TC Minutes

WAEA Technical Committee Meeting
February 13, 1998
Irvine, CA

I. Administrative Items

R. Salter, WAEA TC Director, opened the meeting and welcomed the approximately 50 members in attendance. He read and reviewed the WAEA-TC mission statement to clarify the focus of the TC. R. Brookler, WAEA headquarters staff, read aloud the anti-trust guidelines, and attendees were invited to pick up a hard copy of the guidelines.

The attendees introduced themselves and briefly described their company responsibilities, after which R. Salter turned the group’s attention to the draft minutes of the previous meeting. The draft minutes had been posted on the website. There being no changes to the minutes, B. Graves moved that they be accepted and P. Schuberth seconded the motion. The motion carried without opposition.

R. Salter reviewed the meeting agenda in which WAEA announcements and new technologies would be presented in the morning session, and working group reports and liaison representatives discussions would be addressed in the afternoon. There being no changes to the agenda, discussion commenced on the topic of WAEA announcements.

II. WAEA info/announcements

R. Salter presented an update of the recent Board of Directors meeting items that were relevant to the TC. There had been a suggestion from the Board that TC participation might be increased if members were able to participate via video conferencing. R. Salter asked for a volunteer to investigate the possibilities for Video Conferencing and Internet webcasting. K. Nwabueze of SBA Soft Inc. volunteered to chair this activity; and B. Klomburg, e-source, also volunteered to participate.

R. Salter noted that the TC supports the AEEC/CEI committee, and the list of (4) deliverable items for the 1998 funding year was reviewed:

1. Arinc 628, Part 2, Supplement (interfaces for in-seat power)
2. Arinc 628, Part 3, Supplement (data exchanges between IFE and aircraft core systems)
3. Arinc 628, Part 4B (star wiring architecture for cabin data distribution)
4. Arinc 628, Part 5 (in-seat wiring and installation practices)

E. Nicks made copies of the AEEC/WAEA CEI committee’s recent meeting attendance list and homework assignments available to the TC.

R. Salter and R. Brookler presented highlights of the upcoming WAEA Educational Workshop to be held in Dubai on April 23-24. Copies of the workshop agenda were made available to the attendees. R. Salter noted that the TC would make a 30-minute Workshop presentation on emerging technologies. It was noted that the agenda, registration forms, and Dubai visa information would be posted on the website during the next few days.

R. Salter solicited help from TC members in writing the TC progress report article that appears in each issue of Avion Magazine, and also for writing other technical articles for Avion. He noted that J. White is considering an article on "Internet access via laptop computers in the passenger cabin," and he took a poll of those who have actually accessed their email via onboard telephone systems (three attendees had done this).

Information was presented regarding the WAEA Annual Conference & Exhibition to be held in Durban, South Africa on October 13-16, 1998. The Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) to be held in the Seattle area on Oct. 31- Nov. 6 was announced. It was noted that the conference agenda was going to include IFE this year, and a call for papers had been emailed to all TC members.

It was noted that Braathens SAFE airline of Norway was looking for live radio equipment for their cabins, and someone said that Cheltham was a supplier for that type of equipment. R Salter will relay that information to Braathens.

J. Naidish presented background information on Livelink’s "Open Text" (an Intranet software system), which can potentially create a networked correspondence and document management system for the TC via the Internet. Product brochures and demo CDs were made available to the attendees. The WG Chairs were asked to consider the desirability of this product or other communications and document management tools.

III. New Technologies under consideration

The remainder of the morning session was devoted to new technologies that had been suggested for investigation by the TC.

Wireless Technologies: The first technology presented was "Wireless technologies for the cabin" by P. Potega of AirPower.

P. Potega presented a prototype of a cordless inflight keyboard device, which carries a floppy drive (or zip drive; CD drive not yet available). It has a lithium battery and would be provided on board or via a kiosk at the airport, and the passenger can carry all their files and operating system onto the aircraft on a single floppy and install it into the keyboard unit. Since this wireless keyboard/disk unit will be certified for use onboard, this solves many of the problems associated with carry-on portable computers (which are not certified for EMI emissions). The unit’s battery has 24-hours of operating capacity per charge, and onboard docking stations that will store and charge the units will also be supplied. There will also be a specially molded seat tray onto which the keyboard can be fitted.

P. Potega provided a demonstration of the system at work, and explained its IRTA-based communications protocol with a file server that allocates an address for each keyboard (up to 250 keyboards in the cabin) and prevents cross-talk between individual units. He indicated that the unit would be available in about two months. P. Potega noted that improved batteries were an enabling technology for wireless devices, and this led into the next presentation by J. Cirin of Ultralife Batteries Inc.

