Zodiac Inflight Innovations

Perhaps the biggest Zodiac (Zii) news we discussed was the announcement in June of the Zodiac selection by Airbus for high bandwidth connectivity and they note that Zii was chosen as a Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE) for the Airbus High Bandwidth Connectivity (HBC) solution. Zodiac Inflight Innovations is supplying aircraft equipment, and other terminal hardware. As Lead supplier, Zodiac Inflight Innovations will manage the integration of the system and facilitate the Inmarsat Global Xpress service directly. The current scope of the HBC program covers the Ka-band system for A320 single aisle family, the A330 long range family and the A380 aircraft. Larry Girard, Executive Vice President at Zodiac Inflight Innovations states: “The end result will be that airlines will be able to have different HBC options on multiple aircraft types, while providing a consistent service to both passengers and the airlines day-to-day operations. As the Lead supplier, Zodiac Inflight Innovations’ role is bringing together all the components for the High Bandwidth Connectivity program, including our own, and matching them to the Airbus process.” Zodiac Inflight Innovations is providing an ARINC-791 compliant radome, adapter plate, skirt seal, antenna, as well as other terminal hardware. The radome and adapter plate have been designed to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate other Ka-band antennas, minimizing the work required for future HBC systems. This makes Zii the only IFE connectivity vendor across the current Airbus aircraft platforms – that’s a big deal! Twenty five airlines around the world with over 200 aircraft in service are already using Zii Inflight Entertainment which includes their RAVE Centric AVOD system and their latest RAVE Wireless streaming entertainment system (system diagram). Today, some 250 people work in Brea, CA (Zii’s home) and we expect to see more sale troops in the near future. Success at Airbus include line-fit on A350, A330, & A320 families. Further, we expect some events with Boeing soon. On the retrofit side, Zii told us that they have a ‘variety of suppliers’ to provide turn-key installations from hardware to certification, including long term support.
From a hardware perspective, Zii has a new supply of screens available that include 10.1”, 11.6”, 13.3”, and a stunning 18.5” screen. We note that the last three are 1080p devices! And yes, all are dockable units. We also note that they are not streaming to each seat – there is a 1.5 TB storage in the seatback electronics so content is downloaded prior to display and we note the quality is beautiful. As Harry Gray, VP Sales & Marketing, noted: “Storage in the STU cloud and at the seat delivers stunning and reliable inseat display images.” We agree.

SITA OnAir

SITA OnAir demonstrated how the passenger experience is being transformed by their e-Aircraft concept. They discussed the key developments based on the advent of the global high through-put satellite link, GX Aviation. In fact, they showed how the increased connectivity affected 6 key ‘audiences’ (aircraft included) for the improved data rates: 1) Passengers benefit from a richer, more interactive infotainment experience. At the Expo they launched their latest inflight portal for passengers, 2) Cabin Crew can now personalize passenger interaction with real-time information available at their fingertips. Also, they demonstrated their latest CrewTablet developments, 3) Cockpit Crew can also deliver a safer, more comfortable journey to passengers thanks to live weather updates sent directly to EFBs, 4) Flight Operations can enhance passenger safety by tracking aircraft wherever they are in the world using AIRCOM FlightTracker – and a number of airlines have already signed up, 5) Aircraft transmits maintenance requirement data, ensuring teams are waiting at the gate to keep turnaround time to a minimum, 6) And finally, Air Traffic Control enhances both safety and efficiency by streamlining communications between pilots and air traffic managers. SITA likes to call these ‘nose-to-tail’ solutions and they told IFExpress that there is an airline evaluating all these functions in real time today. One of the SITA OnAir prophets is Francois Rodriguez, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer and he told IFExpress: “It is all real and being deployed and we are working with airlines to enable them all with nose-to-tail solutions.” If you are curious about the joining of the two companies and their resultant efforts, their website sheds a bit more information on their combined strategy: “On January 1 2015 , SITA and OnAir formed SITA OnAir as part of the SITA Group, to help airlines realize the full potential of the connected aircraft. The core of the new business organization is SITA’s proven knowledge of airline communications and IT, and OnAir’s expertise in supplying in-flight connectivity. By bringing  together  SITA’s and OnAir’s industry leadership and expertise;  in ground and inflight connectivity, cockpit data services and air traffic management solutions, aircraft communications and infrastructure solutions, as well as application development for both passengers and crew, SITA OnAir sets the benchmark for true nose-to-tail solutions. SITA OnAir provides the complete range of products and services an airline needs to realize the full potential of the connected aircraft regardless of fleet size, route structure or aircraft type.” And lastly, SITA OnAir demonstrated a passenger App that interacts with passengers during their entire flight, As an example, they use beacon technology to connect with the passenger on the ground and continues via a hand-off with them in the air. You can find out more about SITA OnAir here and check out their e-aircraft portfolio. Stay Tuned.

