Editor’s Note: A recent VT Miltope news release caught our eye and we wanted to set up this story for our readers with a bit of Cognitive Hot Spot background information, but then we saw this Innovation announcement in an Inflight’s e-message: “Inflight is pleased to award VT Miltope as the winner of the ‘Innovation in commercial airline cabins’ category,” said Mark Howells. “The company is a worthy winner with the development of its Cognitive Hotspot Technology which aims to provide airlines with a solution in facing the challenges of seamless connectivity in-flight.” It sort of says it all from a bottom line perspective!

However, to get a better idea of the company’s technology and its benefits, let’s start with their latest nMAP2 announcement. “VT Miltope has started delivering an IEEE 802.11ac Multifunction Access Point (nMAP2) as its latest wireless product. Building upon the success of VT Miltope’s wireless access point products, nMAP2 features Cognitive Hotspot Technology (CHT), an integrated MIMO antenna assembly and a second radio to support legacy 802.11n client devices.”

Because of the advances that nMAP2 with CHT offers over other wireless access points (AP), we wanted to point out it in this pre-AIX issue so our readers check it out at the EXPO. Further, we wanted to relate what it is and what it does, as well as, how airlines and airline passengers will benefit from CHT. VT Miltope has the only wireless access point with this feature and, according to Mr. Guidetti, “We are very proud of our accomplishment and what it will do for cabin connectivity performance – it’s the latest advancement in wireless!”

There is a lot more in the above sentences than meets the eye… let’s look at a couple the concepts, one at a time:

nMAP2

VT Miltope’s newest Aircraft Wireless Router with CHT built-in.

802.11n

VT Miltope expects passengers to be bringing legacy 802.11g & n passenger devices onto airplanes for many years.  This will be similar to today, with passengers bringing 802.11g devices even though 802.11n has been available for 5+ years.  Given the added complexity and higher power requirements of 802.11ac, it may be that some passenger devices never migrate to 802.11ac. That’s why they have a second radio to support 802.11a/g/n.

802.11ac

The other radio in the access point operates in the 5 GHz band and will deliver data rates in the gigabit range. The good news about that is that there’s far more room in that frequency spread than there is in the over-used 2.4 GHz.

Benefits: The most significant improvements are more data spatial streams, 80MHz channel width operation, and data aggregation scheme that should increase data efficiency.

At the raw bit level, 802.11ac will support data rates of at least 1 Gbps on three streams using a combination of wider bandwidth channels and high-density modulation. Where 802.11n could run on 20 MHz or 40 MHz channels, 802.11ac can be deployed on 20-, 40-, and 80-MHz channels. Bigger channels translate into more potential bits per second. To pack more bits into the available radio spectrum, 802.11ac also uses a coding system that delivers up to 33% more efficiency.

Benefits: It is here today; faster, more efficient data, and more channels will also benefit the users. This means a network can support simultaneously streaming multiple HD-quality videos to multiple devices. And, we understand, VT Miltope has begun delivering this new product.

GigaBit Ethernet

nMAP2 has a built in Ethernet switch providing multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports to connect to the IFEC network server and for daisy chaining other nMAP2s to minimize cable installation to reduce weight and costs. VT Miltope completed nMAP2 qualification testing with all three Ethernet ports running during qualification testing.

Benefits: The improved 802.11ac data rates necessitate faster Ethernet capabilities with the wireless access point otherwise the wired interface becomes the bottleneck. nMAP2 has three Gigabit Ethernet ports, one for connecting to the IFEC network server, one to daisy chain to another nMAP2, and a third for connecting other IFEC systems or equipment such as Satcom. nMAP2’s preserve the Ethernet connection to the network and other nMAP2’s in the event there is a daisy chained nMAP2 failure because the Ethernet switch remains operational. Furthermore, to add redundancy the last nMAP2 may be looped back into the network so the last nMAP2 in the chain remains connected to the network even if an nMAP2 in the middle of the daisy chain fails. In the unlikely event that an nMAP2 wireless connection is interrupted; CHT senses the wireless interruption and reconnects those clients to the other operational nMAP2 or from a non-operational nMAP2 radio to the second radio. This improves the overall availability of the wireless network on the aircraft to meet the performance expectations of the passengers and crew. This is a reliability game-changer.

