Newest AI product will help professionals in pharmaceutical, aerospace and automotive industries rapidly access the information they need to support decision-making

Montreal, QC | December 3, 2019–Element AI, a global developer of artificial intelligence-powered (AI) services and software that helps enterprises ‘operationalize AI’ today announced the general availability of its Element AI Knowledge Scout decision-support product, the latest addition to the company’s portfolio of AI-powered software solutions.

Focused on turning previously untapped information into actionable insights, Element AI Knowledge Scout organizes and manages both structured and unstructured data, and through deep AI opens up unparalleled access to knowledge for today’s industries as they tackle increasingly complex data-intensive problems. To be rolled out to customers in early 2020, Element AI Knowledge Scout will enable specialists to draw faster insights from existing institutional data to optimize operational responsiveness.

In an organizational setting, data is plentiful but insights are hard to capture. A great deal of this institutional knowledge is tacit and retaining it can be extremely challenging when an expert isn’t present or leaves the company. As such, when a problem arises, employees often don’t have the experience-based information needed to solve the problem because this knowledge has yet to be collected and centralized, which ultimately costs the organization time and resources.

Element AI Knowledge Scout alleviates this knowledge gap in organizations. Created as a decision-support AI product facilitated by original research by Element AI scientists, Element AI Knowledge Scout offers an intuitive interface, allowing users to ask questions in plain, sentence-based language. The product’s deep learning algorithms then formulates a response by pulling information from similar contexts through both structured and unstructured data sources. The user is then able to bookmark results, thus reinforcing algorithm learning to ensure better results are returned in the future.

“We created Element AI Knowledge Scout as part of our AI software solutions to help organizations realize the power of AI and navigate the repository of institutional knowledge which was previously held by employees and manual processes,” explains Anand Medepalli, Head of Products at Element AI. “Now, a simple query with Element AI Knowledge Scout is all it takes to unlock the power of AI and find answers to complex issues such as quality management in manufacturing, all within a matter of seconds.”

To learn more about Element AI and its AI-powered manufacturing products, visit this link.

Denver, Colorado | May 1, 2018–AirSatOne, a satellite communications provider, and AnsuR, a technical innovations company, announced today that AirSatOne has become a reseller and technical support provider for AnsuR’s RAIDO software.

The RAIDO software is designed for high precision photo / video capture and communication, as well as real time video streaming from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Special Mission manned aircraft. The RADIO software suite is scalable to include fully remote control of the camera on board the aircraft or to simply stream video in the most efficient manner possible given the type of connection and available bandwidth.

The AnsuR RAIDO product line provides ability for users to focus bandwidth on the most important content with operational effect, real-time visual communication sharing, where observations are initially pushed using minimum data to preview photos, video storyboard or live streaming. With Focus Capacity the user can zoom in on relevant content, using AnsuR’s Interactive Communication, for high quality close up’s without having to transmit the entire area in the optical view of the camera which saves data usage, cost and keeps the required bandwidth to a minimum. Savings can be as high as 99%.

According to Jo Kremsreiter, President of AirSatOne, “Adding the AnsuR RAIDO solution to our existing infrastructure means the customer gets our exclusive Flightstream SA features which includes network traffic control with prioritization allowing the user to define priority classes to streaming video, flight controls and other mission critical communications to make sure high priority data reaches its destination even when 100% of the allocated bandwidth is being used. We also provide Hybrid Satellite / Terrestrial connectivity with IP-Sec, Leased Line and MPLS so we can deliver the video to the customers destination and provide network security”

AnsuR Technologies has tested the solution using the Cobham AVIATOR UAV-200 Satcom Terminal specifically designed for UAV’s (Booth 2627) which provides connectivity at up to 200 kbps in a lightweight package of less than 1.5 kg. From the receiver side the users can control how to use the bandwidth for the video, changing frame rate, resolution and compression quality. It is also possible to toggle cropping of the video so that the regions of interest have highest possible precision. The results show operationally good quality video at the available rates.

