Telematics is a critical part of the digitalisation toolkit within commercial aviation, integrating telecommunications, data and information… But how did it come about, what are the core — and emerging — technologies, and how does it integrate with the rest of that toolkit? We sat down with David Maloney, global head of aviation at telematics specialists Transpoco, for the latest in our ab initio primer series.
“Telematics emerged in the late 1970s,” Maloney tells us, and “it really refers to the integration of telecommunications and technology information. After the US launched GPS satellite technology in the late 60s for military use, to monitor the whereabouts of enemy submarines and the like, by the time the 80s had arrived the idea of commercialising the technology for the benefit of civilians was made real — and telematics was born.”
Within the aviation context, telematics touches safety and operational efficiency — inflight and at the airport. Its initial use in vehicle tracking, whether airborne or ground-based, remains beneficial, but is now relatively small as an overall percentage of the technology’s applications.
In context, Maloney explains, telematics is “the engine for managing vehicle control and maintenance for the thousands of vehicle types, ensuring they are prepped and ready for the task at hand and collecting insights to help improve ground operations that keep an airport running optimally is reliant on telematics technology. The single biggest measurement of its success is that the huge growth of passenger throughput in airports and quick turnaround of airplanes in recent years would have not have happened without the support of telematics.”
Telematics’ core technologies are some of aviation’s core technologies
Global navigational satellite system tracking — often referred to as GPS, the name of the US military Global Positioning System, although other global and regional systems including Galileo, Beidou and QZSS are in widespread use — is a core part of the telematics technology stack, allowing real-time tracking of ground and flight equipment on the airport and in the air.
Mobile cellular communication is another core technology, allowing equipment to transmit data to central servers. As cellular technology has evolved through to today’s 5G standard, the amount of data has steadily improved. Newer technologies like Bluetooth and WiFi, themselves evolving to allow better performance, are also often used.
Radio-frequency identification, or RFID, is frequently used to track equipment and assets, and even as part of the passenger experience in the form of RFID luggage tags. Sensors, including those connected as part of the Internet of Things, enable operators to monitor key equipment parameters including temperature, vibration, tire pressure, fuel levels and so on, communicating these data in real-time, at intervals, or via exception rules — sending a notification if fuel or battery capacity is used to 1/4 of its capacity, for example, allowing for a refuelling or recharging cycle to be initiated.
On a related note, the improvements in battery technology are changing the way telematics works, in terms of the number of battery-enabled devices and vehicles and in the number of the parameters that can — and indeed should — be monitored, from battery health to charge levels or usage patterns to early danger signs for a potential fire risk.
Security protocols continue to evolve in response to threats and in order to prevent them, often at odds with the benefits of integrating telematics platforms with other systems including operations management, maintenance and scheduling technology.
Challenges and opportunities abound within — and adjacent to — the telematics arena
As telematics continues to be integrated into aviation’s wider digitalisation agenda, a number of key issues remain to be resolved. Sustainability applications, for example, can measure carbon emissions, calculate them, report them automatically, and thereby reduce emissions. Pulling in large historical datasets can generate insights on driver behaviour and thus improve safety. Productivity and operational efficiency of both vehicles and drivers can be improved, while new total cost of ownership calculations, insurance cost reductions and lower maintenance costs can all be determined.
To an extent, commercial aviation has advantages over other sectors grappling with telematics. “From a telematics point of view, the biggest differences between aviation and outside aviation are standardisation of vehicles, vehicle control and access, particularly the vehicles that go airside, as expected safety standards for airports obviously is much higher,” Maloney says. “These factors combined means telematics for the airline industry is very bespoke.”
One current challenge is the ongoing staffing issue within the industry, given that the operational rhythm of a busy airport is complicated, requires substantial training, and utilises specialised vehicles. Incidents resulting from employees’ unfamiliarity or new entrant status have grown, even while overall safety standards remain high.
Aviation’s history of legacy systems, their lack of interoperability, their maintenance complexities, and the cost to upgrade or replace them, is another key challenge, especially where it comes to integrating newer telematics technologies. Here, Maloney suggests, solutions can include “transitioning to cloud-based solutions, adopting modern software architectures, and integrating advanced technologies like AI and the Internet of Things,” alongside collaboration and standardisation. Careful selection of new systems that balance backwards compatibility, new technology and as much futureproofing as possible — while also both ensuring that the need for retraining is minimised and the use of the latest training technologies is enabled — is also critical.
Yet opportunities are many: automation is a major growth area that integrates telematics, particularly for baggage handling and other routine yet critical parts of the operations landscape. Autonomous tugs and remotely operated ground vehicles are both hot topics, especially in the context of the staffing crunch.
Virtual reality, too, and its cousins artificial, augmented and mixed reality, has real opportunities for integration with telematics. New training methodologies and equipment in particular will reap real benefits in the short term.
However, Maloney notes, “while these advancements offer promising benefits, it’s essential to remember that the human element remains crucial. Automation and robotics should be seen as tools to assist and enhance human workers’ capabilities rather than replace them entirely. Proper training, safety protocols, and regular evaluations are vital to ensure that these technologies are integrated effectively and responsibly.”
Author: John Walton
Published: 21 September 2023
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