MIMO

Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output, or MIMO is the use of multiple antennas on both the transmitter and receiver to improve connectivity performance. Multiple antennas are used to perform smart antenna functions such as distributing the total transmit power over the antennas to achieve an array gain that improves the spectral efficiency (more bits per second per hertz of bandwidth), beam directivity and/or achieving a diverse gain that reduces fading and improves link reliability.

Benefits: Basically this is an antenna designed for aircraft cabin environments to improve connectivity performance at each seat with more seats served resulting in more happy users onboard!

Now, back to the news release:

“Cognitive Hotspot Technology (CHT), available exclusively with nMAP2, is state-of-the-art wireless management technology tailored specifically to improve wireless performance in congested aircraft cabins… With CHT, nMAP2’s provide proactive cabin network management to optimize the total network capacity, thus supporting a substantially better passenger experience. CHT features various dynamically and automatically adapting modules such as intelligent roaming, wireless power control, channel assignment, load balancing, and interference minimization. These modules are customized according to each airline’s service and content delivery requirements and priorities.”

Cognitive Hotspot Technology

CHT is software embedded on VT Miltope Wireless Access Point that converts them into Smart Access Points. Smart APs are collaborative. They talk to one another and act together as a team to optimize the network capacity. Smart APs take their environment into account, continuously sensing it to adapt in real-time and deliver the best signal for each receiver (PED). Information is shared among the Smart APs to create aircraft network awareness and manage the available resources jointly. CHT helps to prevent interferences and network congestion, sets measures to guarantee network-wide Quality of Signal (QoS), enables seamless roaming and balanced networks, and improves overall network capacity. In other words, CHT delivers the best signal to each user, in each seat.

Benefit: The benefit is to your passengers. The Wi-Fi signal they receive on their personal electronic devices is higher in signal strength and faster in data rate. This means a more consistent wireless signal for better audio, better video, and a much better user experience.

Access Controller

Access Controller mode adds DHCP server capabilities with routing, traffic control, and prioritization for different user VLANS or traffic to nMAP2 operation.

Benefit: Basically, access controller is a mode of operation that allows for the creation of a wireless local area network on the aircraft. An nMAP2 operating as an access controller in conjunction with other nMAP2s operating as access points establish the wireless local network and provides intelligent data forwarding to maintain the security of the network. Access controller can take advantage of an external RADIUS server to store user accounts that can be locally defined. The access controller establishes links with the access points wirelessly.

And finally here is the ‘plane’ benefit to your airline and your passengers, also from the news release:

“Pioneering the introduction of wireless access point technology to aircraft cabins since 2001, VT Miltope has a proven history for delivering highly reliable wireless products. Improving on our current nMAP, nMAP2 incorporates the latest in wireless security, is more compact, weighs less further enhances reliability, and reduces overall ship set costs.”

The company continues to bring about innovation in their product line… that is what this business is all about. For example, the nMAP2 weighs less, is more compact, and improves reliability more than earlier products. Up to 64 VLANs (IEEE 802.1q) are available to support separate user networks.  Customized network and user group profiles are possible using 16 concurrent VSC (Virtual Service Community), each having configurable SSIDs, QoS, security, and filtering.”

In closing, we want to let you know that there will be more VT Miltope news coming during and after AIX, Mr. Guidetti told IFExpress, and the best advice we have for our readers is to Stay Tuned!

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Astronics AES, known for bringing power to passengers and airline personnel,  announced its agreement with SmartTray International, LLC.  Astronics AES will exclusively market, sell and manufacture SmartTray’s new passenger device-friendly aircraft tray table solutions that facilitate hands-free use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) and smartphones for an improved passenger experience. This is a brilliant product diversification. Stay Tuned for what’s next! (Editor’s Note: Check out their website here TheSmartTray.com  for an idea of how this simple and useful product works!)

Astronics has moved into their new hillside headquarters in Kirkland, WA. We told our readers that we would cover the 1.5 mile move from Redmond, WA to 12950 Willows Road, Kirkland, WA. (Google that address and you get a pretty good idea of the two hillside buildings now converted into one) and thought a mini-plant tour would be appropriate. The relocation was completed over the holiday break. Mark Peabody commented, “The most amazing part of the move to our new, beautiful facility was the planning by our team, our customers, and our suppliers. We were back up in full production the day we opened the new facility on January 2nd, without any missed deliveries or significant issues.” Some 150 dignitaries and guests helped to celebrate the event at an open house last Friday.