In addition to the real-time streaming, RAIDO provides the options to access the original video and photo quality and immediately pull more details, up to full camera resolution, from a still photo or a video clip. Both are possible to generate form the video stream or can come from a separate camera.

Actual video of the solution can be found on AnsuR´s or Airsatone’s web site.

• The industry leader in wireless in-flight platforms since 2014 in Europe, Immfly, is already providing airlines a game changer autonomous system in the rapidly growing In-flight Entertainment & Connectivity market

Barcelona, Spain | November 24, 2016– Pioneering the IFE-C Market in Europe since its launch with Iberia Express two years ago, Immfly, owning an STC for A320 and A330 aircraft, offers airlines a unique solution ready to be installed in just one night. Its unprecedented system, currently operational on three airlines, consists of one server, several WAPs and one switch in the cockpit, and proves to autonomously upgrade and download the content and the software every time the aircraft lands. The company, having achieved an industry first with its technological approach, steadily responds to the market demands and sustains its position as the industry’s prefered wireless solution in Europe.

“One of the key reasons that brought us to partner with Immfly was its unique operations management value proposition, which leaves the airline a margin of any manoeuvre” states Ricard Falomir, CIO from Iberia Express. “Upon landing the system automatically connects to the Cloud to download passenger data and process payment transactions. With Immfly onboard we just have to make sure that the hardware is on, the rest is successfully managed either by their operations team or by the system itself”.

Moreover, Immfly substantiates that connectivity is just around the corner. “According to how the market is taking shape, we propose airlines a flexible 2 step approach with no operational disruption: First Wireless IFE and then Wireless IFE & Connectivity” says Alfredo Ibáñez, CTO of the Barcelona based company, Immfly. “Given that our product is compatible with most connectivity operators and integrators, adding a connectivity system to an Immfly equipped aircraft involves a seamless integration with significant cost benefits and technological synergies”.

· ViaSat Gains Connected Aircraft Software, Wireless In-flight Entertainment, Mobile Applications and Airline Document Management Expertise
· Arconics Brings A Complementary Set of Existing Commercial Airline Customers, Including Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Among Others
Carlsbad, CA and Dublin, Ireland | November 14, 2016– ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global broadband services and technology company, today announced it acquired Arconics, an innovative provider of software solutions to the aviation industry. Through this acquisition ViaSat gains broader expertise, aviation-grade software and mobile applications to make flying safer and more efficient for pilots, cabin crews and flight operations teams as well as applications that make entertaining passengers and opening new service and revenue opportunities for airlines possible.

The Arconics connected aircraft software platform enables the Arconics App Suite, which spans wireless In-flight Entertainment (IFE), Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), Airline Document Management and Cabin Management solutions, to communicate and share data with the aircraft and, using available connectivity, to connect with ground systems across mobile or avionics platforms. Today, tens of thousands of pilots, ground staff and cabin crew members across five continents depend on Arconics software to safely and efficiently operate their fleets. Airline customers include: Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Philippine Airlines, Tigerair Australia, SpiceJet and others.

“By acquiring Arconics, we are bolstering our ability to serve the global aviation market,” said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager, Commercial Mobility business, ViaSat. “We believe combining our strengths with Arconics will position ViaSat to be the market leader for connectivity, passenger services and flight deck applications and operations.”

Prior to the acquisition, Arconics had a partnership with ViaSat, primarily focused on serving the wireless IFE needs of multiple airline customers. Post-acquisition, ViaSat expects to also offer airlines real-time insight, control and agility of aircraft and flight data with highly-integrated, highly-customizable aircraft operations tools that tap into the power of ViaSat’s advanced high capacity Ka-band satellite network, which has more capacity in orbit than any other in-flight WiFi provider.

“ViaSat offers Arconics a strategic match – both culturally and technologically,” said Arconics Chief Executive Officer Niall O’Sullivan. “We know ViaSat well, having partnered with them on a number of opportunities to deliver our world-class CloudStore wireless IFE product. Together, we believe the complementary nature of the technologies and products of Arconics and ViaSat will enhance the combined company’s ability to deliver exceptional end-to-end experiences across the entire aircraft value-chain.”

