operate Midnight.”

And yesterday, Archer revealed its choice of a supplier for the battery cells that will power Midnight. E-One Moli Energy Corp., or Molicel, signed a memorandum of understanding to manufacture battery cells at scale that will help to enable a 1,000-pound payload for the aircraft. Molicel was also chosen as a supplier for another eVTOL aircraft developer, Vertical Aerospace, this summer.

The first reveal of Midnight’s interior (Photo: Archer)

In selecting suppliers, Archer uses a concept known as realistic innovation, Goldstein explained. “The focus is on commercialization, so we want to get to market, and we want to choose the lowest risk, most efficient path to do that,” he said.

“A lot of times, that means partnering with great suppliers and using off-the-shelf products that are already flying today on certified aircraft,” he added. “There are some parts where we have not found good enough alternatives that can help us meet our mission.” One of these parts is the powertrain for Midnight, which Archer’s team has been developing.

Archer’s team is focused, at least initially, on launching in the U.S., although they see a lot of opportunity to expand globally once the network in the U.S. is established.

When the first eVTOL developers launch operations, which will start in 2025, confidence in the new mode of transportation will start to grow—both from the public and from the investment community. “I think it will be a great experience for consumers and early adopters because they can take a product that is very convenient and affordable. It’s a new alternative to rideshare,” Goldstein said.

The post Archer Unveils Midnight eVTOL Aircraft appeared first on Avionics International.

President of Intelsat Commercial Aviation Shares Thoughts on the Future of Connectivity

“Focusing on the quality of the experience—and the economics of the solution—is how we’re going to drive this in the direction it needs to go in the long term.” – Intelsat’s Jeff Sare, President of Commercial Aviation (Photo: Intelsat)

For many airlines, it is becoming increasingly important to offer in-flight connectivity. The quality of Wi-Fi available onboard an aircraft has a significant impact on a passenger’s satisfaction. The connectivity needs to be both consistent and affordable. IFC is most commonly delivered via satellite, which many of the major service providers use, including Panasonic, Gogo, Viasat, Thales, Inmarsat, and Intelsat.

At the recent APEX Expo, Jeff Sare, President of Intelsat Commercial Aviation, offered his perspective on what the future holds for connectivity. He explained during a panel discussion that Intelsat does not view their constellation as a hybrid network. “It’s a network with different assets and technologies that are all brought together to deliver the end-user experience,” he said. “It’s all about the passenger experience.”

Jeff Sare of Intelsat is pictured above (second from the right) during a panel discussion at the APEX Expo, moderated by NetForecast Director of Business Development – Transportation, Mary Rogozinski. (Photo: Jessica Reed)

While Intelsat currently has more than 60 geosynchronous satellites, Sare remarked that the main focus is on the quality of the in-flight experience. The service is centered entirely around its customers. “At the end of the day, if a passenger on an airplane isn’t getting the service they need, they’re going to complain,” he said.

Intelsat’s 2Ku satellite connectivity solution was recently chosen by Virgin Australia for the airline’s existing fleet of Boeing 737 NG aircraft. The satellite services provider also announced last week that it will be the first commercial customer for Swissto12’s HummingSat product line. Intelsat placed an order for the IS-45 satellite which will provide Ku-band fixed satellite services to customers.

Intelsat’s system enables the correlation of data from an airline on customer satisfaction with particular metrics, such as page load times. With this correlation, it is possible to establish a baseline for the passengers’ experience with the IFC and to determine what improvements will have a positive impact.

Sare also noted the importance of considering costs associated with offering IFC. “All that has to be done in a way that is economically sound so that the passenger can afford to use the service,” he stated.

As more airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi, it may be a better idea to build the cost of the service into the price of the ticket. “Nothing is free,” Sare said. “It’s about bundling services and how customers want to differentiate from their competition. Focusing on the quality of the experience—and the economics of the solution—is how we’re going to drive this in the direction it needs to go in the long term.”

Intelsat announced a global distribution agreement with OneWeb in August. The companies are partnering to offer a multi-orbit in-flight connectivity (IFC) service. Sare commented on the partnership with OneWeb during the panel discussion, saying, “It’s another set of assets, another set of tools to continue to improve our network, to provide coverage in places where our previous fleet by itself wasn’t able to provide coverage, and to be able to take advantage of the kinds of things that a lower latency, more ubiquitous coverage can take advantage of.”

The service that Intelsat delivers matters more than which specific assets are used, Sare noted. “If it makes the most sense to use the LEO [low-earth orbit] network at a particular time, we’ll use the LEO network. If it makes more sense to use GEO [geostationary orbit], we’ll use GEO. Everything has its pluses and minuses.”

