In an era where data is ever more important airlines their suppliers must develop systems and tools to manage myriad feeds and demands. Panasonic Avionics is stepping up to the challenge with the introduction of Converix, the company’s new on-board data and application hosting platform. With Converix the company aims to enable not just inflight entertainment, but myriad other solutions on board.
Converix is not an IFE server. It is a hosted platform where IFE works as an application on that server, and the rest of the tremendous compute power is available for the airlines or others to place their own applications and services. This is [Panasonic Avionics] stepping beyond IFE.
– Andy Masson, SVP Product & Strategy, Panasonic Avionics
PAC describes a digital ecosystem where airlines are increasing pressure to deliver a neutral platform where everything digital can happen. Airlines want an entertainment solution on board, of course. But they also “want to deploy their own apps, create their own software, place third-party programs,” according to SVP Product & Strategy Andy Masson. And, perhaps more importantly, the more digitally mature airlines want to do it without needing to work through PAC (or other IFE suppliers) and the typically extended timelines the suppliers require.
For PAC this takes the form of incremental package deploys for the IFE operating system and the Modular Interactive GUI management tools that allow airlines to directly manage their systems. Masson sees Converix as a natural extension of that, but also a massive expansion of capabilities.
Looking beyond the IFE offerings, Masson expects broad convergence of data on board. “Converix can be connected to your seats, your galleys, your cargo system,” Masson explains. “For an airline, this means you have this platform where all the data is pulled into one place and that data can be pulled and
analyzed.”
An AI Angle
The massive compute power and storage on board open up an additional opportunity for digital solutions on board. Among them, Masson sees potential for “AI” based solutions. This included the idea of “a virtualized cabin attendant at every seat, able to help a passenger with where their luggage is, where the connecting flight is, ordering taxis, ordering drinks, etc.”
The AI aspect of that is debatable, but enabling more features to improve the passenger experience is a worthy goal.
Airbus Buy-in
That potential value was also recognized by Airbus. The airframer and PAC announced an MoU at Aircraft Interiors Expo that will “explore a strategic partnership for the future Connected Aircraft platform” for Converix to become the hardware of choice for the onboard architecture.
With the upgraded hardware on board Airbus and PAC envision a solution that “enables an open ecosystem of applications and services including the collection of non-safety-critical information from aircraft operations to passenger experience.” In addition to serving as the backbone for the HBCplus inflight connectivity platform and other on-board data services, the pair promise full neutrality for the platform. This includes allowing other IFE providers to load their software on the system instead of adding additional hardware to the aircraft.
Where things become increasingly interesting is in the competitive landscape for this technology.
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