Start of the Cloud Native Era of Avionics Systems?
What does the first cloud-native cockpit system mean for the broader aerospace industry.
Are we at the beginning of the cloud-native computing era of commercial avionics systems?
That's the question that I am asking following the groundbreaking unveiling of Honeywell Aerospace's first-ever cloud-native avionics cockpit suite, Anthem, that graces the cover of this month's issue.
What is cloud-native? That's not a question I'll attempt to completely answer in this editorial note, however, I will strongly advise reading the "Defining Cloud Native" article published by Microsoft earlier this year that summarizes the concept as systems that take full advantage of the cloud service model and the extensive use of Platform as a Service compute infrastructure and managed services. "They treat the underlying infrastructure as disposable - provisioned in minutes and resized, scaled, moved, or destroyed on-demand – via automation," according to Microsoft.
At their core, the communication, navigation, and surveillance systems managed by Anthem have been developed where the data and information that they transmit and receive exists on a constant digital feedback loop available to pilots in the cockpit, and other ground-based personnel like maintenance mechanics or safety analysts via the Honeywell Forge cloud where their data resides. Essentially, it will give aircraft operators the ability to operate their aircraft similar to the way Tesla uses a cloud-native architecture to update their vehicle navigation and systems over the air.
And beyond Honeywell, the adoption of cloud computing has been ever-expanding inside various segments of the aviation industry including avionics systems. As an example, two years ago, I visited the Thales avionics development facility in Toulouse, where they also showed the architecture for their next-generation avionics architecture, FlytX, that will also be cloud-native.
What will Honeywell's shift to a cloud-native avionics computing architecture mean for next-generation aircraft? Will some of the world's largest OEMs approach their next aircraft programs with cloud-native avionics in mind?
In this month's issue, we also feature a guest contribution from Valour Consultancy, analyzing trends and providing insight into in-flight connectivity growth prospects for the lighter end of the business and GA market. I also analyze some of the innovations in avionics occurring in that same segment. Frank Wolfe provides an interview with Bye Aerospace CEO George Bye on the development of their all-electric turboprop aircraft while Kelsey Reichmann outlines prospects for eVTOLs in future air medical operations.
