Q&A
ASTRONICS JOINS THE SMART AIRCRAFT REVOLUTION Jon Neal, President of Astronic’s Ballard Technology, reveals how the Astronics Smart Aircraft System enhances passenger comfort and shares his insight into the future of the connected cabin by MARY JANE PITTILLA
The Astronics Smart Aircraft System server collects data from hundreds of sensors simultaneously to deliver actionable information to the crew
The Astronics Intelligent Bin Solution uses IoT connection technologies to detect and report in real-time remaining bin space available and environmental status
Jon Neal, President, Astronics Ballard Technology
W
hile airline cabins seem like complex and intelligent wonders today, there are plans ahead to make them even more intuitive to meet passenger needs in the future. Up and down the industry, passenger experience has been taking center stage in discussions, research and development. Astronics, has been showing potential customers a range of products designed to enhance that experience. In this PAX Tech Industry Q and A, Jon Neal, President of one of the company’s divisions, talks about the Smart Aircraft System.
16 | PAX TECH | FEBRUARY 2020
PAX TECH: What’s the background to the Astronics Smart Aircraft System? Why and when did you begin this initiative? JON NEAL: Astronics has a history of developing products that provide operational value to commercial airline partners, such as our industry-leading in-seat power systems. We began working on the Astronics Smart Aircraft initiative several years ago with the application of sensors and wireless IoT networks, along with the development of a new generation of wireless Aircraft Interface Devices (AIDs). The goals of the systems are to provide an easy retrofit option on existing aircraft and to serve as a cost-effective, high-performance backbone to enable the autonomous collection of data from hundreds to thousands of sensors. Airlines can then use this data to increase operational efficiency and safety. Astronics has been granted several patents on the innovative technology with other patents pending. PAX: Please give an overview of the system. What is the technology behind it and how will it benefit airlines? NEAL: The Astronics Smart Aircraft System combines specially designed sensors, a scalable and reliable Internet of Things (IoT) network, an open-architecture wireless communications server, and flexible software to detect and report in real-time on the wide variety of data received from the sensors. Using the Astronics Intelligent Bin Solution as an example, special strip sensors are easily installed in the overhead bins of commercial aircraft. These sensors collect and transmit two types of data through the system for immediate use by the airline:
