Category: Show News

New Embedded Controller CPU Includes IEEE-1588 Synchronization, Solid-State Drives and Hardware Encrypted Security

United Electronic Industries (UEI) today announced the UEIPAC series of standalone embedded controllers now offers an optional 8347E CPU. This version includes IEEE-1588 synchronization, solid-state hard drives up to 32 Gigabyte, hardware-based Ethernet encryption plus twice the RAM, and 32 times as much FLASH memory.

The UEIPAC Cube and RACK chassis systems offer an unprecedented combination of flexibility, ruggedness, low cost and small size. The unit is an ideal solution in a wide variety of measurement and control applications including: Temperature control, Remote/unmanned vehicle control, Hardware in-the-loop (HIL) and more. The UEIPAC is also an ideal solution for a host of embedded DAQ applications as it allows systems to be developed without the cost or the additional space required by an external host computer. The UEIPAC supports both VxWorks and Linux operating systems.

The new CPU is available on all UEI platforms including their popular Cube, RACKtangle and FlatRACK chassis. Over 70 different I/O boards are available and may be installed in the UEIPAC chassis. The I/O boards include standard, generic analog and digital I/O, ICP/IEPE, Strain, LVDT/RVDT, Synchro/Resolver, CAN-bus, RS-232/422/485 and many more. There are also interface boards for popular avionics buses including ARINC 429/453/708, MIL-STD-1553 and AFDX.

Pricing for industrial rated chassis start at, $2595 for the three I/O slot UEIPAC 300-1G-03, $2795 for the six I/O slot UEIPAC 600-1G, and $4750 for the 12 I/O slot UEIPAC 1200R-03. Chassis designed for military applications start at $20,700.

Collins Aerospace to Provide Norwegian Airlines with High Speed Broadband Connectivity

Collins Aerospace and Norwegian Airlines are working to help passengers experience free and premium Wi-Fi onboard Norwegian’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and 737 MAX long-haul flights with its CabinConnect high speed, broadband connectivity solution. The new service, which will debut on the majority of Norwegian’s transatlantic flights, enables passengers to stream video and music content, browse the web, access social media, voice and messaging services over the Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, the world’s first and only globally available high-speed broadband network.

“We’re an innovative airline that’s introducing brand new long-haul aircraft to our fleet as well as enhancing our global network to meet customer demand,” said Boris Bubresko, vice president, Business Development for Norwegian. “Providing our passengers with the most reliable and robust in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity is very important to us. We’re delighted to work with Collins which will support our long-haul connectivity needs as we continue to enhance the Norwegian passenger experience globally.”

This joint project is a critical part of Norwegian’s vision to move to a fully connected aircraft fleet in the future. Beyond enhancing certain safety functions, using broadband connectivity for the flight deck will provide opportunities to deliver new cockpit services like electronic flight bag and real-time high definition weather to operators. Many of these services will require significant amounts of data to be exchanged between the aircraft and operations.

“Our ability to address both Norwegian’s cabin and flight deck requirements with a combination of industry-leading services and hardware provides the airline with a seamless solution,” said LeAnn Ridgeway, vice president and general manager, Information Management Services for Collins Aerospace. “We are collaborating with Norwegian to achieve their vision of optimizing its aircraft and enterprise operations as well as integrating new capabilities going forward.”

“Inmarsat’s GX satellite constellation allows airlines to offer inflight connectivity that is fast, reliable and consistent with coverage across the world,” said Philip Balaam, president for Inmarsat Aviation. “Norwegian’s passengers will have access to the highest quality of global, resilient and flexible broadband available in the skies. In the future, we are excited to provide even more value to Norwegian through the continued development of our global satellite network and related hardware.”

More than 50 percent of Norwegian’s 787-9 Dreamliner fleet is expected to offer in-flight connectivity by 2020. Wi-Fi offering on the 737 MAX fleet will begin in mid-January.

Southwest Microwave Announces Release of Industry’s First Board-Mounted 1.0 mm (W) Vertical Launch Connector

Southwest Microwave says it has released the industry’s first board (PCB) mounted 1.0 mm (W) Vertical Launch Connector.

For microstrip or grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) designs, Southwest Microwave vertical launch connectors provide optimal signal integrity, are reusable and can be installed without soldering. The new 1.0 mm Vertical Launch Connector delivers low insertion loss and a VSWR of 1.35:1 max across 70 to 105 GHz and a VSWR of 1.6:1 max across the complete 110 GHz bandwidth. Data represents two 1.0 mm connectors mounted on test-board.

