wireless ife

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Business Jet Interiors International.com January 201

A

s more and more

p a s s e n g e r s c a r r y

personal electronicdevices (PEDs) onto

business jets, there’s agrowing demand for

content to be streamed wirelessly tothese devices. Furthermore, as the

diversity of content continues toexpand, passengers expect to consume

different media simultaneously, making

the ability to facilitate different streamsto disparate devices essential.

The real level of demand foronboard wireless streaming, through

WiFi technologies, is difficult to

quantify and varies upon the specificmarket segment. “We haven’t seen a

significant number of requests for thiskind of system yet,” says Claudio

Camelier, Embraer’s vice president of market intelligence for executive jets.

“We have noticed an increasing

number of questions about the subject,mainly from fleet operators. Customers

have asked for information andsupport to learn about these

technologies, but not necessarily for animmediate implementation.”

Meanwhile, outfits at the cutting

edge of developing wireless streamingsolutions are feeling greater market

demand. “Since the technology hasmatured, the market is showing a

strong interest in the functionality thatsuch systems can provide. It will

however be up to the initial entrants to

demonstrate that they have easy-to-use, robust solutions for it to be a long-

term success,” says Andrew Muirhead,CEO of IDAIR (a joint venture between

Lufthansa Technik and Panasonic),

who is confirmed as a speaker at theupcoming Business Jet Interiors World

Expo (to be held in Cannes, France, on22-23 February 2012).

Technical challenges Technical hurdles

to onboard WiFi implementation andstreaming seem to be in the past.

Rockwell Collins’ Lupita Ho, principalmarketing manager of cabin systems,

says that “enabling content in theaircraft to stream wirelessly within the

cabin is almost a non-issue”. Embraer’s

Camelier concurs: “The hardware partwas the easy part!”

1. IDAIR plans to

enable wireless

streaming of

licensed and DRM

protected conten

passenger PEDs

from 2013

o n

s t r e a m

C o n t e n t l i c e n s i n g r e m a i n s t h e b i g g e s t h u r d l e t o t h e

i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f w i r e l e s s I F E s t r e a m i n g o n b

o a r d

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Even the capability to streamcontent in high-end consumer-level

high-definition (HD) formats is alreadyin place; the only limitation being the

passenger’s device, rather than thestreaming hardware. “We can support

720p for streaming,” says Ho. “That’s

only a limit because most portabledevices will not require a resolution as

high as 1080i or 1080p.” LufthansaTechnik’s Dave Crossett, principal

executive for strategic sales andmarketing, echoes these sentiments:

“We can even do 1080p, but currentlythe tablets and the like don’t support

2. Honeywell’s Ovation

Select CMS

3. An IDAIR IFEC/CMS

solution

4. Controlling Lufthansa

Technik’s niceHD

CMS through a

smartphone

5. Heads Up

Technologies’

Lumin CMS

6. Rockwell Collins’

Venue CMS

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that content, you’re placing somebo

in a legally dubious situation and ththerefore not a good solution.”

Licensing The multifaceted issue

content licensing is a notoriou

difficult one to navigate. “IFE supplilearned that managing content wa

particular challenge,” says EmbraeCamelier. “Building agreements w

movie studios, building servers a

software that allows for proper acccontrol and billing are some examp

of the things that need to be fixed prto a commercial launch of any wirel

IFE system. In short, feasible solutioare relatively new to the industry.”

Content providers and produc

have remained understandably warylicensing their content for streamin

The risk of consumers carrying off tlatest blockbuster on their PED duri

the early release window, in all its Hglory, is a situation that conte

producers are working hard to nega

Indeed while the wireless technologyin place to provide multiple streams

content, even in full HD format, studare yet to approve. “HD wirel

streamed content is currently difficto obtain because of legal aspects s

to be ironed out with the studios,” s

IDAIR’s Muirhead.However, for standard-definiti

(SD) content, there are options. “W

specialreport

1. Caption p lease

58 BusinessJet InteriorsInternational.com January 2012 BusinessJet Interiors

A s more and mor

p a s s en ge r s c a r rpersonal electrondevices (PEDs) on

business jets, there’s growing demand f

content to be streamed wirelessly tthese devices. Furthermore, as th

diversity of content continues expand,passengersexpecttoconsumdifferentmediasimultaneously,mak

theabilitytofacilitatedifferentstreamto disparate devicesessential.

