THE ROLE OF
ICT IN THE 21ST CENTURY AVIATION
INTRODUCTION
Information
and communications technology (ICT)
is the hardware and software that enables data to be digitally processed, stored
and communicated locally and globally to solve problems and to share knowledge.
Aviation
communication
refers to the conversing of two or more aircraft. Aircraft are constructed in such a way that makes it very
difficult to see beyond what is directly in front of them. As safety is a
primary focus in aviation, communication methods such as wireless radio are an
effective way for aircraft to communicate with the necessary personnel and
crafts.
Before the coming on ICT in aviation,
aircrafts depend basically on Air-to-ground
communication means to communicate any form of information they wish to
communicate. This method is a process by which people on the ground and those
in airborne vehicles communicate with each other since the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903 in Kitty Hawk North Carolina, there
has always been a question of how to communicate with pilots in the air.
Originally it was seen as a very difficult task, ground controls used visual
aides to provide signals to pilots in the air.
The early days of flight proved quite
difficult for air-to-ground communication. Ground crews would rely on colored
paddles, and hand signs and other visual aids. This was effective for ground
crews, but it offered no way for pilots to communicate back thereby leading to
disastrous waste on human resources and failures of many missions In the
beginning of World War I. Planes were not outfitted with radios, so soldiers
used large panel cut outs to distinguish friendly forces. These cut outs could
also be used as a directional device to help pilots navigate back to friendly
airfields, as a result even enemies could also use these cutout thereby loring
the opponent into ambush because of communication error .
After the Wright Brothers successfully completed the world’s first human flight in
1903, the industry grew rapidly and ground crews who initially relied on
coloured paddles, signal flares, hand signs, and other visual aids to
communicate with incoming and outgoing aircraft. Which were though effective
for ground crews, they offered no way for pilots to communicate back. As wireless telegraphy technologies developed alongside the
growth of aviation during the first decade of the twentieth century, wireless
telegraph systems were used to send messages in Morse code, first from ground-to-air and later air-to-ground. With
this technology planes were able to call in accurate artillery fire and act as
forward observers in warfare.
Next came the advent of portable radios
small enough to be placed in planes which for the first time offered pilots the
ability to communicate back to the ground. Today air-to-ground communication
relies heavily on the use of many systems. Planes are outfitted with the newest
radio and GPS systems as well as internet and video capabilities.
Aviation is an international industry
and as a result involves multiple languages. However, as deemed by the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), English is the official language of aviation. The industry
considers that some pilots may not be fluent English speakers and as a result
pilots are obligated to participate in an English proficiency test.
Globalization of the
social economy will further increase during the 21st century. The
mission of international air transportation will become more important, and all
airports around the world will have a significant role to play. Furthermore, it
is predicted that air transportation demand in the world will double over the
next 15 years. In the meantime, since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
on the United States, the environment surround- ing the aviation industry has
become very severe and has caused adverse impact to the entire aviation industry.
Security at airports has been reinforced in all aspects, significantly
deteriorated on-time performance, caused mass congestion at the airport, and
caused a drastic increase in aviation management and operational costs. Owing
to these issues, the aviation industry in recent years has seen a need to
improve both convenience to passengers and security measures, and at the same
time improve on-time performance in the most economical manner.In connection
with this trend, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been
promoting the Simplifying Passenger Travel project to facilitate the process of
international travel for next-generation air transportation. Information and
communication technologies (ICTs) have an especially significant role to play
here, for it is only with the strategic, widespread, intensive, and innovative
use of ICT in future airport development policies and programs that the
ambitious agenda of passenger convenience and airport security becomes much
more possible to achieve. But this involves the need not only to unleash the
potential of ICT per se, but also the need to ensure that an enabling
environment and capacities that can facilitate its aviation applications arein
place.
BACKGROUND
To find out how ICT
applications can facilitate air passenger convenience and aviation security,
one can evaluate the extent to which the needs of air passengers and the
airport authority are met. Air Passenger Needs
TRAVEL
PLANNING
Through any 3G mobile
phone, one can use the in-built video conferencing facility with his business
partners or friends to discuss a travel plan. Once an itinerary has been
agreed, one can access the Web site of travel agents and ask for quotes from
different airlines regarding routes and accommodation types. Through e-mail
and/or short message service (SMS) messages from the travel agent, the traveler
can use his PC, mobile phone, or personal digital assistant (PDA) to find out a
plan most suitable to him. One can then purchase electronic air and rail
tickets through the Internet banking service (using his e-certificate). In
cities like Hong Kong, mobile e-certificates are issued to individuals to
authenticate the online identity of subscribers, and to provide a secure and
trusted environment for the conduct of online transactions, such as secure
e-mail services, online government services, online entertainment services,
online stock trading, and online banking services. Nowadays in places like
Japan, one can also send electronic passport information to an Authorized Agent
for the purpose of getting an entry visa for the destination countries. Having
matched the data provided by the air traveler to other systems such as law
enforcement and intelligence databases, the authorized agent would issue an
electronic visa to the traveler in a short time. Also, the traveler can have
the choice of traveling hands-free. This means that one can arrange with the
concerned airline
before travel so that a delivery
company would pick up the traveler’s baggage at an agreed time before
departure.