Southwest Microwave also offers 1.85 mm (V) DC to 67 GHz (VSWR 1.25:1 max) and 2.92 mm (K) DC to 40 GHz (VSWR 1.15:1 max) Board-Mounted Vertical Launch Connectors. These connectors feature a common two-hole flange mounting footprint. The flange mounting holes are tapped for screws to be inserted from the bottom of the PCB. Connectors can be supplied with or without screws to accommodate for various PCB thicknesses.

“We are excited to deliver vertical launch connectors that offer design and installation convenience while reducing board footprint requirements without sacrificing performance,” said Holger Stuehrmann, director of Sales, Microwave Products Division. “Achieving a high-frequency right-angle launch into a board can be challenging. Our team can advise clients on the appropriate geometry to optimize the performance of the transition.”

Spring Testing Solution Available from L. S. Starrett

The L.S. Starrett Co. has announced the introduction of a basic, affordable Spring testing solution designed for compression and extension springs. The new Starrett S1 Spring Testing Systems were developed for high volume production testing for users seeking more consistent results over manual testing methods.

Starrett says their S1 Systems feature “easy-to-use test templates that enable the user to create a test set up in seconds using one and two-point methods, with test targets being load or height-based.” In addition, the small footprint of the S1 System is ideal for either lean manufacturing environments or in-situ production areas. Spring rate, spring constant, free length, solid height and initial tension can be measured and tolerances can be utilized to determine immediate pass/fail results, which can be viewed in graphic or tabular formats.

“Our new Starrett S1 Spring Testers are a compact, easy to use, powerful, fast and cost-effective solution for basic production testing of springs,” said Emerson Leme, head of Starrett Metrology Equipment Division.

Software features of Starrett S1 Spring Testing Systems enable the use of preconditioning options to exercise springs prior to testing, the ability to scrag for a number of cycles or duration or compress to a load set and hold for a duration. Single or dual test limits may be used and target load or height/length for determining spring rate, spring constant, load and length at target limits, initial tension and measured free length can be specified.

The system’s statistics view displays key statistical information for the user’s batch including mean, range, standard deviations and tolerance results. Custom reports can also be printed out and data can be exported to Microsoft Excel or SPC Software such as ProLink’s QC CALC application.

Ericsson and Panasonic Avionics Delivering 5G-Ready Platform

Ericsson and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) have announced that Ericsson’s Core Network as a Service solution is now live, supporting connectivity services across multiple markets served by Panasonic.

Ericsson’s Core Network as a Service solution will help Panasonic and its subsidiary AeroMobile, a global GSMA telecoms operator, provide data, voice and messaging services to the millions of airline passengers that use these services in-flight. The collaboration between Ericsson, Panasonic and AeroMobile started in 2016. It is now fully operational and delivers services to Panasonic customers worldwide.

As part of Panasonic’s initiative to bring a superior connected experience onboard commercial aircraft, Panasonic and Ericsson have seamlessly migrated the existing service operating across a global fleet of aircraft onto the core network, delivered as a service, while maintaining network performance and customer experience.

Every passenger whose mobile service provider has a roaming agreement with AeroMobile can use the service, which is supported by mobile operators across the globe and delivered inflight on board more than 20 of Panasonic’s global commercial airline customers.

The geo-redundant solution is delivered through Ericsson’s ground-breaking Core Network as a Serviceand includes virtualized network applications such as packet core, unified data management, mediation, and mobile switching delivered on Ericsson Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Infrastructure. The core network solution is part of Ericsson’s as a Service offering to service providers globally, and is able to support 5G services to the passenger and airline.

“Our partnership with Ericsson, and the technology provided, will allow us to better serve the communications needs of our passenger and airline customers,” Kevin Rogers, CEO, AeroMobile, says. “Furthermore, the solution enables us to grow our footprint and expand into other services offering a richer experience for the passenger and operational efficiencies for our airline customers. We are looking forward to continuing our exciting collaboration with Ericsson.”

Marielle Lindgren, head of Customer Unit UK and Ireland, Ericsson, says: “Panasonic Avionics is the first customer on Ericsson’s newly introduced Core Network as a Service solution, which aims to bring Ericsson’s leadership and expertise to a wide range of service providers. We’re proud to have initially been chosen as Panasonic Avionics’ supplier for a 5G-ready core network, and pleased that the project is now live.”