The real level of demand fonboard wireless streaming, throug

WiFi technologies, is difficult quantify andvariesuponthe specif

market segment. “We haven’t seen significant number ofrequestsfor thkind of system yet,” says Claudio

Camelier, Embraer’s vice president omarket intelligence for executive jets

“We have noticed an increasinnumberofquestionsaboutthesubjec

mainlyfromfleetoperators.Customhave asked for information ansupport to learn about thes

technologies,butnotnecessarilyforaimmediate implementation.”

Meanwhile, outfits at the cuttingedge ofdeveloping wirelessstreamin

solutions are feeling greater markedemand. “Since the technology hamatured, the market is showing

strong interest inthe functionality thasuch systems can provide. It wi

howeverbeuptotheinitial entrantsdemonstrate that they have easy-t

use,robustsolutionsforittobealongterm success,” saysAndrewMuirhea

CEOofIDAIR(a jointventurebetweeLufthansa Technik and Panasonicwho isconfirmedasa speaker at th

upcomingBusinessJetInteriorsWorExpo(tobeheldin Cannes,France,

22-23 February 2012).

Technical hurdl

to onboardWiFi implementationanstreaming seem to be in the past

Rockwell Collins’ Lupita Ho, principmarketing manager of cabin systems

says that “enabling content in theaircraft to stream wirelessly withinthecabinisalmostanon-issue”.Embraer

Camelier concurs: “The hardware pawasthe easy part!”

C o n t e n t l i c e n s i n g r e m a i n s t h e b i g g e s t h u r d l e t o t h e

i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f w i r e l e s s I F E s t r e a m i n g o n b o a r d

1

“CERTIFYING AN 802.11WIRELESS ACCESS POINTIS A CONCERN THAT MAYHAMPER THE UPTAKE”

HD. At present, if I’m sending

streaming video to something like aniPad, it’s only SD.”

Even multiple streams of HDcontent are not cause for concern, “In a

Challenger 300, if you have say six

people, all six of them will be able toaccess the media server, choose an HD

movie or an audio file, and they can all

play the same or a different one,” saysCrossett. The number of concurrentstreams certainly isn’t something he

feels could disrupt their offering. “We’re

providing a system that could providehundreds of streams,” he says.

“Certainly in the business jet aircraftworld, technically it’s not an issue.”

Vendors are also keen to point outthere are no technical issues relating to

CMS. “Physically there’s a logical

separation between the IP and CMSnetworks,” says Crossett. “The wireless

streaming will not affect the CMS

functions, so if you were trying to do

email or Skype or whatever, it won’taffect streaming.”

Certification meanwhile is always

tricky, as Ho says: “Certifying an 802.11wireless access point is a concern that

may hamper the uptake for a wirelesssolution.” IDAIR’s Muirhead shares this

concern: “Certification is never an issueto be taken lightly and we are currently

working on the first installations of IEEE 802.11n wireless,” he says. “Oncethis hurdle is behind us, most of the

hard work leading to mass deploymentis complete.”

Crossett encapsulates LufthansaTechnik’s stance on streaming content

within the business jet cabin: “It’s really

not as much a technical issue, as it is adigital rights management (DRM),

licensing and legal issue and I thinkthat can’t be understated,” he says. “You

can have a technically wonderful

system that can distribute wireless

content – but if you don’t have rights to

(which will be standard fit on these aircraft from early 2012) allows passengers to usePEDs to control the CMS and provide content.

Meanwhile, InTheAirNetVIP’s recently introduced abSeries platform enablespassengers to play PED content on cabindisplays, enjoy previously stored onboardcontent and moving map, or connect to theinternet; while Heads Up Technologies’ LuminCMS technology powers the Clairity cabintechnology system that is standard on the

Cessna Citation Ten, and optional on theCessna Citation M2. The Citation M2 providesa wireless app user interface, which can beaccessed through smartphones and tablets.

Finally, the latest iteration of LufthansaTechnik’s niceHD CMS and IFE systemincludes readiness for streaming Hollywoodstudio-approved DRM/encryption-protectedHD video to each seat, and nice remote for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad – a wirelessapplication for system control.

