In-flight cabin (IFC) systems were often limited to business and first classes in 2000. They consumed 60 W per passenger, weighed more than 15 kg per passenger, had sometimes insufficient reliability and cost around 7000 Euros per seat. However, the services provided were so popular that they were extended to the whole aircraft (like Airbus A380, Boeing 747/777, etc., each with hundreds of passengers).
On the other hand, more and more basic information technologies (Internet access through laptop, PDA, Wi-Fi systems) were going to move on-board once 'enabling technologies' are reality (broadband communications paths, on-board infrastructure, digital LAN, etc.). These technologies would allow taking benefit directly on-board at the seat level of a large set of services already widespread on ground.
Quality of service is a major issue for everyone (aircraft manufacturers, airlines, passengers, etc.). A particular effort has still to be done in that field (reliability, availability, maintainability, etc.).
The ANAIS project aimed at developing a new standard of IFC system providing services to up to 1 000 passengers and to the crew members. Passenger services included video-on-demand, Internet access, e-mails, games, etc. Crew services include passenger control, IFC system control and maintenance.
An additional objective was to federate the several existing analogue and digital distribution systems (audio/video, control & command, phone) into one unique high throughput fault tolerant digital distribution network that should be linked to existing legacy systems: OIS (On-board Information Systems), avionics, satellite communication systems. Beyond fault tolerance, availability of the system is a particular requirement of the airlines that have been disappointed by current systems.
The ANAIS project has also put a special effort on offering significantly lowered weight, volume and power consumption compared to existing systems.
Innovative aspects
Innovative aspects of the ANAIS project relate to the integration of various new technologies into a single aircraft-compliant architecture. All the services has been integrated -at the server level, the network level, and the seat level- so that weight, power consumption, and space requirements are minimised, and ergonomics is improved. Electrical consumption per seat, and system weight was reduced by around 50 %. This was be made possible by using technology from modern 'palm' PCs and advanced local area networks.
The ANAIS test bed has allowed new wireless experiments and connectivity (laptop) at the seat and centralised management of all cabin utilities along with IFC entertainment functions. The ANAIS team proposed a standardised and open platform capable of delivering to the passengers all the emerging services that arise with the advent of broadband Internet access on-board aircraft.
Network
A lot of the effort was put on the cabin distribution network technologies in order to bring a new level of performance, fault tolerance and ease of installation. The ANAIS team made a large use of COTS products including gigabit and 100 Mb Ethernet. Customised for the specific needs of the IFC, with ring and daisy chain extensions, the Ethernet proved to be very well adapted to the aircraft cabin environment. The ANAIS cabin distribution network was partly operating on optical fibre which required innovative solutions (e.g. use of specific aircraft plastics, shock-resistant fibres and installation operations).
Seat terminal
Seat terminal is the most visible part of the system, its ergonomics must be well suited to passengers habit. Also, the number of items make it very important to optimise.
In terms of weight and power consumption. The objectives of ANAIS concerning the seat terminal address its connectivity, ergonomics and embedability. A number of alternative input devices and external interfaces has been tested and evaluated for suitability with different services and external devices (laptops, PDAs, joysticks, etc.). A more flexible alternative to the multi-function integrated personal controller unit (PCU) has been developed, which allowed system services or functions to be added, removed or reconfigured without the need to swap out seat equipment. Also, an evaluation of the benefits and viability of implementing wireless technology at the seat, for cable reduction (seat to seat) and connection of passenger devices has been made.
Crew terminal
The cabin crew console (CCC) is the common panel for all cabin crew related applications from browser applications up to critical application (cabin management system). It is the central access point for the cabin crew for all basic cabin systems. Thus an access for crew and maintenance staff to the applications can be provided from different locations (e.g. entry areas, galleys, video control center, lower facilities). The CCC provided an open interface for other systems to be controlled by the cabin and maintenance crew. A standard browser interface allowed various functions and systems to use the CCC for remote controlling.
Servers & services
Major services were audio & video on demand to the seat, live TV, interactive services through web interface at the seat and on-board comfort services. The most demanding service is video on demand which had to be supplied to every passenger with the same high level of quality as digital satellite TV (MPEG2) at home. Existing services like 'moving map' and in-flight information gained interactivity and attractiveness with the new possibilities offered by the system (individual interface + video animation). A whole new set of services emerging from the internet e-mail, information, on-line games, audio and video streams, office in the sky, IP-phone - were offered to passengers making the travel a relaxing and/or efficient time. A generic high performance server architecture has been developed that shall suit the various services requirements. Along with this passengers related "entertainment" services comes a set of productivity tools for the cabin and maintenance crew available at the cabin crew console. It ranges from integrated public announcement to centralised control on IFC system functions, or automatic line replaceable unit (LRU) fault detection and reporting.