J. Cirin of Ultralife Batteries Inc. presented a new solid polymer battery technology that is rechargeable, lightweight, and has more energy density (i.e., Watt-hours per kilogram or per liter) than other batteries currently available. This is a Lithium Ion battery system with a solid polymer electrolyte; that is, the battery’s electrodes consist of solid plates and electrolyte is also solid (i.e., no liquid electrolyte), which makes them very safe for aircraft use (no leaks, no gases). J. Cirin explained the following characteristics: It is a thinner and lighter battery (as thin as one millimeter) and is completely customizable to any shape or form. Its voltage range is 3.0 to 4.2 Volts (about three times greater than nickel-cadmium cells) and can accept a constant-voltage charge (i.e., no NiCad memory problem). The battery life does not diminish as quickly over time (compared with NiCad), and it will accept more than 500 charge cycles at 100% depth of discharge. It has less than 10% capacity loss over 30 days (compared to 20-30% for NiCad), and its self-discharge (with nonuse) is less than 10% per month. The operating temperature range is -20 to +60 degrees C, and it is inherently safe due to its abuse resistance, no problems with over-charging or over-discharging, does not promote fire or explosion, and there is no venting or leakage, and no metallic lithium. It is environmentally friendly, with no heavy or toxic metals, no transport or disposal issues; and no DOT or IATA restrictions.

J. Cirin then presented a one millimeter thick battery cell driving a light bulb, and he peeled open and cut the battery (while it continued to drive the light bulb) in order to demonstrate its safety and flexibility. He indicated that the new solid polymer battery’s start-up costs will likely be higher than NiCad or nickel metal hydride and about the same as Lithium Ion batteries (at about $4/watt-hour), but costs should decrease with the product’s maturity. He indicated this new battery would be available later this year.

At the conclusion of these presentations, R. Salter asked the committee if there was sufficient interest to form a WG for wireless technologies. Since there was not sufficient response, he asked that P. Potega merely keep the TC informed of developments in the area of wireless technologies.

Hard Disk Drives: D. Crossett and T. MacPhee then introduced Miltope as a supplier of ruggedized computer disk drives and associated systems.

T. MacPhee revealed consumer disk drives’ vulnerability to the inflight environment, especially vibration, shock, temperature change, operating altitude/pressure sensitivity, and humidity. Solutions for modifying drives to operate properly in this environment were described, including sealed/pressurized cartridges, external shock isolators, rigid environmental testing (thermal, vibration and shock, pressure, humidity testing, etc.). It was noted that product obsolescence is an ongoing problem, since new disk drives are introduced every 6-9 months. There is often little warning of new technologies being introduced or cancellation of existing technologies/products.

R. Salter noted that D. Bertagna of TCC had originally suggested this topic for TC consideration, noting that disk drives are an integral part of nearly all computerized IFE equipment. All IFE suppliers have to address the same issues each time the densities and speeds of drives increase. His input was that the TC should collect basic information on how to make these drives flightworthy and make it freely available to the IFE industry in order to conserve the resources that otherwise would have to be expended to "reinvent the wheel" with each new generation of disk drive. R. Salter suggested that Miltope contact TCC to see if they would collaborate to create a white paper that describes the issues and parameters associated with making hard disk drives air-worthy, and D. Crossett agreed.

Internet Technologies: The final new technology presented was Internet Technologies, introduced by Michael Childers of Lightstream Communications.

M. Childers identified five Internet technologies that were impacting IFE: Client/Server Technology, Streaming Video, Webcasting, Broadband Networks, and Data-Mining. He explained how MetaCON Systems’ website (www.metacon.com) was implementing these technologies for the IFE business. He explained that "client server technology permits the creation of host sites on the web to organize and control the plethora of sites and information that have arisen without discipline or organization, …and information about movies and content for IFE has been organized into relational databases on the metacon web site." He noted that video-streaming technology allows airline buyers to screen trailers of movies, and "eventually, broadband networks will allow the loading of changeable hard-drives within the secured perimeter of the airport with content from our series of regional SuperServers as electronic delivery supplants physical media devices." Airline content buyers can order and track their selections via the web site, and more.

He further explained that the website could be used by other IFE companies and the WAEA-TC, and he gave the following examples:

The TC could put out a call for contributions, and respondents would post their contributions to the website. All members who are registered for instant access would have each contribution "pushed" to their screen as it is received, and persons with a more passive interest would have browser access to it.

Data-miners are constantly searching databases and other websites for new information. Any new data found on a particular subject of interest to the TC (for example, DVD) could be pushed to members of the appropriate working group (e.g., DVD-WG).

He then introduced Kenneth Nwabueze, SBA Soft Inc., to describe the Internet technologies in more detail. He identified the key issues as:

1. How to get the data onto the aircraft?
2. How to ensure the security of that data?
3. How to create an open architecture that will integrate existing systems?
4. How to create partnerships with the key Internet players?

He further explained and gave examples of an Internet retailing strategy and an IFE content replication system and the Internet technologies that can implement them.

At the conclusion of this presentation, the TC established the Internet-WG to investigate and track the existing and potential Internet applications for IFE. K. Nwabueze (SBA Soft) agreed to Chair this group, and M. Childers (Lightstream), A. Marino (Skymall), and D. Crossett (Miltope) volunteered as initial members.

