Each year a global audience of professionals from the avionics industry gather in Hamburg, Germany, for Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX). At AIX, the industry’s most important trade show of the year, they meet, network and negotiate business in a booming market. Showcasing its innovative portfolio of best-in-class advanced hardware, software and services for the connected aircraft of tomorrow, the Kontron booth at the show was constantly packed with partners and customers alike. Aircraft Interior Expo 2017 was another great success and continues to be the meeting place to see the latest in Inflight Entertainment and Connectivity solutions that make the avionics industry one of most exciting markets to experience the latest technology trends in practical use.
This year AIX was a busy 3-day event with non-stop meetings at the Kontron booth where we met with our customers and showcased the latest in technology with our novelties for 2017.
Kontron Booth at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2017 in Hamburg, Germany
Kontron Novelties
One of our new products that is just completing Qualification Testing that got a lot of interest is our ACE Flight 4608 Server. This Avionics Server contains the latest datacenter grade 8-Core Intel Xeon processor. This ACE Flight 4608 is a high performance server that is well suited for virtual machines, data analytics and as a streaming media server. This new high performance server compliments our main ACE Flight 4600 media server and shares the common Removable SSD (RSSD) storage solution. Our RSSD used in the ACE Flight Server now also features a massively increased storage capacity of 8TB. This is over 4x increase in capacity, up from 1.6TB of storage last year.
We also showcased systems that leverage our high performance L2/L3 Ethernet Switch. This includes our stand alone AIRES 16 port GbE Switch (center unit), the ACE Flight 4600 Server which has the same Ethernet Switch integrated into the Server.
The system shown on the far right of this picture is a 3U rackmount 28 port L2/L3 Ethernet Switch. It is used to test aircraft engines in extreme conditions within test chambers. The system therefore has to survive a wide range of temperatures, -40C to +80C, have IP67 water protection, run up to 55K ft and continuing operating through intense shock and vibration in order to collect all the engine sensor data during testing of the aircraft engine.
Another new product and major announcement for Kontron at the show for us is our ACE Flight 4780 MODMAN. This is a new modem server solution that is being introduced into the ACE Flight product family. The MODMAN supports the latest ARINC 791 standard and packages the satellite modem with a processor, Ethernet switch and storage within a 4MCU system. As airlines require more standard hardware within Inflight Connectivity, the ACE Flight MODMAN will become a key integrated solution for future connectivity needs. Together with our partner Gogo we issued a joint press release that Gogo selected Kontron’s ACE Flight 4780 MODMAN for their 2Ku solution. Gogo also made some big announcements about their 2Ku satellite solution on day two and in the background you can see the Kontron MODMAN.
Security is of utmost importance
As you know, for Kontron, security is of the utmost importance. Our avionics portfolio is no exception. Therefore for our Cab-n-Connect A100 WiFi system, we announced a complimentary WiFi Security solution called AirDefense. The A100 WiFi system already has a best-in-class software, WiNG 5 that includes a highly integrated and intelligent security and wireless performance solution. AirDefense provides an additional layer of security that is easily implemented in software without the need for any hardware modifications. During use, the A100 WiFi system periodically acts as a sensor to automatically scan the RF network on the aircraft. This data is then analyzed real-time to ensure the network is secure and upon detection, eliminates any threats.
This new security solution is being offered due to a high demand in wireless security concerns from the airlines. The airlines need an industry proven and easy to use security solution to combat the growing concern of network intrusion, data protection, rogue client management, compliance monitoring, etc. The software is designed to operate remotely and provides automatic defense measures for the aircraft wireless network. It also contains in-depth capabilities for forensic analysis, alarm configuration capabilities and over 150 WIPS detection signatures.
At our booth, customers got a hands-on demonstration of the capabilities that AirDefense brings to the aircraft.
The Future of IFE&C
At AIX we were also proud to announce that aviation IT specialist, Lufthansa Systems, is utilizing Kontron’s Cab-n-Connect A100 cabin wireless access point (CWAP). Cab-nConnect A100 is used as the wireless connectivity platform for an innovative Inflight Entertainment & Connectivity (IFE&C) testbed on Lufthansa´s FlyingLab flights Together with Lufthansa we are collaborating to advance modern technology and services on board. Kontron hardware is being used to best demonstrate cutting edge technology for these specialized flights that uniquely combine connectivity solutions with themed based flights. More on this can be found at the Flyinglab website.
For more detailed information on Kontron’s full line of scalable open-architecture avionics platforms, please visit: http://www.kontron.com/industries/avionics.
{{comment.comment}}