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Recent developments

While manufacturers are currently finding streaming to passengers’ PEDs problematic,many do factor in devices such as the iPadand iPhone in other ways. Popular offeringsinclude enabling passengers to uploadpersonal content from PEDs to the IFE screen,and enabling PEDs to be used as a remotecontrol for IFEC and CMS.

For example, Custom Control Concepts’ iPlaneturns the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch into awireless controller for IFE and CMS; likewise

Emteq’s eConnect allows passengers to usetheir PEDs to control aspects such as lighting and temperature, as well as to connect to theinternet; a new app from Innotech Aviationand Esoteric allows users of Innotech’s I-Kubroadband system to use their iPads as acontroller for the SkyPad IFE system;Honeywell’s Ovation Select CMS can becontrolled by iPad or iPod; and RockwellCollins’ new HD version of its Cabin ElectronicSystem (CES HD) for Bombardier Global 5000,Global 6000 and Challenger 605 aircraft



Web www.idair.aero

www.lufthansa-technik.com

www.rockwellcollins.com

2012. The system will allow licensedand DRM-protected content to be

browsed and selected and eventually,streamed wirelessly.

“We have an add-on system under

development that will provide astreaming capability to a variety of

passenger devices, including Android,iOS and more,” says Muirhead. “This

system will support DRM and will beavailable for installation from the firstquarter of 2013.”

DRM solutions, such as thoseenabled by technologies including

Microsoft’s PlayReady/Silverlight (theDRM technology that is currently

implemented for Netflix, a USA-based

consumer TV and film on-demandservice), although burdening the

provider with extra cost, could providepeace of mind for those acquiring and

facilitating IFE content for streaming.Content producers themselves are

still struggling to prevent copyrightviolations and subsequently developingmore advanced protection methods.

Encryption and DRM is evolving to thepoint where it can be added to the

actual video stream, rather than themedium (such as DVD or Blu-ray disc)

that carries it.

If such protection proves difficult tocircumvent, a possible scenario could

be one in which access to non-DRMprotected content will eventually

dwindle, possibly becoming so difficult

have released DVD movies, in SD,

approved now,” says Crossett. But evenwith SD content, there are, however,

some caveats: “DVD releases must still

be licensed by the studio. And we don’t

have approval for early window content– content that has left the movie theatrebut is not on DVD,” explains Crossett.

“The studios are wary of having thatcontent transmitted wirelessly.”

Future solutions Some are meeting the

licensing challenge of streaming HDcontent head on. IDAIR, for example, is

on course to provide its HD ‘all-in-one’

solution from the second quarter of

Avoiding arm ache!

While Apple’s iPad is growing in popularity andmanufacturers are including it in their IFEC and CMSplans, others are addressing how the tablet can bephysically integrated in the cabin. For example, Flight Display Systems now offers an iPad arm mount (pictured below) to replace LCD monitors. “Why shoulda tech-savvy VIP, who’s attached to their iPad at thehip, have to put up with juggling it on a food tray, or balancing it on their lap during flight?” says DavidGray, president of Flight Display Systems.

Meanwhile Goodrich CabinElectronic Systems (CES) alsooffers iPad arm mounts, inmultiple configurations. Thedesign includes a mount base

and removable arm that cansupport an iPad 1 or 2. There isa version for mounting andcharging an iPad and also a version for accepting audioand video connections todistribute the client’s content to the CES IFE/CMS system.This is in addition to allowing clients to control IFE and CMSfrom their devices while they are mounted or wireless.

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7. Lufthansa

Technik’s niceHD

system

8-9. Flight Display

Systems’ new

iPad arm mount

to obtain that it will in fact cancel outany cost saving.

OEMs waiting Until the road ahead

clears, many OEMs are taking a

cautious approach to wireless systemimplementation. Embraer typifies this:

“We are not installing this feature as of today,” says Camelier. “We have been in

close contact with the industry’s mainplayers, enhancing our understanding

of solutions and customer demands so

we can build solid requirements beforewe make any decisions about what to

install.” It will then be a case of tailoring the solution. “At Embraer, it is

usual to work with vendors tocustomise such systems to some extent,

based on our own experience in human

factors, engineering and design,”explains Camelier.

As is often the case withtechnological advances, intellectual

property concerns are proving thebiggest hurdle to mainstream adoption.

Stacked against the obvious market-

and passenger-generated pressure toimplement, are many longer-term

acquisition and legal considerations,making final decisions in the current

climate difficult to call. END


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