In the near future, it will be necessary to be able to “talk” to multiple satellites simultaneously. It’s increasingly important today to be able to shift between satellites quickly, Sare shared. Intelsat’s approach for the near-term will be step-by-step: “We have our traditional geosynchronous orbits, we’re building the software-defined network, we’re launching software-defined satellites, we’re partnering with OneWeb. We’re creating an electronically steered antenna [ESA] and terminal with multiple modems in it so we can talk to the satellites—initially one at a time—just bringing more flexibility to the system as we go forward.”

He commented that airline customers have been much more interested in the CO2 impact of the network than anticipated. “All of them are approaching these new sets of technologies in an appropriately prudent and thoughtful manner,” he said.

The post President of Intelsat Commercial Aviation Shares Thoughts on the Future of Connectivity appeared first on Avionics International.

Cyber Incident Impacts Boeing Subsidiary Jeppesen’s Flight Planning Tools

A recent cyber incident affected Jeppesen’s flight planning tools, leading to inaccurate navigation data for thousands of pilots. (Photo: Jeppesen/ForeFlight)

On Nov. 2, Jeppesen, a Boeing subsidiary, was affected by an aviation cyber incident. For thousands of pilots across the world, flight planning, instrument approach, and GPS navigation data was inaccurate due to this cyber attack.

In the past year, there has been a 560% annual increase in aviation cyber attacks, according to the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. Many of these incidents have reminded pilots why they shouldn’t rely too much on one tool during flight, and the recent cyberattack on Jeppesen’s suite of flight optimization tools was no different.

On Nov. 2, Jeppesen reported the incident on their website, stating it could affect the accuracy of their products and services. The data from Jeppesen’s tools like ForeFlight became untrustworthy, with many pilots turning to backup flight optimization tools.

Boeing has given few details on the incident, but pilots have reported that the flight navigation routes and en route area navigation (RNAV) operations were inaccurate, with some receiving error messages while in flight.

In a Nov. 9 statement, a Boeing representative said, “Our subsidiary, Jeppesen, experienced a cyber incident affecting certain flight planning products and services. There has been some flight planning disruption, but at this time we have no reason to believe that this incident poses a threat to aircraft or flight safety.” Boeing has declined to comment further on what caused the cyberattack or the full scope.

Jeppesen’s tailored charts for cockpit avionics (Photo: Jeppesen)

Jeppesen has successfully completed a full restoration after the incident, a welcome announcement to pilots utilizing their flight optimization tools. Tools such as ForeFlight and FlightDeck Advisor are now working as usual and providing accurate data.

Flying with an expired GPS or inaccurate navigation data can be dangerous. FAA Advisory Circular 90-100A, the federal advisory board for RNAV operations and U.S. Airport terminals, states that current onboard navigation must be up to date for all aircraft.

Even during the attack, Jeppesen stated that the current flight information, while not updating in real-time, was still in compliance with current regulations and would be accurate until Dec. 1.

“The most recent Jeppesen chart downloads available in Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck and ForeFlight Mobile are currently effective and in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Any ‘Expired’ messages shown for Jeppesen Terminal Charts prior to December 1st do not indicate that the charts are expired from a regulatory perspective,” Jeppesen wrote.

It’s been determined that Jeppesen was not the target of the attack, but that their method of information delivery to pilots and customers was affected. Boeing and Jeppesen are still determining the scope of the attack, with the potential to share more details as they become available.

The post Cyber Incident Impacts Boeing Subsidiary Jeppesen’s Flight Planning Tools appeared first on Avionics International.

BAE Systems and Amprius Explore Opportunities for Battery Technology

Amprius and BAE Systems are collaborating to evaluate potential business opportunities for the batteries developed by Amprius. (Photo: Amprius)

Amprius Technologies recently entered into an agreement with BAE Systems for a three-year cooperation. The companies will evaluate potential business opportunities for the silicon nanowire anode batteries developed by Amprius to be used in electric products developed by BAE Systems.

Dr. Kang Sun, CEO of Amprius, remarked on the new cooperation agreement, saying, “BAE Systems is at the technological forefront of the defense industry, and this agreement validates the potential of our silicon nanowire anode technology for rigorous aerial applications.”

Ronnie Tao, Vice President of Business Development at Amprius, remarked that BAE Systems will be using Amprius’s batteries throughout BAE’s portfolio of products. “It’s not specifically tied to one product, although there are products that we are being designed into,” he explained in an interview with Avionics International.