Jetpack

One of the more interesting small companies that we discovered last year at AIX, was Jetpack from England. They were at APEX this year and while we noted their independent programming collections, they abound in a lot of technology and gadgets that they have developed for airlines. While we don’t know how successful they have been, their Director of Technology, Ed Pleydell-Bouverie was one of the most interesting fellows at the show. He told IFExpress: “We have developed iBeacons, a Portable App Distributer that uses Raspberry Pi computer, augmented reality glasses, and a lot of ‘specialty devices’ for airlines.“ Perhaps his best comment that summed up their charter was, “We do oddball stuff.” Yes you do, Ed, yes you do!

BAE Systems

The anti-hacking surprise award at APEX goes to BAE Systems and if you have never talked to Dave Kingston about the subject – do so! We met Dave last year when we talked about their power supplies for inseat applications. As head of Business Development, he had our complete attention and for the first time, we heard a lot about anti hacking on commercial aircraft via the connectivity systems. We got the crypto discussions when they mentioned their content encrypted entertainment programming. The IntelliCabin devices can download encryption Apps that allow their DRM players to send out first encrypted entertainment without worry of copying or data intervention. It seems that they had to prove to the studios that the player Apps do not corrupt, omit, or scramble transmitted movie frames; as a result, some of the major Hollywood movie houses have approved their solution. This is a big deal. Dave told us that they have been working the issue for 18 months, and focusing on a solution for the last six. The reason BAE Systems can do what they do is buried in their $26 B military business that dwells in cybersecurity, military contracts and technology in general. They consulted on the security problem with movie content, accessed their practices and evaluated their network security. In fact, the tech folks there simulated attacks and looked across the whole air and ground IFE and content systems. Dave told us that currently IntelliCabin is not on a connected aircraft, but from a total security point of view, they will have to simulate more attack scenarios that include passenger attempts to load malware on devices that talk to the streaming source of content in the air and ground via their PEDs. This is big stuff and BAE Systems is a leader now in this technology. Obviously, this will make their products more marketable, especially in the near future when these critical and non-critical domains are attacked. Dave summed it up perfectly: “Our Wi-Fi is now the equal of an embedded system.” Their App software knows what device it is running on, it adjusts to that device, the user interface adapts to the device (This is a very nice function), and the system constantly adapts to the streaming content, including the adjustment of the device controls. As far as we know, no one else does this ‘cloud adaptation’ of content streaming. BAE Systems has come a long way and their focus on security will pay off, especially when the studios get a look at their solutions.

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Involved with security in your company? You might want to read this.

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If you are an engineer, or you like science and engineering, you must go see ‘The Martian’, you wont Be disappointed. Sir Ridley Scott is a genius.

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Lastly, Ron Chapman noted recently that future inflight connectivity users might have a frequent ‘FFLYA’ in their future. Oh, look it up!

We open this week’s Hot Topic after a very successful and interesting trip to Hamburg for the 2015 Aircraft Interiors Exhibition. From almost every perspective there was more of everything. So much so, that your IFExpress reporters were so overwhelmed with the 3 halls worth of IFEC/Cabin display areas (approximately 100 exhibits) that we never even got to the other buildings/halls for more aircraft cabin and related show exhibitors, where there were 4 or 5 times more booths. In fact, the IFE halls themselves saw an increase of 33% and there was even a US Pavilion that provided a lower cost display exhibit solution for small businesses – in 2016, this section should grow! It will be our effort in the next month, or so, to cover booths we visited in detail with the hopes that our readers that did not go to Hamburg will get a feel for the show and a bit more information on IFEC related products and services there. We should also point out that since general show floor visitors get in free, it might be wise to use some of your vacation time if you don’t get work-nominated to go yourself!

