Black boxes 2.0 with real-time data broadcast

Black boxes 2.0 with real-time data broadcast

Companies will receive live data recorded during flights

 The black boxes of airplanes are one of the most important and essential pieces of an aircraft, especially if a catastrophe or problem occurs during the flight. International regulations require aircraft manufacturers to assemble a series of devices that record everything that happens during the flight.

Its function is simple and, above all, very important: store different data related to the plane. These black boxes, although in reality they are orange, record the conversations of the pilots, the height, the pressure, among many other things.

Thus the airlines and the research commissions can check data by date the last minutes before an air accident to obtain a clearer and more detailed picture of the course of a flight, something especially important in the event of a plane crash.

  In particular, the airplanes mount two black boxes and are manufactured with the aim of resisting strong impacts and high temperatures. However, they have certain limitations that have been reduced over time.

The voice recorder of the aircraft only keeps the record of the final two hours, although the European Union has already asked the manufacturers that in 2021 the recording will be obligatory for at least 25 hours of conversation.

It is not the only novelty in which manufacturers work. The disappearance of the MH470 of Malaysia Airlines has alerted airlines, governments and aircraft builders. The fall to the sea has caused that the black boxes of the aircraft have not been found yet.

In spite of the Underwater broadcaster Beacon (ULB) or aquatic locator that both boxes equip and emit ultrasounds, by means of which they can be located by means of a sonar or any nearby radar. It emits 37.5 KHz pulses for thirty days and up to a depth of 14,000 feet.

After that time, the signal fades and the chance to find the two boxes vanishes. Now Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright have teamed up to develop a new real-time air information recording system.

"The importance of the cabin voice and flight data recorders can not be overemphasized. That's why we worked together with Curtiss-Wright to design and develop the next generation of recorders that take advantage of our complete hardware and software experience to meet the 25-hour requirement to identify the correct information and make it available to airline operators when is more necessary, "explains Ben Driggs, president of Services and Connectivity at Honeywell Aerospace.

In case of emergency, researchers will be able to access this data almost immediately. The new black box would be capable of streaming data in real time using a satellite connection.

"Operators will benefit from the transmission of real-time information and storage capabilities of the server, enabled by Honeywell's Connected Aircraft software, which allows quick and remote retrieval of data from the aircraft for storage or analysis," they explain. .