Tao also noted that while today’s battery technology is effective, it doesn’t offer enough power to effectively enable business cases. “Our batteries are the first ones to really open up the entire aviation electrification segment,” he claimed.

One of the key advantages of the batteries that Amprius develops is high energy density. The silicon nanowire battery technology contributed to the success of the Airbus Zephyr unmanned aerial system (UAS). The Airbus Defence and Space division awarded Amprius with the Innovative Supplier Award in 2021.

“We’re keen to work with [Amprius] to explore opportunities for the electric products that we’re developing for military applications.” – Dave Holmes, Advanced Projects, Technology and Manufacturing Director at BAE Systems’ Air (Photo: Amprius)

The team at Amprius is now focused on scaling up production. “Research and development efforts are done,” Tao shared. “We are a technology readiness level 9 company, meaning the technology has already been proven out. There’s no need to keep tweaking it. The demand for our product is so high that we need to get it to market quickly.”

Tao views the regulatory environment as one of the biggest obstacles to electrification of the aviation industry. Achieving certification for an aircraft or use case in one country does not necessarily guarantee certification in another country. He has observed that many companies are focusing initially on regulations for just one country because there isn’t a global consensus yet. Eventually, these issues will be addressed, he said; “it’s just a matter of the regulations catching up to the innovation that is actually happening.”

For some of the new entrants to the aviation industry, such as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, there are very high power requirements. “The battery system needs to be able to produce a lot of power,” Tao said. “The discharge rate needs to be very, very high. Most solutions are not capable of doing that.”

Amprius’s technology, on the other hand, has the necessary capabilities to enable eVTOLs to take off and land. “We are by far the most advanced lithium ion battery available in the market,” he claimed, adding that their products increase performance significantly. Using batteries developed by Amprius can double the maximum flight time of an aircraft, for example, and it has the potential to double the payload capacity for a delivery drone.

Amprius recently conducted a demonstration of the charging capabilities of its batteries. The Aviation High Power Fast Charge Cell was tested in order to demonstrate that it can be repeatedly charged from 0% to 80% in less than six minutes.

The post BAE Systems and Amprius Explore Opportunities for Battery Technology appeared first on Avionics International.

TXT Joins Iris Program for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Modernization

The Pacelab Flight Profile Optimiser (FPO) from TXT Group will become part of the Iris program, launched by the European Space Agency and powered by the SB-S connectivity platform from Inmarsat. (Photo: TXT)

TXT Group was recently selected as a new partner for Iris, an air traffic management program developed in a public-private partnership launched by the European Space Agency. Iris utilizes satellite technology to modernize air traffic management (ATM). It’s powered by the SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) connectivity platform from Inmarsat, and it enables real-time communication between pilots and air traffic controllers as well as airline operation centers.

In 2023, Iris will enter commercial and operational service in Europe as part of a new phase called Iris Global.

TXT will contribute its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) application, Pacelab Flight Profile Optimiser (FPO), to the Iris program. The Pacelab FPO provides flight recommendations to airlines for cost-efficient operations. According to the announcement from Inmarsat, the FPO uses vertical and lateral route optimization, and more than 1,500 aircraft have already deployed the application.

“We have developed our Pacelab FPO solution to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of commercial aviation operations, and Iris provides the most complete and integrated platform to achieve this result,” commented Daniele Misani, CEO of TXT, in response to the company’s new partnership.

Inmarsat recently published findings from its annual survey of more than 11,000 respondents. Passenger confidence in air travel has recovered significantly from the previous year; 83% of respondents reported feeling confident flying in 2022, compared to just 10% of respondents in 2021.

One significant trend from the survey was the increasing importance of in-flight connectivity for passengers in recent years. 55% of respondents in 2018 indicated that having Wi-Fi onboard is important to them when they travel. That number is now 77% in 2022.

A rendering of the satellite-based Iris system (Photo: ESA)

“Passengers expect a connected experience onboard the aircraft,” explained William Huot-Marchand, Senior Vice President of Inflight Connectivity Business Line at Inmarsat, in an interview with Avionics International. He added that there are three pillars to a successful in-flight connectivity experience: coverage, capacity, and certainty.

“Most of the airlines are very focused on the passenger experience onboard the aircraft. This means that we need to continue our roadmap to allow everybody to have connectivity.”

Inmarsat currently has eight active satellites. Huot-Marchand shared that they launched another satellite late last year that will enter into service by the end of 2022. “We have another satellite launching in two months and four more satellites that will be launched in 2024,” he said.

