Integrated Information Systems in the cockpit of the future

June 14th, 1999

Rockwell Collins is leading the effort to replace paper with technology in commercial aircraft. Rockwell Collins is currently teamed with Condor Flugdienst, the charter affiliate of Lufthansa German Airlines, to participate in a yearlong demonstration in Europe of technologies required to link an aircraft-based intranet to airline terminal area databases.

The objective of the Condor Aircraft Integrated Net programme is to validate new technology and analyse the economic benefits of information management technology into aircraft. The demonstration will provide data to make it possible for participants to evaluate the business criteria needed for general airline acceptance.

Using the Collins Integrated Information Systems (I2S), the study is seeks to show that pilots no longer need to rely on human effort to relay important data between the flight deck and the airline's dispatch operations on the ground. Instead, I2S will provide a faster, more accurate and more complete exchange of information between the aircraft and the ground-based file servers. Automating the process saves time and increases efficiency, helping to increase airline revenue.

Rockwell Collins is also a part of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, Eurocontrol. Formed in January 1999, the group is studying technical issues, costs and benefits, and other major issues associated with high-speed communications systems such as Collins I2S. The Collins I2S gatelink system is being explored by Eurocontrol as an alternative means of terminal-area air traffic control communication.

The first products in the Collins 12S product line have successfully completed airworthiness testing. These units, the MAU-2000 (Microwave Airborne Unit) and PMAU-2000 (Pilot's Microwave Airborne Unit), enable wireless Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity on-board the aircraft. They provide for wireless terminal area gatelink from the aircraft to the airline's Information Technology (IT) system and provide a wireless LAN environment inside the aircraft.

I2S will use VHF, HF, SATCOM and other communication channels while airborne, to communicate with the airline's network. Intranet data is transmitted between the aircraft and the airline's information system through a combination of microwave communication and intranet. This high bandwidth link allows inexpensive exchanges of large amounts of data such as maintenance diagnostics, navigation databases, flight plans, and graphical weather data.

Rockwell Collins expects 12S will significantly cut costs for airlines. Not only will administrative data such as crew scheduling, fuel records, and passenger manifests be incorporated into one data management system instead of four, but also gate turn-around can be improved with better communications and information transfer systems.

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