Lufthansa Technik’s OEM Business Units division expects to see delivery of the new iteration of its Nice cabin management suite within two years. “I expect market entry in 2025 when the first aircraft will be equipped with the new Nice digital platform,” Christiane Grude, senior director, told AIN.
The main customers of Network Integrated Cabin Equipment—or Nice—are business jet OEMs, including Bombardier, Embraer, and—just announced last week—Pilatus.
“Nice is an in-flight entertainment [IFE] cabin management system,” she said. “It manages any cabin interaction. You can steer the lighting or audio. We also have a big IFE portion: watching videos, getting great sound aboard the aircraft, and really making the flight enjoyable. That’s what Nice is all about.”
Grude expects to see high pick-up rates for software configuration and upgrade possibilities. “Earlier this year, at EBACE, we celebrated delivery of our 1,500th shipset. Some 1,500 aircraft are flying with the Nice system. It’s a fast-growing market because the 1,000th shipset was delivered in 2019; an additional 500 took just three or four years.”
Nice has evolved in a journey that started 20 years ago and has seen steady growth and expanding technological possibilities. Nice SD was the first generation, then came Nice High Definition (HD) in 2014. In 2018, LHT added an upgrade to 4K. The next generation allows software configuration possibilities and updates over the air.
“We are always looking at what is in the customer’s world—customer experiences with home or car entertainment, such as charging possibilities,” she said. “We’ve introduced wireless charging. People use it at home, or in the car, but if you want to use it in the aircraft, that involves completely different development, testing, and qualification processes. Nice has always been at the forefront of these technological advancements.”
Lufthansa Technik is also looking into display technologies. Bombardier recently announced a 55-inch OLED 4K monitor, supplied by Lufthansa Technik. “We provide the OEM’s cabin-management IFE,” she said. “Another of our innovations is in the area of voice control, which seems to be one of the features that makes it easier to connect to the aircraft and have it do what the customer wants.”
Grude’s team began development on the new platform two years ago. This year, it reached an important milestone with the completion of the ground portal—the deployment mechanism—to the aircraft.
“We are working with customers on these features. Today, the technician uses a USB onboard the aircraft. In future, we want to revolutionize that: we need a portal to enable configuration and data transmission from the ground. Obviously, something onboard the aircraft needs to receive the data. We are therefore developing a 5G modem.” The modem is due in 2024, followed by market entry in 2025.
Grude also oversees Lufthansa Technik's original equipment innovation business and a team of 200 colleagues, with a broad product portfolio. In addition to Nice, Lufthansa Technik also makes a non-electrical floor path marking system named GuideU, installed on most Airbus aircraft. “We are the market leader there, as well,” she said.
Other products include a patient transport unit; a radome solution; graphics, or placard solutions, as well as exterior aircraft foiling; and 3D-printing capability. “That’s, in a nutshell, the original equipment innovation business unit I oversee, along with a colleague who is more on the operational and engineering side. I’m the P&L responsible for product, technical sales, programs, customer interactions, and development of products for successful customer relationships.”