Maintenance data delivered wirelessly and reliably to ground staff on the ramp before the aircraft doors have opened is the vision of the future now being demonstrated on the stand of Franco-Swedish software company Appear Networks (Hall 2, E4).
Appear specialises in the application of "WiFi" IEEE 802.11 short-range technology to what it calls "workspots" - highly localised areas in which mobile workers in a variety of industries can receive specific time-sensitive information on their wireless-enabled handheld devices.
In action at the Appear stand is a network comprising a standard airborne flight data interface and management unit (FDIMU) from Sagem of France, Appear's own provisioning server, and a WiFi access point which is multicasting to a variety of wireless user devices. These are a ruggedised personal digital assistant, a Fujitsu Siemens tablet PC and a standard laptop, all running Appear's own Click & Run software.
Wireless
Click & Run supports what the company calls "location-based service discovery" - essentially short-range wireless delivery of selected information to mobile workers, depending on their location, personal profile and pre-set permissions.
As the worker approaches, say, an aircraft on the ramp, the software on his PDA automatically detects the presence of the workspot "information bubble" and - if he is cleared to receive data at location - prompts him to start accessing the available information.
Source: Flight Daily News
