Airbus ramps up Internet of Things connectivity
- BTN News
- Wednesday, 03 April 2019
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has decided to proceed with an Internet of Things (IoT) Platform for the cabin, known as the Airbus Connected Experience.
Up to now this has been a concept study, which is ‘coming to life’ following co-operation agreements signed with partners: Gategroup, Stelia Aerospace and Recaro Aircraft Seating.
The platform will link in real-time interconnected core cabin components, including the galleys, meal trolleys, seats, overhead bins and other cabin elements.
As well as allowing data exchange throughout the cabin for the crew, it is also planned that consolidated information can be uploaded to the Skywise cloud for subsequent trend analytics.
The connected cabin will provide airlines, flight crews and passengers with significant benefits, says Airbus. For flight crews it means that they can access an integrated platform which keeps pre-flight and real-time data in one place, while passengers will receive a more personalised travel experience. And for airlines the platform would allow them to use the aggregated cabin equipment usage trends (of the connected elements) to perform predictive maintenance analytics over their entire fleet – thus improving the overall cabin service reliability, quality and performance on board all their aircraft. The platform will also allow wireless streaming to passengers and will enable airlines to host third-party applications for movies.
The connected cabin will provide airlines, flight crews and passengers with significant benefits, says Airbus. For flight crews it means that they can access an integrated platform which keeps pre-flight and real-time data in one place, while passengers will receive a more personalised travel experience. And for airlines the platform would allow them to use the aggregated cabin equipment usage trends (of the connected elements) to perform predictive maintenance analytics over their entire fleet – thus improving the overall cabin service reliability, quality and performance on board all their aircraft. The platform will also allow wireless streaming to passengers and will enable airlines to host third-party applications for movies.
Examples of 'Connected Experience' components:
The Connected galley will enable passengers to pre-order from a dedicated prediction of preferred food and beverage for passengers – which also reduces waste and increases passenger satisfaction. It will also enable cabin crew to benefit from full transparency of inventory management for efficient operations, as well as facilitating remote passenger communication to deliver quick and personalised passenger service based on individual preferences.
Connected seat: The connected seat will provide passengers with personalised seat position settings as well as remote ordering of preferred beverage or meal via personal devices.
On their IFE screens, passengers will be able to receive customised content including movies of interest or relevant advertisement for topics they are interested in – such as recommendations for concerts they would enjoy at their destination.
Connected bin: Not only will a ‘smart’ bin indicate free space to place passengers’ luggage faster, but it could also enable space management, so that passengers can book the space for the bags in advance.