Collins Aerospace Hopes to Increase Value, Expands Inmarsat Jet ConneX Service

Collins Aerospace, as a result of a new agreement with Inmarsat, will now work directly with Inmarsat to offer JetConneX (JX) high-speed internet service to business jet operators through a Level 1 Value Added Reseller (VAR) position. Already a VAR for the commercial airline and government market segments globally, the company says this new agreement further strengthens the Collins Aerospace relationship with Inmarsat.

Collins Aerospace will work with Inmarsat to improve the inflight experience for its JX customers. JX provides customers with onboard internet services and enables improved data transfer between the aircraft and operations teams on the ground. With improved access to tools and data, the company can provide customers with more immediate and comprehensive support. The JX service is offered as part of Collins’ ARINCDirect solution.

“By directly offering Inmarsat’s JX high-speed internet services, combined with our connectivity experience and our proven support, we’ll be able to take our customer value proposition to the next level,” said David Poltorak, vice president, Business and Government Aviation Services for Collins Aerospace. “We have been a Level 1 distributor of Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband (SBB) for many years. Now, as a Level 1 VAR of JX, we can continue working collaboratively with Inmarsat to provide our customers with top-line support and tools.”

“Since entering commercial service two years ago, Jet ConneX has quickly established itself as the world’s leading inflight Wi-Fi solution for business aviation,” said Philip Balaam, president of Inmarsat Aviation. “Collins Aerospace has been an important part of that journey and we are delighted to now expand our relationship. As a Level 1 VAR for Jet ConneX, they will work directly with us to build on the service’s success and enhance their customer offering through ARINCDirect.”

Cobham plc Hosted UK Secretary of State for Defence

David Lockwood, Cobham’s CEO welcomed UK Secretary of State for Defence, Gavin Williamson and Michael Tomlinson, Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole at their Wimborne facility in December.

Employing around 1,000 people on the site at the Wimborne location and the visitors were shown a number of key projects for the Royal Air Force and global export customers, including our world leading aerial refuelling technologies.

The UK Secretary of State also had an opportunity to meet a number of Wimborne-based Cobham apprentices and graduate trainees and discussed defence industry matters and the importance of STEM (science, technology engineering and maths) at schools and colleges.

 

Connected Aircraft Market Trends to 2024: Top Key Players Honeywell, Panasonic, Thales, Kontron, Gogo, Cobham, IBM, Google, Spafax and Microsoft

Connected Aircraft Market size is projected to grow substantially during the forecast time frame owing to the increasing number of air passengers and a high demand for in-flight high-speed Internet connectivity by the passengers. Connected aircraft systems provide in-flight entertainment to air passengers with the provision of high-quality audio, video, games, flight details, music, movies, radio, and news. They also assist in providing flight safety instructions in regional languages. Passengers can directly get connected to broadcast satellite and have access to international news and GPS maps; this is expected to drive the global the connected aircraft market.

The U.S. is anticipated to dominate the connected aircraft market owing to the growth in the demand from passengers for in-flight internet access owing to technological advancements and high usage of advanced technology. Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness the largest growth rate during the forecast time span owing to rising urbanization and increase in the disposable income, high travel rate of passengers, and rising popularity of personal electronic devices amongst the population. Additionally, a substantial number of industry players are investing huge funds in business airlines in this region. The rise in the adoption of hardware for aircraft connectivity augments the connected aircraft market growth.

Inconsistency and slack in the data package delivery can majorly affect the quality and reliability of streaming, thus hampering the connected aircraft market demand. Furthermore, replacement of traditional data connection and data optimization with the modern systems is hampering the connected aircraft market growth as it incurs huge investments.

Technological innovations in satellite communication have created new avenues for connected aircraft market. For instance, the increase in bandwidth has led to a surge in internet connectivity speed. Connected aircraft systems enable the transmission of real-time data from ground-based operating systems, which assist in providing critical information regarding management, display, and management of multiple systems operating in the avionics systems of the aircraft in case of an emergency. The shift from seat-centric entertainment systems to portable entertainment devices, which are lightweight and are technologically-friendly acts as a major opportunity for the connected aircraft market.

Rising prevalence of satellite-based connectivity and broadband services allows aircraft operators and airlines to collect data regarding the health monitoring of the new generation IFC aircraft and fuel consumption, thus improving the flight efficiency. The use of big data and real-time analytics for predictive maintenance also is a major trend for the connected aircraft market progress. Furthermore, the launch of new HTS satellite connectivity is expected to alter the face of the airline industry as it shifts from passenger-centric connectivity solutions to operation-driven IFC solutions.

