An all-digital wireless broadband inflight entertainment (IFE) solution being developed by US company Cloudlink has caught the interest of Pratt & Whitney, which is reviewing the technology to determine its potential relevance to the manufacturer's engine health monitoring systems.
"We are interested [to see] if their architecture works and could we use it for other things such as data management and engine monitoring," says P&W.
Engine health monitoring systems record data in flight for downloading and analysis on the ground. The real-time downlinking of such data is of interest to P&W, it says, adding that its connection with Cloudlink is simply in the "technology demonstration stage".
California-based Cloudlink's wireless system offers in-flight entertainment to passengers. But P&W says it is not interested in the system's IFE applications.
MARY KIRBY / PHILADELPHIA
Source: Flight International