Additional satellites help to establish better in-flight connectivity and coverage for aircraft. It’s increasingly important for airlines to guarantee a strong and consistent Wi-Fi connection because it is integral to a positive passenger experience.

Inmarsat recently announced the launch of a series of new bundled services on its OneFi passenger experience platform. This provides airlines with more flexibility and opportunities for personalization. The launch was, in part, a response to an increasing demand in the airline industry for ancillary revenue streams.

The post TXT Joins Iris Program for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Modernization appeared first on Avionics International.

Collins Aerospace Signs Agreement With PT Dirgantara Indonesia for Digital Cockpit Upgrades

Collins Aerospace will provide the Flight2 aftermarket avionics solution to upgrade the Indonesian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft. (Photo: Collins Aerospace)

Collins Aerospace and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) entered into an agreement last week for a modernization effort of the Indonesian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft. The agreement includes upgrades to 11 C-130 aircraft. Collins Aerospace will be supplying the Flight2 aftermarket avionics solution that includes a suite of communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment.

Martin Hoare, Director of Global Business Development for Military Avionics & Helicopters, commented in the announcement by Collins that the C-130 upgrades will increase operational and mission efficiency. “Included in the avionics upgrade is a full glass cockpit with new primary flight displays that provides commonality to many other C-130 users as well as commercial aircraft,” Hoare explained.

Collins will be leveraging its Flight2 Mobility Mission Application architecture along with the upgrade. This architecture enables system customization to meet certain requirements for missions and to ensure compliance with mandates for regional communications navigation surveillance or air traffic management.

PTDI’s President Director, Gita Amperiawan, remarked on the agreement, saying, “This collaboration shows PTDI’s readiness to implement the work of the Indonesian Air Force’s C-130 modernization program, especially in the avionics upgrade.”

Collins and the U.S. Army signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) in September. The aim of this CRADA is to develop a new approach to certifying multicore processors and safety critical systems modularity for airworthiness.

Collins Aerospace is also involved in a collaboration with Intel to develop a virtual pilot for the Perigon flight control computer. The partnership was announced in April, and the companies plan to embed the Atom X6400E multi-core processor into Perigon. The system has been selected for integration into the DEFIANT X US Army helicopter that is under development by Boeing and Sikorsky. Eventually, the Perigon flight control computer could eliminate the need for a co-pilot and enable single-pilot operations in the future.

The post Collins Aerospace Signs Agreement With PT Dirgantara Indonesia for Digital Cockpit Upgrades appeared first on Avionics International.

CEO of Netskrt Talks Edge Content Delivery and In-Flight Connectivity

Co-founder, president, and CEO of Netskrt spoke with Avionics International about the company’s connectivity solutions for the aviation industry. (Photo: Netskrt)

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The company Netskrt Systems, founded in 2017, offers an edge Content Delivery Network (eCDN) to meet in-flight video streaming demand. The service is already deployed in the U.K. by some railway operators. Netskrt’s solution combines cloud-based machine learning with network-aware edge caching.

Netskrt and Thales announced a partnership at the APEX Expo in October. They are working together to offer in-flight video streaming services for airlines, using edge caching technologies to significantly reduce internet bandwidth required to support high quality streaming.

At APEX, Siegfried Luft, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Netskrt, talked with Avionics International in detail about the company, their partnership with Thales, and entry into the in-flight connectivity and entertainment (IFC/IFE) industry. Check out our question-and-answer session with Netskrt’s CEO below.

Avionics International: Can you share some background information about the company?

Siegfried Luft: Consumers are switching from cable TV subscriptions to direct-to-consumer video streaming services like Amazon Prime, Disney, and online streaming apps from traditional TV stations. The general video distribution industry is about a $300 billion annual industry; that’s all moving to direct-to-consumer, which has gained about $80 billion of this market. A recent statistic from Verizon showed that their linear television subscribers dropped 26% in 2021.

But not all internet connections are sized to handle high customer demand for streaming video. Streaming has a big impact on networks, and in many places, such as on airplanes, simply increasing the bandwidth isn’t a viable or affordable option.

We asked ourselves, “Can we take the technology that has been used to scale streaming delivery on the internet and bring it to these difficult to reach places?”

At the same time, content providers are looking at how to grow their business. We’re hearing content owners starting to measure engagement hours. That makes reaching airline passengers an interesting market for them. Transportation became an obvious target for us, and while we initially started looking at rail, it was clear this would be an important solution for airlines.

What is the current focus at Netskrt?

