TECH TALK
benefi t. Archived data on previous maintenance incidents provides a basis by which possible outcomes may play out, and allows the industry to not only reduce costs, but also to increase safety. Prescriptive analytics information can direct maintenance personnel on the ideal time to perform a repair or isolate a potential fault. However, this comes at a price. Airlines, operators, aircraft owners/ lessors and others need to invest in newer IT systems and applications that can archive large amounts of data (storage prices are dropping continuously, so this should not be a major cost driver) and upgrade existing MRO systems to interact with software that analyzes data for patterns. All of this needs software engineers and data analysts. Prescriptive maintenance will continue to transform the air transport industry. Research fi rm IDC forecasts that by 2020, approximately 50 percent of all business analytics software will contain some level of prescriptive capabilities.
DATA SECURITY
One of the biggest challenges to face IoT in general is cybersecurity, and it should not be understated. It is one of the biggest issues in consumer-level IoT, where hackers have taken control of Wi-Fi-enabled door locks, alarms, garages, video surveillance systems, etc. Aircraft and aviation ground systems are not much diff erent, although they do seem to have more security already built in. Not only are new-design
e-Enabled aircraft an issue, but legacy aircraft with retrofi tted new avionics and IFEC systems are perhaps even more vulnerable. Here we have newer wireless-enabled (or wired) systems connected to previously closed- system aircraft parts, which might
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have no cybersecurity precautions built in (because they pretty much did not need such capabilities 10 to 20 years ago). This is a major issue. Industry is slowly catching up via updated guidelines. The RTCA DO 326A
“Airworthiness Security Process Specifi cation” is intended to augment current guidance for aircraft certifi cation to handle the information security (i.e., cybersecurity) threat to aircraft safety. In a nutshell, this new document describes a security engineering process that includes generic activities with corresponding compliance objectives. The scope of DO-326A not only covers the initial aircraft type certifi cation but also aircraft (systems) changes. More regulations and processes will be forthcoming, as cyber issues uncover more fl aws in the process of aircraft system certifi cation, mitigating security risks, and in regards to aircraft maintenance practices. As IoT use expands, the challenge of handling the large volumes of information generated by aircraft systems needs to be addressed. This is not only the bandwidth of the communication links, but also their quality of service (QoS). On-board network management devices already manage the allocation of bandwidth to fi ght critical processes and protecting sub-networks from others (such as the Passenger domain devices). As more avionics that demand more bandwidth come onto aircraft busses and wireless link, more security will need to be implemented. Expect industry to update
cybersecurity solutions continuously, since this task will never be complete.
FINAL THOUGHTS IoT promises to have widespread implications across all industries and especially for aviation in general.
The quantifi able ROI in regards to IoT for aircraft usage optimization and maintenance operations includes more effi cient in-fl ight operations, improved reliability, reduced spare parts inventories, better dispatch availability of an aircraft and a decreased amount of unscheduled maintenance incidents, among others. It has already paid off for early adopters.
The challenges facing the air transport sector in regards to needed updated regulations, standards, processes and procedures, training of personnel (and entirely new departments of specialists), increased wireless communications capabilities — not to mention the greatest one of all, cybersecurity, will be a drag on implementing IoT and Big Data. However, the early returns on the fi rst set of IoT implementations regarding engines and avionics are heartening, and this type of positive reinforcement will drive this movement forward.
John Pawlicki is CEO and principal of OPM Research. He also works with Information Tool Designers (ITD),
where he consults to the DOT’s Volpe Center, handling various technology and cyber security projects for the FAA and DHS. He managed and deployed various products over the years, including the launch of CertiPath (with world’s fi rst commercial PKI bridge). John has also been onic FAA 8130-3 forms, as well as in defi ning digital identities with PKI. His recent publication, ‘Aerospace Marketplaces Report,’ which analyzed third-party sites that support the trading of aircraft parts, is available on
OPMResearch.com as a PDF download, or a printed book version is available on
Amazon.com.
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