IV. Working Group reports

The afternoon session began with reports from working groups that had been formed at the previous meeting.

DVD-WG: A. McGowan of TEAC presented the progress of the DVD-WG. He noted that the group had two meetings to date, and they plan to meet once per month. They have good diversity in the make-up of the group, and they would welcome more participants.

A. McGowan recounted the benefits of DVD compared to other storage technologies: increased capacity, higher reliability, smaller size, lighter weight, and more durable operation. The capacity is 5-6 times that of CDs, and dual layer DVD offers 270 minutes of video (more than enough for a full-length movie on a single disk). The reliability is on the order of 50,000 hours MTBF for DVD vs. 2,000-6,000 hours for tape decks. He noted that DVD-based products are targeted towards both the head-end (audio and video, distributed, etc.) and inseat applications, and the WG is looking into both read-only and recordable DVD applications.

The DVD-WG proposed and the TC approved its mission statement as follows:

1. Identify possible applications of DVD technology onboard aircraft (e.g., head-end VRU or ARU, in-seat or hand-held personal video player, etc.).
2. Identify the functionalities and interfaces for said applications and suggest parameters for it.
3. Where possible, define basic requirements and recommendations for the creation of DVD programs (both audio and video) to be used onboard aircraft.
4. Determine candidate areas for specification development.
5. Report these findings to WAEA-TC for further action.

The DVD-WG indicated their intent to specify MPEG1 for the compression algorithm for feature films in order to avoid the security problems associated with distributing such high-quality content as MPEG2. TC members expressed the need for a digital as well as analog output from DVD players, since some IFE systems already utilize digital data transmission from headend to the seatend. The TC indicated that the digital output be specified to be a WAEA 0395 compliant stream, and the DVD-WG agreed to address this issue at its next meeting.

All DVD-WG information will be posted on Crest National’s website at http://www.crestnational.com/dvd-wg, and the next meeting of the DVD-WG is March 26, at which time the WG will develop a time-line for accomplishment of its objectives listed in its mission statement.

SC-WG (smart cards): Peter Lemme, ASK/Iridium, reported that the Smart Card Working Group had held two meetings so far. The WG is composed of 15 participants from 8 organizations and they would welcome more members. The SC-WG has set up their own list serve for communications.

P. Lemme reviewed the four applications being investigated for smart cards: telephony, shopping, on-board services (such as gaming and movies), and customer tracking (for marketing and administration uses). He described the candidate aircraft architectures being considered for these applications: fixed - stand-alone (e.g. ATM), mobile - stand alone (e.g. sales cart), telephone, IFE, operational/administrative station, and seat back - stand-alone. He then reviewed the transaction process involved with Smart Cards.

He described the SC-WG’s deliverable products as:

1. A definition of a smart card and a smart card reader.
2. A compilation of the industry standards for smart cards.
3. A description of the airborne applications for smart cards.
4. Identification of the candidate airplane architectures for smart cards
5. A description of the concept of operation for smart cards in the passenger environment.

The SC-WG plans to meet via telecons in March and April and a physical meeting for one-half day on the afternoon before the next TC meeting.

The Displays-WG, DBS-WG (satellites), and TG-WG (transaction/gaming) did not report at this meeting, and it was noted that the TG-WG and Internet-WG may be combined into a single WG since their focus was on the many of the same (software) technologies. R. Salter will discuss this with the Chairmen of these WGs.

V. Liaison assignments

R. Salter indicated that he was confident that the WGs would identify the other technology groups in their particular areas of focus and the WG members were already volunteering to liaison with them (for example, DVD-WG has identified W. Hanniball to be the liaison to the CPTWG [copyright protection technical working group] and SMPTE). However, he stated his desire to identify liaisons to other aviation groups and conferences, and the first choice was to designate those members who already attend these meetings to become the TC’s liaisons. He cited IATA, RTCA, and the AIEM and AMC conferences as being key groups with which the TC must liaison, and it was his desire to identify members who already attend these meetings to become WAEA TC’s liaisons to these organizations.

The following individuals volunteered and were approved to be TC liaisons:

• E. Nicks, Arinc, for liaison to RTCA
• D. Crossett, Miltope, for Airlines Maintenance Conference (AMC)
• B. Graves, Boeing Douglas Products Division, for liaison to the Seat Manufacturers groups (the SAE Seat Committee and the ASIST seat group).

R. Salter will work off-line to identify liaisons to IATA and AIEM.

VI. Next meeting date and location

The date and location for the next WAEA TC meeting was discussed, and it was agreed to meet again following the next ARINC 628 CEI meeting that will take place in the Seattle area on May 5-7. Therefore, the next TC meeting will be in the Seattle area on May 8.

It was also noted that SAS will be hosting the following Arinc 628 CEI meeting (in late July in Stockholm), and the TC will discuss (at its May 8 Seattle meeting) whether to meet in Stockholm as well.

There being no further business, the TC meeting was adjourned at 3:00 PM.