In connection with the acquisition, ViaSat establishes a presence in Dublin, Ireland, and will continue to build its operations in Sydney, Australia. More than 30 Arconics team members with both technical and business expertise will join ViaSat, including Niall O’Sullivan. IBI Corporate Finance advised Arconics on the transaction. The transaction is not expected to materially affect ViaSat non-GAAP (pro forma) earnings for fiscal year 2017. However, ViaSat has not completed its valuation analysis and, accordingly, has not determined the impact to GAAP earnings.

Harrison, NY and Singapore | October 25, 2016– Oct. 25, 2016 — At the 2016 Airline Passenger
Experience Association (APEX) Expo today, Panasonic Avionics Corporation (“Panasonic”) and CoKinetic Systems Corporation (“CoKinetic”) marked the 10th anniversary of their software licensing relationship. Each year, the APEX Expo brings
together thousands of aviation professionals from around the world, with this year’s show hosting more than 150 vendors and representatives from more than 100 airlines.

Panasonic and CoKinetic first joined forces in October 2006, when Panasonic licensed CoKinetic’s in-flight entertainment (“IFE”) product known as AirPlay. Since then, AirPlay has been powering Panasonic seatback entertainment systems on airlines around the world.

Looking forward, CoKinetic is rededicating itself to keeping AirPlay at the forefront of IFE technology on all generations of Panasonic’s platforms, including Panasonic’s eFX, eXI, eX2, eX3, eXLite and eXW, bringing together the features of AirPlay with Panasonic’s advanced suite of IFE systems.

Kris Stevens, CoKinetic’s Chief Executive Officer, described the technical cooperation between Panasonic and CoKinetic as crucial to its airline customers – a driving force for innovation and improving bottom lines. “CoKinetic’s unique licensing relationship with Panasonic, which continues through 2025, offers airlines the unmatched flexibility, innovation, and independence that comes with AirPlay with the confidence of a trusted partner that can deliver expertise and systems compatibility for all generations of Panasonic hardware, past, present and future. Whether AirPlay is licensed through Panasonic or directly from CoKinetic, airlines get the very best of both worlds when they combine the power of AirPlay with the Panasonic platform.”

Paul Margis, Panasonic’s Chief Executive added, “At Panasonic, we truly value the constant focus of our partners to improve their products to the delight of our airline
customers. We’re excited about CoKinetic’s continued focus on innovation with their AirPlay product and look forward to mutually improving the passenger experience through our IFE products.”

Vancouver, BC | August 11, 2016– Boeing Vancouver today announced that it will open a new downtown laboratory focused on data analytics-driven software solutions. The Vancouver Labs will be focused on rapidly conceiving of, building and scaling solutions that help airlines and other aircraft operators increase efficiencies and drive costs out of their businesses. The Vancouver Labs complement the company’s facilities in Richmond, B.C., which today employ more than 200 highly skilled software engineers and data scientists.

“The expansion represents a natural extension of Boeing Vancouver’s analytics, software development and professional consulting work,” said Boeing Vancouver president Bob Cantwell. “As one of the largest analytics groups within Boeing, we are well suited to house the new Vancouver Labs, which will focus on delivering data-driven solutions at a rapidly increased pace over traditional development.”

By leveraging data science insights, reducing traditional enterprise development cycles and working with customers in a consultative manner as products are developed, the Vancouver Labs will work to deliver innovative solutions to Boeing’s global customer base at an accelerated pace. Boeing Vancouver’s new labs will create new jobs, while facilitating local knowledge transfer and enhancing partnerships between Boeing, other technology companies and academic institutions across Canada.

“We’re delighted another tech giant is expanding its work in B.C.,” said Amrik Virk, B.C. Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services. “Boeing Vancouver is tapping into an amazing talent pool with a long history of delivering great innovations that have made the world a better place. Bringing new ideas to reality and driving the future of tech in B.C. is exactly what we aim to foster as part of our #BCTECH Strategy.”