Siegfried Luft: We’re focused on three market areas that all use essentially the same solution, and all expand market access for content owners: airlines, rail operators, and remote/rural internet service providers. The Netskrt eCDN is in use by passenger rail operators in the U.K. right now and we’re working with Thales, one of the leading providers of in-flight entertainment systems, to embed Netskrt eCDN in their IFC and IFE solutions for airlines. We are bringing multiple like-minded markets together.

What are some of Netskrt’s competitive advantages?

Luft: We have a fair amount of intellectual property around being aware that you’re in a poorly connected environment. Most CDNs operate on the basis of, “I have a good connection, but I can make it better.” We start with a less dependable connection, where you can’t make the same assumptions. We built a lot of technology around how to make sure the user experience remains solid regardless of the status of the connection. That’s why we’re quite a bit different than any other CDN out there.

What are some of the challenges facing the company?

Luft: When an airline or a railway rolls out a new service, to really take advantage of it, they want to make it available across as much of their fleet as possible, as quickly as possible. To meet the challenges of this kind of deployment, we need to work with really capable partners. We’ve been working together with Thales for over a year and a half now but just announced the agreement. Having a partner like Thales who is a leader in in-flight entertainment systems, really understands what airlines need, and has the global team to support airlines will allow us to deliver solid video streaming solutions to airlines.

How will Netskrt evolve in the long-term?

Luft: There’s a lot of areas where we see opportunity. In the short term, we’ll be focusing on transportation in general and other hard to reach locations, such as remote or rural communities. From there, the opportunity is to start looking at the more traditional CDN markets, simply because of the technology we have. If it works small, it works at the large scale as well.

The post CEO of Netskrt Talks Edge Content Delivery and In-Flight Connectivity appeared first on Avionics International.

Moment Launches In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Systems for Jet Operators

Moment recently launched the Flymingo Jet solution for jet operators. The company has developed Flymingo Box and Flymingo Connect to enable smart, connected cabins. (Photo: Moment)

Passenger experience solutions company Moment launched a new offering last month for private jet operators. The Flymingo Jet solution allows for updates via 4G, Wi-Fi, or a USB key, and passengers can access its services from their personal devices or provided tablets.

Moment, a French company, was started about 10 years ago. Its focus is on the travel industry, including aviation, maritime, and rail, and it also offers solutions for the healthcare industry. The Flymingo Box is the first hardware developed by the company; it enables airlines to quickly deploy a solution to their fleet. It is a lightweight wireless device with a 10-inch frame. Malaysia Airlines, Air Belgium, Air France, and multiple other airlines have deployed the Flymingo Box.

The second hardware developed by the team at Moment is Flymingo Connect, which was launched about a year and a half ago. The system uses IoT technology to manage an ecosystem of interconnected devices and includes a server/WAP (wireless access point) and one simple WAP.

The Flymingo Box solution was on display at the 2022 APEX Expo in October. (Photo: Jessica Reed)

Michael Serres, co-founder and managing director of Moment, discussed some of the company’s latest efforts in an interview with Avionics International. With Flymingo Connect, he explained, “we are able to bring a lot of intelligence into the cabin, helping the airlines to improve their operations.”

“We are looking to not only provide a state-of-the-art entertainment platform but also to bring more value to the airlines to be more integrated into the operations of the airline,” he noted. The team aims to bring value to the passengers in addition to the crew.

Serres added, “One of the IoT solutions we’ve developed is for the crew to monitor how many passengers have their seatbelts fastened rather than having crew members count.” He remarked that the company’s main areas of expertise are software and R&D

The passenger portal, called Mood, is another solution that has already been deployed by Moment. “We can install it on every single hardware in an aircraft,” Serres said. “Sometimes airlines receive aircraft from a lessor with hardware already installed, they just need to have a great platform—so we do install these platforms on existing hardware, enabling them to have a very quick deployment.”

In discussing Moment’s Flymingo Box, Serres shared that airlines have been very interested in the solution because it can be either battery-powered or aircraft-powered. “If an airline is coming to us with an urgent request,” he said, “we are able to deploy in four to eight weeks on batteries.”

If the airline wants to lower operational costs and focus on full autonomous operations, “we can switch to the 28 VDC with minor modifications and with the same unit. We can keep continuous service with either batteries or 28 VDC,” he explained.

The post Moment Launches In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Systems for Jet Operators appeared first on Avionics International.

Category Archives: MRO’s

Avionics International: Can you share some background information about the company?

What is the current focus at Netskrt?

What are some of Netskrt’s competitive advantages?

What are some of the challenges facing the company?

How will Netskrt evolve in the long-term?