In case you don’t know the company, here is bit of history: Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems (Astronics AES) began in Seattle, Washington as Electric Service Company “ELSCO” in 1958. In the 1960s the company focused on the small specialty power supply business and in the 1970s expanded its product line to include weapons release test sets and moved to Redmond, WA. During the 1980s product offerings expanded further to system-level power products and test systems. In the early 1990s the company delivered a new product – airplane cabin phone systems for AT&T and later in the 1990’s introduced its in-seat power system, EMPOWER®. In early 2000, Astronics AES moved to a larger building in Redmond and introduced the COREPOWER® product line, a complete power generation and distribution systems for business aircraft.

On January 2, 2013 Astronics AES opened the doors of its new facility in Kirkland, WA. covering almost 100,000 square feet sitting on some 14 acres which will facilitate future expansion. Astronics AES business mix is approximately 50% Operations and 50% Engineering and Administration. The first floor of the building houses the production area and the second floor is cubicle and office seating. Astronics AES currently employs almost 400 employees and is actively recruiting and hiring. Their growth is apparent as we understand the company has already rented additional space as growth outstrips the new offices!

New to aircraft power? Here is a product rundown: EMPOWER® – In-seat power systems for commercial and business aircraft provides power to run laptops, portable electronic devices light phones and tablets, and in-flight entertainment systems. EMPOWER ® systems are installed on more than half a million seats on over 170 airlines worldwide. The newer product is COREPOWER® – Power generation and distribution systems that provides intelligent electronic power control and management for business jets.

As promised, here is the mini tour: AES Lobby, AES Assembly Area, System Integration Lab, Test Development Area, and last but not least, the outside Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – no kidding!

(Editor’s Note: If the aisle in the Test Development area looks like a runway, well, it is – sorta. It seems that runway markings somehow seemed appropriate to management, especially with an airplane mural at each end!)

Each year, for the last umpteen years, IFExpress has delivered readers a show preview based on a published invitation to all. This year is no different and we urge all attendees to be sure to visit their booth and tell them IFExpress sent you!

Company: Astronics AES
Booth: 701
Contact: Dennis Markert / dennis.markert@astronics.com / 425 442 8195

Astronics AES will be displaying their latest product addition to the world leading EmPower(R) In-Seat Power Systems (ISPS) product line. The new EmPower(R) In-Seat Power Supply produces an industry leading 200VA for each Personal Electronic Device (PED) and includes three Universal Serial Bus (USB) power outputs for passenger devices such as smart phones, iPods, cameras, and other standard +5 Volt DC devices. This is all accomplished in a smaller form factor than previous generations of the industry leading EmPower(R) product line.

Company: digEcor
Booth: 627
Contact: Adam Williams / awilliams@digEcor.com

DIGECOR HIGHLIGHTS: We will showcase the digEplayer L7, which airlines around the world have rapidly adopted, as a low cost yet rugged and feature rich IFE solution. Airlines can also find out more about In-flight Content Services, including the ability to support handhelds, overheads, and AVOD systems independent of a digEplayer agreement. Interested in Ancillary Revenue? We’ve been a long time supporter. Our customers have been generating revenue and operating self-sustaining IFE programs for years. So stop by our booth and chat with us about rental programs, shopping solutions, and advertising. We may not have a cool and highly publicized theme for the show, but if we did, it would probably be, “Come for the coffee, stay for the movies.”

Company: Goodrich
Booth number 1309
Contact Dan Vargas / dan.vargas@goodrich.com / (323) 837-2717

Goodrich digital video reproducers (VRUs) are a cost-effective way to update existing tape systems for an enhanced passenger entertainment experience. Be certain to stop by and visit us during APEX.

Company: IFPL
Booth#: 819
Contact: Claire Underwoord / claire.underwood@ifpl.com

Near Field Communication Demo
IFPL has developed an interface between NFC and IFE systems. This takes the mobile wallet concept onto aircraft and addresses the security issues of high value payments. The system on show can be used in a number of ways: as chip and pin; with NFC enabled ‘connect’ cards and with NFC enabled mobile ‘phones. This opens up a range of possibilities from renting movies, buying drinks and food and accessing destination information (i.e. increasing advertising revenue).

Self-testing jack
Currently airline maintenance personnel have to plug a headset into each audio jack to check it is receiving sound. This is time consuming and therefore costly and inefficient in short turnaround times. The self-testing jack has an LED that shows it is receiving a signal, meaning that all personnel have to do is play the IFE and walk through the cabin, spotting faulty jacks at a glance. The really clever thing about this jack is that is does not need any extra power to the seat to work, the light draws power from the audio signal.