“Boeing’s new labs office will be a significant addition to the province’s growing technology sector and demonstrates B.C.’s reputation as a leading hub for technological innovation,” said Teresa Wat, B.C Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism. “B.C. has a highly skilled knowledge-based workforce, and this is a great example of how they are being recruited to support the needs of a global leader in the aviation sector.”

The Vancouver Labs are designed as an open concept space to maximize collaboration and creativity among multi-disciplined teams with skills in UI/UX design, data science, consulting, and Agile software-development. Boeing Vancouver, formerly known as AeroInfo, will move into the new facility in September 2016.

Chengdu, China | June 16, 2016– Chengdu Tianfu Software Park, one of the largest tech parks in China, selected Envee Inflight Entertainment Co., Ltd, as an example of the extraordinary start-up companies to excel in China. Envee Inflight Entertainment is based in the Chengdu Tianfu Software Park and provided insight into how they were able to provide inspiration to other start-ups.

“Inflight WiFi is unexplored territory in China, which will see great opportunity as satellite connectivity technology and ground-air connectivity technology are realized, and the inflight WiFi are approved by Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to conduct pilot programs.” According to Wu Xin, General Manager of Envee Inflight Entertainment Co., Ltd., conventional internet is already saturated with leading companies in many industries – monopolies are even beginning to emerge. In contrast, inflight WiFi is still in its early stages of exponential growth and is likely to open up a new chapter in the industry.

While investigating and seeking numerous projects and opportunities between 2007 and 2010, together with one of his college classmates, Wu created a high-tech company focused on the research and development of mobile internet projects in Chengdu Tianfu Software Park: “I met Xi Wenda, who had been studying in the US. With our backgrounds in internet and aviation, we reached a consensus on the direction of inflight entertainment.”

As stated by Wu, such consensus came from some of their own experiences as airplane passengers. “As on-ground internet continues to be updated every day, even every hour, outdated and slow-to-be-updated content, such as games and music, continue to be used in our aircraft. Furthermore, internet access is not available on domestic flights in China.”

“Foreign companies have long had a monopoly on the development of inflight entertainment systems and their standards. However, we discovered inadequacies in their localization of R&D of aviation entertainment software. As a result, the passengers are forced to passively accept onboard entertainment and are unable to interact with it. They are simply unable to meet passengers’ needs.” Wu and his team believe that inflight WiFi will definitely become a trend: “Certain passenger groups may have special requirements, such as social interaction, information and entertainment in addition to WiFi access. We originally intended to meet the requirements of even more passengers by tapping into the inflight entertainment segment.”

Wu then established Envee Software (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. (predecessor of Envee Inflight Entertainment Co., Ltd.) with his partner at Chengdu Tianfu Software Park: “At the time, the global inflight entertainment system market was monopolized by two high-tech companies from Canada and India. We wished to break foreign monopoly, develop a nationwide aviation industry and provide passengers with superior aviation entertainment services through continued innovation.”

As they found their way into the arena of inflight WiFi, however, Wu and his team would eventually uncover many challenges: “Most of civil aircraft in China are purchased from Boeing, Airbus and other foreign manufacturers, so our software needed to obtain authorization from specific hardware device manufacturers before being installed on the aircraft.”

According to Wu, after over a year of communication, development and testing, Envee Inflight Entertainment finally fulfilled safety requirements from hardware device manufacturers of inflight entertainment systems – Panasonic and Thales, and acquired clearance to develop the relevant software. It became China’s first company in the industry to obtain such approval.

“Panasonic and Thales provide entertainment systems for Boeing and Airbus aircrafts, and account for 80 to 90% share of the global market,” said Wu Xian. With software authorization from Panasonic and Thales, Envee Inflight Entertainment seized the opportunity to begin development based on their entertainment systems: “With the proper credentials for this industry, we are now able to increase our coverage as Panasonic and Thales expand to different markets.”

