CABIN Electronics 2.qxp_Finance 22/03/2022 13:46 Page 1
CABIN ELECTRONICS
COURTESY OF COLLINS AEROSPACE
Tips on Forward-Thinking CMS Upgrades When you’re installing a new cabin management system, what can you do to ensure it will be able to handle future advances in technology and functionality? Chris Kjelgaard asks some of the CMS experts.
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t is clear to the experts who design, manufacture and sell cabin management systems (CMSs) for business aircraft that one technological factor will be of overriding importance throughout the foreseeable future as CMS design and functionality continues to evolve. That technological factor is broadband wireless connectivity to and within the cabin. The extent to which Wi-Fi is available throughout the cabin — in terms of the bit-rate it provides, and how reliably it does so wherever the aircraft flies — will determine how well the CMS will function, and the extent of the capabilities it will offer each passenger. In-cabin consumption of broadband connectivity is still expensive today, but continuing advances in satcoms coverage and capability, and in the growth of terrestrial 5G cellular communications networks, are leading CMS manufacturers to assume “that at some point the aircraft will be able to get [broadband connectivity] affordably and reliably wherever in the world it may be”, according to Steve Scarlata, Co-Founder of 94 Vol 26 Issue 4 2022 AVBUYER MAGAZINE
Alto Aviation and the company’s VP of Engineering/Research and Development. Today’s business aircraft fliers are accustomed to everyday use of smart devices — ranging from security systems to floor cleaners, or from lighting systems to digital personal assistants in their homes. Now they are expecting smart systems to become similarly ubiquitous in their aircraft, says Stephanie Cooper, Product Marketing Manager for Cabin Solutions in Collins Aerospace’s Business & Regional Aviation Division. Making sure that can happen reliably, and in a cohesive manner, is not a simple matter, says Cooper. For one thing, future CMSs will probably employ artificial intelligence software systems which make use of machine-learning predictive algorithms. They will do so to predict ahead of each flight the preferences of each passenger for parameters such as lighting, sound, cabin temperature, entertainment, and dining, and will relay each passenger’s individual preferences to the cabin attendants, to www.AVBUYER.com