COMMENCEMENT
OF TRAVELING BEFORE DEPARTURE
On the day before
departure, the traveler may need to buy
some gifts, and he can access one of
the virtual shops at the airport and pick it up on the day of departure. Assume
that a traveler wants to travel hands-free, a delivery company would be asked
by the airline to contact him for the purpose of picking up his baggage for
delivery to the airport. In order to check the airline and flight number from
the e-ticket, the driver could check the traveler’s mobile phone by means of
his portable identity (ID) terminal. When the driver does this, the ID terminal
automatically sends the baggage information to the airline’s computer system.
Upon arrival at the airport, the baggage will then be transferred to the
baggage handling system for security inspection and subsequently delivered to
the aircraft.
DEPARTING
FOR AIRPORT AND E-CHECK IN
On the day of
departure, when the traveler arrives at the rail station, he can pass through
the rail ticket gates simply by holding his mobile phone in contact with the
designated scanner so that the built-in IC chips could be scanned. On moving
into the passenger terminal, while the traveler is waiting for his friends at
an Internet cafe, he may use his PDA or 3G mobile phone to watch a movie. When it
is time for boarding, the group would expect to check in quickly through the
automatic check-in kiosks, which are installed with one of the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)-endorsed biometrics for passenger identification
and passport control.
ARRIVAL
AT THE DESTINATION AIRPORT
When the destination
airport is installed with an advance passenger information (API) system, the
API data (collected from a passenger’s machine-readable e-passport) will be
sent by the airline to destination airport, enabling the customs/immigration officials
at the airport to organize their clearance process in advance of the arrival of
the flight. One instance is the eAPIS Online Transmission
System, developed by the United States
Customs & Border Protection for commercial operators to submit Advance
Passenger Information System (APIS) data and Master Crew Lists (MCLs). With
this system, the customs/immigration officials at the destination airport are able
to focus on previously selected passengers, significantly reducing the wait time
for the majority of passengers and enhancing the quality of the clearance
process regarding the inspection of suspected aliens or illegal immigrants. Upon
arrival at the destination airport, one may want to learn about the tourist
promotion programs; this can be obtained via the electronic translation
facility provided at the airport. By means of his PDA, the passenger can download
useful tourist information for getting around in the destination.
AVIATION
SECURITY NEEDS IDENTITY VERIFICATION
In air travel there
is an increasing need for accurate and efficient verification of passenger
identity. Technologies which allow for stronger access control and strengthened
document integrity will be welcome by most airports. In May 2003, the use of
contactless technology was endorsed as the next generation of data storage for
passports by the Air Transport Committee of the ICAO Council (ICAO, 2003a). In
recent years, there has been a steady increase in the testing and piloting of
biometrics. Biometrics are unique, measurable characteristics or traits of a
human being for automatically recognizing or verifying identity (OECD, 2004).
The primary purpose of biometrics is to allow for identity verification (also
called authentication) or “confirming identity” (ICAO, 2003b), where a
one-to-one match is intended to establish the validity of a claimed identity by
comparing a verification template to an enrolment template.
In the context of
international travel, facial recognition, fingerprint, and iris scan appear to
be the three primary candidates
The stability and uniqueness of the
fingerprint are well established. The largest application of fingerprint technology
is in automated fingerprint identification systems (AFISs) used by police
forces in over 30 countries. Iris identification technology involves the
acquisition, analysis, and comparison of the unique details contained in the
intricate patterns of the furrows and ridges of the
iris. This non-intrusive technology
offers a high reliability rate for one-to-one verification. Facial recognition technology
utilizes distinctive features of the human face in order to perform a
biometrics match. Even though two individuals may look alike, the unique
physiological patterns of their facial features will be different.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF ICT IN AVIATION
Today every plane in
the air is tracked by Air Traffic control towers across the globe. Most planes
in the US and all Commercial planes carry a device known as a transponder.
The transponder acts as an identification tool for aircraft allowing ATC towers
to immediately recognize the identity of each plane. They work by recognizing
radar frequencies as they interact with the plane. The transponder alerted by
the radar responds by sending a signal of its own back to the Tower, which
identifies the aircraft. Transponders can be used to avoid collisions with other
aircraft and with the ground.
