Rockwell Collins Eyes Growth in Information Offerings

Rockwell Collins (Booth C9232) is rolling out several new products, such as its Stage content service, as the company focuses on becoming a one-stop source of information for aircraft owners and operators.

Stage is a new cloud-based content service that enables operators to pre-load entertainment and information on an onboard server. The server, which will hold up to two terabytes of information, will enable up to 70 passengers to stream movies or other information from their individual devices through the use of a Stage app. The information will be available through a subscription and can be loaded either physically or wirelessly. The service is expected be available by the middle of next year.

“Stage makes prepping an aircraft’s cabin entertainment for a trip much easier–especially when last-minute changes are necessary–to give passengers access to exactly the entertainment and information they want,” said Greg Irmen, vice president and general manager, Information Systems for Rockwell Collins.

Flight Tracking Business

Rockwell Collins also is expanding its flight-tracking options for the aircraft operator and on the ground. The company is working with FlightAware to provide real-time tracking for operators of non-ADS-B-equipped aircraft. The service uses FlightAware’s mode-S Multilateration (MLAT) technology, which relies upon a ground station receiver network to provide flight position for business aircraft that are not equipped with ADS-B out. David Poltorak, vice president, business aviation for Rockwell Collins, noted more than 80 percent of business aviation aircraft are not ADS-B equipped and many of those aircraft fly in Europe and abroad, making the service especially beneficial for international travel.

Along with flight tracking, Rockwell Collins’s ArincDirect flight support service division has agreed to resell FlightAware TV, a map-based fleet and airport flight tracking display that can run on any HDTV for monitoring on the ground.

Rockwell Collins has partnered with Schneider Electric to provide ArincDirect customers real-time, route-specific weather alerts both before departure and en route. Through the Flight Route Alerting function, ArincDirect can calculate precise flight plans up to 36 hours in advance and continuously monitor potential routes for weather issues.

In the cockpit, said Craig Olson, vice president and general manger for business and regional systems, the company is “heavily involved in information-rich” systems, whether through weather radar, touchscreens or situational awareness systems. “Our dedication is to provide pilots with as much information as possible,” he said, adding the company is entrenched in forward-looking systems such as enhanced vision and synthetic vision. A recent example of that is the Embraer Legacy 450/500 equipped with the Rockwell Collins HGS-3500 compact head-up display coupled with the company’s EVS-3000 enhanced vision system and Pro Line Fusion synthetic vision.

Rockwell Collins has been researching technologies that would enable a VFR display environment in IFR conditions. While the company has spent considerable time on a fused synthetic vision overlay of enhanced vision, it is researching an approach that relies on all sensor inputs to produce a combined vision system that provides a VFR-like depiction. Olson believes such an approach could produce results within a couple of years. The question remains whether regulators will permit lower landing minimums with the use of such technologies. Olson believes business aviation operators would be interested in having access to technologies that improve their situational awareness regardless of the credit provided by regulators. The FAA, he added, is very interested in such research.

The new product offerings and research come as Rockwell Collins continues to move toward a more holistic approach to information, either through providing information on the airplane, downloading information from the airplane or enabling use of that information in the back office, Olson said.

These efforts have been evident in the company’s recent acquisitions, including Arinc and International Communications Group (ICG). The Arinc acquisition, completed in late 2013, was the largest in the company’s history, expanding its role in flight planning, trip support, information in the flight deck and other cabin services. ICG, acquired in August, expands on the company’s airborne connectivity efforts.

“We not as acquisitive as many of our peers, but when we do...we are intentional,” Olson said, adding the company has a “clear line of sight of synergies we are trying to realize. It is not really haphazard. It is really methodical.”

These efforts continue to gain traction in the marketplace. Poltorak noted that cabin services offerings are “growing fast.”

The company recently secured its launch customer for JetConnex satcom. A reseller of the Inmarsat JetConnex Ka-band service, Rockwell Collins reached agreement for VistaJet to supply JetConnex.

In addition to its traditional customer base, Rockwell Collins also has a growing government interest in its services. The FAA signed an agreement for ArincDirect flight planning, flight scheduling, international trip support, aircraft datalink, safety management and flight tracking services for its fleet of 32 flight inspection aircraft.