Breakaway jack
IFPL’s highly reliable Long Life jack (tested to 100,000 insertions) has been developed to have a 90˚ pull out feature. This means that if a passenger stands up without removing their headset, it will pull away at any angle, without breaking the pin. IFPL has worked with headset suppliers to produce headsets with a smaller pin at the same cost as regular headsets. The breakaway jack will still accept a regular pin if necessary. IFPL see this as a low cost alternative to magnetic jacks.

Competition
As usual, IFPL will be holding a simple competition on their booth. The prize is a Nikon Coolpix digital projector camera. This neat little camera allows immediate projection of your photos onto any flat white surface.

We’re pleased to announce that IFPL will be showcasing an extra product at the APEX show next week!
The “Self Testing Audio Jack” is a neat solution to a common problem. Maintenance personnel have to walk the aircraft with a headset and plug it in to each audio jack at every seat to check that the audio is working. This is a time consuming job, and often means that seats don’t always get tested before a turnaround. Our new product is simple – it has a built-in LED that illuminates when audio is present. A quick scan of the seats tells you whether the jacks are working or not. This means you can go straight to any faulty jacks without wasting time checking every one manually. This simple device will improve IFE Availability and save airlines time and money. The really clever part is that this device doesn’t require power, or batteries – it runs off the audio supply! So, if you want to retrofit an old IFE system without power at the seat, it couldn’t be easier.

Just another reason to come and see us on booth 819 during the APEX show. Hope to see you this week!

Company: The IMS Company
Booth 1210
Contact: Harry Gray, vice president sales & marketing / hgray@imsco-us.com

Building up a head of steam at last spring’s Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), seat-centric IFE has become a juggernaut and none more so than The IMS Company’s RAVE™ with a backlog of more than 50 aircraft awaiting installation in 2011. If all of the options these orders are activated, the number of aircraft more than doubles. With Lufthansa, airberlin, SriLankan and Brussels Airlines onboard, additional announcements are expected at the Conference—bringing the total to seven or more.

But seat-centric IFE is not all that IMS is up to nowadays. Its new EDGE portables focus on Android OS as a platform that can support multiple versions of tablets. Look for announcements during the Conference.

Company: Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Booth: 301
Contact: Please stop by the Panasonic booth to arrange a tour or set up an appointment.

PANASONIC AVIONICS HIGHLIGHTS: At this year’s APEX Expo, Panasonic Avionics Corporation will be unveiling the three newest members of its X Series family. During the show, attendees are also invited to stop by the Panasonic booth for a chance to ask our eXPerts questions about the most exciting topics in IFEC today including seat centric vs. server-based architectures, Ka vs. Ku, and more. In addition, we are pleased to once again showcase our Cool Room where we’ll demonstrate how some of the most cutting-edge products in the consumer market can be applied to IFEC.

Company: PlaneBill
Booth: 850
Contact: Massimo De Sanctis / Mob: +39 335 222908 / Massimo.DeSanctis@planebill.com

On board portals for passengers (JetPortal) and for crew (CrewPortal).

PlaneApps for the emerging mobile platforms, Apple iOS, Google Android, Microsoft/Nokia Windows Phone 7, RIM QNX. Apps for smartphones (iPhone/iPod/iPad, Android phones and windows phone 7) and tablets (iPad, Android tablets) will be on show.

Before flight data crawler (DataCatering) for flight location based Services (origin/destination). Data mining to provide airline with useful information captured during flight on passengers devices,services, messages, behavior and feedback PlaneRoaming for reaching passengers on their mobile number without a cellular infrastructure.

Company: Rockwell Collins
Booth# 1001
Contact: Kelly Holland / 949-872-3308 (mobile) / klholla1@rockwellcollins.com

Rockwell Collins plans to unveil a new IFE solution for the single-aisle market tomorrow at APEX that will deliver unprecedented versatility for airlines and maximum reliability for passengers. The company also plans to announce stunning enhancements to its dPAVES IFE system, and a new entertainment solution for the regional jet market. Stop by Rockwell Collins’ exhibit to learn more about these new offerings and solutions to enhance the passenger experience.

