Standardization as a Key Enabler to Satisfy the Needs of Future Data-Driven Aircraft Cabin Applications

Abstract

A consortium of leading aviation companies with the nominated Project Lead Diehl Aerospace and with the partners, Etihad Engineering, The Boeing Company, Safran Cabin Germany, B�hler Motor, Diehl Aviation, Jeppesen, KID Systems, the Hamburg University of Technology and the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University introduced the worldwide first intelligent cabin. The i+sCabin project aims to connect separate cabin applications without cabling to one another. For passengers, this networked system would offer increased comfort and higher satisfaction. This solution will connect, among other things, the seating, the galleys, and lavatories as well as sensors and certain surfaces in the cabin, creating an intelligent cabin network. One of the key goals is to facilitate the collection and exchange of information to generate a real-time overview of the status of all aircraft cabin areas. This information is particularly valuable in terms of predicting potential faults and the corresponding maintenance works that would be required � a revolutionary concept considering the fixed maintenance cycles that the industry currently has to contend with. This paper will present the actual status of the i+sCabin research project and the status quo of the standardization work for cabin communications. The intelligent cabin system approach widens the cabin for new applications not feasible in the past. The evolving cabin communication standard enables all stakeholders in airline industry to contribute to a new level of service.