“I firmly believe that the future of inflight WiFi lies in the software revolution,” said Wu. Currently, select hardware device manufacturers in the industry monopolize many resources, but with the best possible software, change is possible: “What we saw on the aircraft were options tailored for foreigners and they were usually very complicated. Some of them did not conform to the tastes of Chinese passengers. We hope to cater to Chinese audiences and focus on the user experience, with games like “Fight the Landlord,” mahjong, gobang, and reversi. We also made interactive 3D editions of the “Palace Museum,” “Temple of Heaven” and other attractions to enable passengers to access advance information on the attractions they will be visiting. All of these are ways in which we provide entertainment content.”

Wu believes that opportunities and challenges coexist in inflight WiFi. Those who embrace challenges and take advantage of opportunities will survive: “The challenge is that nobody has ever done this in China – we cannot simply introduce a foreign model into China. It’s important for us to stand on solid ground and move step-by-step. Only then can we truly change and even become leaders in the industry. Inflight WiFi is likely to become a revolution in the services provided by China’s civil aviation industry, and this is our opportunity. It’s an imaginative and fascinating market waiting to be exploited.”

There are now 360 million passengers transported by China’s civil aviation industry each year. 2.5 hours of flying per capita amounts to 900 million flying hours per year. Moreover, by Airbus’s estimation, China will become the world’s biggest aviation market over the next decade. Overall, China has become the world’s biggest internet market, surpassing the US. Its netizens and business opportunities are unmatched by any other country. The combination of these two factors makes the inflight WiFi business infinitely profitable.

Chicago, IL | May 20, 2016– Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO), the global leader in providing broadband connectivity solutions and wireless entertainment to the aviation industry, announced today that it has partnered with aerospace software specialist PACE to connect PACEs’ Pacelab Flight Profile Optimizer – the leading flight optimization application.

Pacelab Flight Profile Optimizer is a unique decision support tool developed for a pilot’s electronic flight bag (EFB) that’s designed to continuously evaluate numerous flight data metrics thus optimizing flight paths for maximum efficiency. Under this partnership, the Pacelab Flight Profile Optimizer application will be connected in real time so a pilot will be able to adapt to changing conditions while in flight to reduce fuel burn and to improve ontime performance.

This partnership is another example of the value of the connected aircraft and the benefit of having access to real time data and information while in flight.

“By partnering with PACE, we establish a direct relationship to help market and integrate with each other’s products while accelerating speed to market and providing a clear path for adoption of this valuable fuel savings tool into airline operations,” said Andrew Kemmetmueller, Gogo’s vice president of connected aircraft services. “Gogo continues to move beyond the passenger connectivity arena and is rapidly enabling the era of the connected aircraft.”

“En-route flight profile optimization enables flight crews to unlock substantial additional fuel savings,” said Oliver Kranz, PACE’s managing partner. “Many airlines have yet to realize the full potential of the connected EFB, and our partnership with Gogo highlights this attractive business case.”

Hamburg, Germany | April 14, 2015– Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Tactel AB (Tactel). Tactel is a leading mobile app and software consultancy in Sweden that counts many prominent Scandinavian companies as its customers.

This acquisition is part of an ongoing strategy to enhance Panasonic Avionics’ leadership and capabilities in software and design.  Tactel will augment Panasonic Avionics’ existing engineering and software expertise in the consulting and development of apps, portals, visual and interactive design and back-end services.

Tactel will operate as an independent unit of Panasonic Avionics and will continue to deliver a diverse range of solutions to its customers in the media, mobile and financial services industries under the leadership of Jonas Andersson, CEO. 

“We are excited to join Panasonic Avionics and participate in the profound change that mobile technology can bring to the modern inflight experience,” said CEO, Jonas Andersson.  “Panasonic’s market leadership coupled with Tactel’s unique mobile industry experience will provide innovative software solutions for the aviation industry.”

Paul Margis, President and CEO of Panasonic Avionics said, “Tactel is a unique and innovative company that delivers custom solutions with the personalized, rich experiences that today’s connected passengers demand.  We believe that Tactel’s unique blend of solutions and services will help enhance our inflight entertainment and broadband connectivity offerings, and also help our customers become even more successful.”