Company: THALES
Booth#: 1401
Contact: Suzane Treneer / suzane.treneer@us.thalesgroup.com

THALES HIGHLIGHTS: CONNECT, NETWORK, PLAY is the Thales theme this year with focus on the Passenger Experience. Thales will be making significant announcements around in the air and on the ground wireless connectivity. Center stage will be the latest addition to the TopSeries product family, TopSeries AVANT. Installed into a new premium class Contour seat, TopSeries AVANT will include some future system navigation and audio concepts. Other demos include system integration into B/E Aerospace, Weber and Recaro economy seats. In the B/E Seat is a new innovative arm mount designed by Bucher. The up and coming new Thales Application Portal will be featured as well as future modules for Passenger Electronic Device interface capabilities.

Company: TriaGnoSys
Booth# 829
Contact: Charlie Pryor / +44 (0) 20 7031 8270 / charlie.pryor@leidar.com

TriaGnoSys and Siemens CMT have today launched IFEConneX, a complete inflight entertainment and communication (IFEC) solution. It incorporates an entertainment and media distribution system into the TriaGnoSys inflight GSM solution, GSMConneX, which was launched at Aircraft Interiors in April 2011. The lightweight modular system provides three services: GSM, WLAN and wireless streaming of IFE content, enabling business jet operators to combine the three services.

IFEConneX enables passengers to use their own mobile phone, tablet or laptop for calls, text messaging, emails, Internet connectivity, and for Audio and Video On Demand (AVOD). The solution has the capacity to stream individual content to up to 100 passengers simultaneously.

Company: VT Miltope
Booth: 1301
Contact Name: Jeff Drader / jdrader@miltope.com / 949 752 8191

Miltope’s family of network products offer the required functionality necessary to create custom airborne networks similar to how office networks are created. Designed to be readily expanded, they may be configured to define a network that optimizes the combination of interfaces and computing resources to meet the operational, spatial, and functional requirements of simple to complex airborne networks at a minimum cost. Products include servers, Ethernet switches and routers, 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless access points, TWLU wireless bridging from an aircraft LAN to a ground LAN, ARINC 744 network printers and ARINC740 cockpit printer, cabin control panels, and data storage devices.

Editors Note: We thought Seattle visitors might like a bit more info on restaurants and we suggest visiting the Yelp website. While there are too many to name here, IFExpress has heard a few “WOW” comments on the following:
Within walking distance to the Conference:
RN 74 – 1433 4th Ave. (4th & Pike), Regional French Cuisine, 206 457 7474
Driving Distance from the Conference:
Revel – 403 N 36th St., Fremont District, Korean Fusion, 206 547 2040
Walrus & Carpenter – 4743 Ballard Ave. NW, American Seafood, 206 395 9227

EAST AURORA, NY, April 8, 2010 – Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ: ATRO), a leader in advanced, high performance lighting, electrical power and automated test systems for the global aerospace and defense industries, today announced that Astronics AES, the recognized industry leader in aircraft cabin power, has entered into agreements with a network of 20 North American Authorized Dealer/Installers for sales and installations of its 28VDC to 115VAC In-Seat Power Supply system at over 50 locations across the U.S. and Canada.

For over 15 years, Astronics AES has developed patented intelligent power management systems for the commercial air carrier market. The patented EMPOWER® System is currently in service with 143 Airline/OEM customers on over 500,000 seats.

The 28VDC to 115VAC EMPOWER® In-Seat Power Supply system was launched into the business jet market in 2008. It is the first intelligent power management system of its kind available to the business jet market. Weighing only two pounds, each inverter supports up to three outlets.

The EMPOWER® 1215 Inverter is TSO-C73 certified, DO-160E compliant and is in full compliance with FAA Policy Statement ANM-01-111-165 for certification of power supply systems for Portable Electronic Devices (PED’s).

Built with safety, convenience and efficiency in mind, the EMPOWER® System has ground fault interrupt, over voltage protection, over/under current protection and thermal load shedding built into the inverter unit. This intelligent in-seat power system eliminates the need for external protection and control devices, reducing cost and weight. The inverter is also configured for an enable/disable input and a system in-use light for crew visibility and control per the FAA Policy Statement.

Utilizing Astronics patented intelligent power management, the inverter does not provide power to the outlet unit until an appropriate device is properly inserted. For seamless use around the world, the outlet unit will accommodate plugs from 155 countries. To compliment design motifs, outlet units are available in a variety of colors. Additionally, gold and un-plated outlet covers are available adding to the elegance of aircraft interiors.

Astronics AES is committed to making the necessary power products available in response to the growing demand for productivity on-board today’s business aircraft. With the support of the National Dealer Network, owners and operators can easily and cost effectively meet their cabin and cockpit PED power requirements.