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Carlisle
Perhaps the best lead-in to this next story on Carlisle (you know, the cable maker) and their new aviation product was best spoken by Marketing Guru, Kris Samuelson, and it went something like this: “We built FlightGear Universal Installation to provide an agnostic solution to the installation of satcom antennas on most commercial jet aircraft.” They note: “The universal solution provides an adapter plate to attach antenna to aircraft exteriors for virtually every Ku and Ka Band large format antenna!” You can see the device on this data sheet  and it looks like a large, milled aluminum plate with installation fixtures attached. “Carlisle Interconnect Technologies, in a partnership with Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, now offers a complete ARINC 791 solution for Ka- and Ku-band SATCOM installations. The complete package contains everything required for either retrofit or forward fit installations on large jet aircraft. Installation fittings are adjustable to cover the complete range of aircraft frame spacing while providing discrete interface loads to the fuselage. The aerodynamic fairing follows the fuselage curvature without requiring a large installation doubler, sealants, or fasteners through the fuselage. This design creates a simplified, standardized installation, easier maintenance inspections, and overall lower cost of ownership while enabling speed to market. Conformance to the ARINC 791 standard also helps future-proof the installation and makes upgrades to next generation antennas and SATCOM system equipment easier and faster with commonality across entire fleets.”

And yes, Carlisle is quite aware of drag implications. A detailed aerodynamic analysis is being performed currently as part of a final shape refinement to optimize the drag while still encompassing the required volume and keeping the overall installation as compact as possible for minimum weight. Lastly, we should point out that while lower profile antennas have entered the market, they are not yet a panacea. With a demand for increasing bandwidth and higher data rates, Carlisle believes that in the long term, a hybrid approach will actually be adopted by the industry, selecting the right antenna (or antennas) for the operating region of the fleet being modified. Carlisle has seen a tremendous degree of interest during, and immediately following, the Aircraft Interiors Expo probably because they have provided a solution to a seemingly widespread need.

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JetPack IFE
One of the “little folks”, JetPack IFE at AIX caught our attention. Having the smallest booth there, we were surprised when we talked to Ed Playdell-Bouverie and James Vaughton, both tekkies, and very sharp, at that. Here is what they do, straight from their website –  “JetPack are a leading supplier of innovative portable solutions for Inlight Entertainment systems. Our proprietary software, VisionIFE, is the first iPad IFE platform to meet the rigorous security criteria necessary to secure Hollywood ‘early window’ content. We create branded systems for airlines and, by leveraging the technology of the latest iPads, we can significantly increase the depth and scope of content available in flight. At JetPack, we provide a full, comprehensive service from supplying technology solutions – tablets, charging and synching stations, and the world-beating support needed to support large deployments of iPads in an aviation environment – to providing a bespoke, curated content according to the exacting needs of partner airlines. We are constantly expanding and developing our offering to ensure there is not better entertainment system in the skies.” They told IFExpress that they offer iPads with content approval from “all major Hollywood Studios”, games, electronic books and music as well. You be the judge – check out their website.

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On another front, we asked a couple folks in Hamburg what the future might hold in the IFE space, and one of the best responses we got was from -who else – Rich Salter at Lumexis. He noted “I thought the educational day (Passenger Experience Conference) was great this year – the Virtual Reality session and the Etihad presentation re: developing their custom interior/seating were especially interesting. A future IFE prediction, and don’t laugh – Virtual and Augmented Reality will play a part in IFEC sooner than you might think – VR is not just a Sci-Fi far-future concept anymore. Test results show that passengers immersed in a VR space (e.g., touring their destination in advance) may feel better and more relaxed after a flight even though they’ve actually been cramped into an aircraft seat.” IFExpress is waiting for more data on using a VR headset in a moving device, after an airline meal, with only 2 hours of sleep….

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Before we forget, the 2015 AEEC upcoming General Session meeting in Prague will be one of the more interesting for those in the cabin interior and electronics arena. Specifically, there will be some 15 new ARINC Standards to be approved by the AEEC Executive Committee, many of which will be affecting all of us. One that we really thought was ancient history is the application of multi-core processors (Introduced in early 2000’s to personal computers) is proposed to be covered by an approval in a change to ARINC Specification 653; “This will enable avionics suppliers, for the very first time, to use multi core processors on avionics computing platforms,” said Paul Prisaznuk, AEEC Exec Secretary. “Today, every avionics computer on an airplane uses a single core processor. ARINC 653 will support dual core, quad core, multi-core type solutions.“ We note that today’s iPad Air uses a tri-core processor – you make the inference! Check out more of the proposed changes here