Today Air-to Ground
communication has evolved to the point where pilots no longer need to be in the
plane to fly it. These planes are known as unmanned aerial vehicles
or more commonly UAVs. The US military uses several types of UAVs, these
include the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk drones. These drones are used for
video surveillance and more recently air to ground attacks. These aircraft
represent the pinnacle of Air-to-Ground communications. They can be controlled
by pilots thousands of miles away and can safely navigate treacherous terrain
using ground mapping radars. They are able to transmit high-resolution video to
military stations across the globe. Not all UAVs are used for military purposes
however. Some are equipped with high tech sensors, which enable them to survey
the ground. These sensors are able to be used for geographical surveys to map
the earth and look for oil and mineral deposits.
Despite nearly a
century of innovation in air-to-ground communications, many of the original
techniques used to communicate with the ground are used by today’s aircraft.
Planes landing at night are guided into the runway by a series of intricate
lighting arrangements. These visual aids allow pilots to orient themselves in
zero visibility situations. Military personnel also rely heavily on visual
aides to distinguish themselves and enemy. All Army ACU uniforms include what
are known as IR tabs which when viewed through night vision goggles glow
bright, US Helicopter pilots can distinguish between soldiers on the ground and
the enemy by these tabs. Army Pathfinders also use colored smoke, brightly
colored panels and inferred strobe lights to mark suitable landing areas for
helicopters.
SETBACK
/LIMITATIONS OF ICT IN AVIATION
COMMUNICATION
ERROR
Communication error
can occur between pilots and between pilots and air traffic controllers.
Communication error contains:
·
Amount of information
·
Unclear pronunciation
·
Misunderstanding
The more information
needing transfer, the more chance for error. Unclear pronunciation could happen
with non-English speakers. Sometimes lack of self-confidence and motivation
affects expression in communication. Misunderstanding happens with both native
speakers and non-native speakers through communication, so a standard aviation
language is important to improve this situation.
Sources of
communication error come from: phonology (speech rate, stress, intonation,
pauses), syntax (language word patterns, sentence structure), semantics, and
pragmatics (language in context). Even though English is the international
aviation language, native English speakers still play a role in
misunderstanding and situational awareness. Both the ICAO and the Federal
Aviation Administration use alternative phrases, which is confusing to both
native and non-native English speakers.
The biggest problem
regarding non-native English speakers' transmissions is speech rate. In order
to understand alternative and unfamiliar accents, people's rate of
comprehension and response slows down. Accents also affect transmissions
because of the different pronunciations across languages. Some of the earlier
miscommunication issues included the limitation of language-based warning
systems in aircraft and insufficient English proficiency.
According to US
department of transportation's report, errors between pilots and controllers
include:
·
Read-back/hear-back
errors - the pilot reads back the clearance incorrectly and the controller
fails to correct the error - accounted for 47% of the errors found in this
analysis.
·
No pilot read-back. A
lack of a pilot read-back contributed to 25% of the errors found in this
analysis.
·
Hear-back Errors Type
H - the controller fails to notice his or her own error in the pilot's correct
read-back or fails to correct critical erroneous information in a pilot's
statement of intent - accounted for 18% of the errors found in this analysis.
CONCLUSION/
RECOMMENDATION
Generally,
miscommunication is caused by mis-hearing by the pilots for 28%, pilot not
responding for 20%, controller mis-hearing for 15% and 10% that controllers do
not respond. Also, a professional research shows that 30% of the information
will be lost during the miscommunication. Moreover, miscommunication exists in
personnel with different background of linguistics is shown to be one of the
major problem in miscommunication to cause aviation accidents. Avoiding or
minimizing miscommunication could be achieved by standardized debriefing or an
interview process, and following a checklist to supplement written data.
REFERENCE
Britten,
Cyril. "VOICES IN
FLIGHT -- First World War in the Air".
Anna Malinovska. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
"Technology
Timeline - The First Air-to-ground & Ground-to-air Communication".
AT&T Labs. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
Craven,
W. F.; Cate, J. L. "Army Air
Forces in WWII: Volume VII: Services Around the World [Chapter 12]".
The HyperWar Foundation. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
Umar I. Ibrahim. Nigerian University
Research Topics:
The Role Of Ict In The 21st Century Aviation: http://nurt9jageneral.blogspot.com.ng/2016/11/impact-of-ict-in-aviation.html,
http://nurt9jageneral.blogspot.com.ng/2016/11/the-role-of-ict-in-21st-century-aviation.html
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