The players operating in the connected aircraft market include Honeywell International, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, SITA OnAir, Thales SA, Kontron AG, Inmarsat plc, Gogo, Inc., Global Eagle Entertainment, Inc., Cobham plc, IBM, Google, Spafax, Apple, and Microsoft. Vendors have adopted business strategies, such as partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and new product development to get a large hold on the connected aircraft market. For instance, in March 2015, Gogo, Inc. announced a partnership with Spafax. The partnership was initiated to assist in the development and management of Gogo Vision, a wireless in-flight entertainment service.

Ampex Data Systems Announces Long Term Agreement with Collins Aerospace

Ampex Data Systems (Ampex), a Delta Information Systems Company, has signed a long term agreement (LTA) with Collins Aerospace to deliver TuffServ solid state recorders (SSRs), memory storage systems, and mission data loaders for use in Collins Aerospace’s MS-110 airborne reconnaissance systems.

The TuffServ SSRs will leverage use of the Ampex Common Compute Environment (ACCE), which includes network attached storage (NAS) software and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) common to all TuffServ airborne NAS products. Ampex will provide support from its headquarters in Hayward, Cal.

The company says their TuffServ series is designed to perform in extreme airborne, ground, and space environments and offers the fast, ruggedized Network File Servers. Additionally, the TuffServ series supports the full spectrum of commercial and military operations to include Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Flight Test, provides removable storage capacities up to 100TB, and a range of interfaces and software capabilities.

“This agreement is a fundamental, ongoing part of Ampex’s strategic approach to working with leading edge mission system providers in the high data rate market,” stated Jim Orahood, vice president and general manager of Ampex Data Systems. “We are exceptionally proud to have been selected by Collins Aerospace and look forward to continued success in supporting this multi-year effort.”

 

Wind River VxWorks Lands on Mars (Again) with NASA’s Insight Spacecraft

Wind River is proud to announce that today NASA’s InSight Mars Lander, with the help of its VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS), reached a historical milestone in its journey to Mars; InSight made its 12,300mph descent to the red planet with a successful landing. With the Insight lander’s avionics system based on VxWorks, this NASA mission brings the Wind River RTOS back to Mars once again following the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity mission in 2012. Now on Mars, InSight will be conducting science operations to gather data on how the planet formed, until Nov. 24, 2020 (which equates to one year and 40 days on Mars, or nearly two Earth years).

For more than two decades, Wind River has provided NASA with technology that has taken dozens of unmanned systems to space, playing a critical role in some of the most significant space missions in history, advancing our understanding of the world and beyond. For more information on Wind River’s work with NASA click here.

Entry, Descent and Landing

In space, the margin for error is essentially zero. Complex automated maneuvers, such as the landing of a vehicle on a planet’s surface, require highly accurate positioning, pointing, and synchronization. Systems and devices on board spacecraft must be able to communicate with each other, as well as with mission control systems on earth.

Referred to as “the seven minutes of terror,” the entry, descent, and landing (EDL) began about 80 miles (about 128 kilometers) above the surface, and ended with the lander safe and sound on the surface of Mars seven minutes later. Mars’ atmosphere is 100 times thinner than Earth’s, so this guided entry and descent remains an engineering feat. While landing, the system had to react with sub-millisecond precision making adjustments based on real-time readings. This is where VxWorks’ determinism was mission critical. Wind River software delivers the intelligence that enables unmanned systems to perform with determinism, precision, and reliability. Here is a simulation of the EDL.

Another Important Milestone for Technology

VxWorks is the industry-leading RTOS powering a variety of unmanned and autonomous systems that aim to achieve the highest levels of safety and cost-effectiveness in their pursuit of invaluable data. VxWorks is powering the computing resources and automation underlying numerous critical space missions, including the space station resupply vessel Cygnus, Juno, the Mars Curiosity Rover, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the groundbreaking Deep Space I, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2, the Global Precipitation Measurement project and many more. It was VxWorks that made possible the precision entry of an autonomous satellite into Jupiter’s orbit – Juno – in 2016.

Driving cost efficiency by including commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies like VxWorks whenever possible in the spacecraft design, allows for a low-cost, rapid-prototyping approach, as well as managing the overall cost of the system.

The End of a Long Trip

InSight was launched on May 5, 2018 by NASA, using a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The lander completed its 300-million-mile trip at 11:54am PT/2:54pm ET. InSight will be the first mission to directly study the deep interior of a planet other than Earth, providing invaluable data, including information regarding how our own planet has formed.

Insight is another great example of how unmanned space missions serve the scientific community and advance human understanding in numerous ways. Wind River is honored to work with NASA and congratulates them on another successful space mission.

*Images courtesy of NASA/JPL