EMMA KELLY / LONDON
I²S information management system starts certification process on A340-600 following successful Condor trial
The first flight tests of the Rockwell Collins' Integrated Information System (I²S) on board the Airbus A340-600 have been conducted as part of a programme which should lead to its certification on the aircraft by October. I²S will form the backbone of the Airbus In-Flight Information System (AFIS) on the A340-600, which is being designed as a complete information management system to support high-speed data communications between the aircraft and the ground.
The I²S hardware includes a server interface, a network server and a terminal wireless local area network unit. The latter allows a wireless gatelink connection.
The A340-600 test flight comes after years of I²S development to provide an integrated, end-to-end communication solution. In 1999, first-generation equipment was installed on Airbus A320s operated by Lufthansa affiliate Condor in a trial to automate information exchange between the aircraft and the ground, validate the technology and assess the economic benefits of aircraft-based information management technology. The system connects the aircraft and ground-based file servers via satellite communications, high-frequency or very-high-frequency services. On the ground, the system uses gatelink wireless microwave datalink.
Condor has been using I²S on three A320s for crew communications, primarily e-mail. The programme has demonstrated the feasibility of the technology, resulting in improved logistics and cost savings for the carrier, says Mark Johnson, Rockwell's I²S director of business development.
The AFIS programme is set to have much wider applications for cabin- and flight-crew, and maintenance and passenger services, including datalinked weather graphics, electronic charts and maps, electronic cabin manuals, flight operations, quality assurance and passenger e-mail/internet.
Flight tests on the A340-600 will "prove out the system as a whole", says Johnson. In the next months, Rockwell's cabin network server unit will be installed to support e-mail and internet services provided by Tenzing Communications, which is 30% Airbus-owned.
The greatest stumbling block to exploiting the technology fully is the air-ground connectivity, says Johnson, adding that lack of standardisation is holding airlines back from deploying the technology.
Until longer-term broadband connectivity solutions, such as those being developed by Boeing Connexion, AirTV and the consortium consisting of Airbus, ARINC, Astrium and Tenzing, are properly established, Johnson believes that Inmarsat's high-speed data service combined with gatelink communications will be the primary link.
Meanwhile, Rockwell has partnered AirTV to provide I²S to allow the delivery of AirTV's flight information, internet content and live television to aircraft. The AirTV consortium, which comprises Alcatel, Arianespace, CMC Electronics and SITA, plans to deliver in-flight internet, e-mail and television services via four dedicated S-band satellites from 2004.
The partnership will see the delivery and storage of information on board aircraft using I²S hardware. Rockwell established its own in-flight e-mail, internet and live TV venture with News Corp, but disbanded it earlier this year following poor market response.
Source: Flight International
