Page 22 - ITU-T Focus Group on Aviation Applications of Cloud Computing for Flight Data Monitoring - Key findings, recommendations for next steps and future work

ITU-T Focus Group on Aviation Applications of Cloud Computing for Flight Data Monitoring
Key findings, recommendations for next steps and future work

4 Conclusion

The Focus Group made important researches on the needs to develop an aviation cloud. Different technologies
were studied including actual and future options. Besides that, studies still need to be done in order to have a
complete description, requirements and design of a real-time system. In addition, general recommendations
are presented below.

General recommendations

• To recommend to relevant ITU-T study groups to further study the requirements and capabilities identified
in Deliverables 1 and 2&3 from this Focus Group.

• To submit Deliverable 4 to relevant ITU-R Working Parties for their perusal.
• The relevant ICAO working groups to take into consideration the findings of this Report and to determine
further specifications of the system to be developed to implement GADSS.

• For ISO/IEC SC27 and CEN TC 377 (EASA) to provide the guidelines for additional applicable information
security controls.

• To ask regulatory authorities to establish the appropriate detailed definition of real-time FDM in terms
of data types and data volume (parameters and recording intervals).

• To consider the material contained in this Report in further developing related activities of the concerned
ITU study groups.

• In addition, each working group presented its particular conclusion regarding their own scope which are
presented below.

4.1 Deliverable 1

The cloud computing and data analytics capabilities offer scalability, reliability, security and affordability for
real-time flight data monitoring, data streaming and aircraft tracking. The existing and emerging technologies
described in this Report, such as inter-cloud computing, video analytics, digital asset profile system, machine
learning, fog computing, quantum computing, shall be considered for the aviation applications for FDM and
other applications.
Cloud computing and data analytics provide the enabling platform for accessing, processing and utilizing
flight data for aviation applications and services as defined in Working Group 2&3 of FG AC. In addition, cloud
computing and data analytics technologies have the capabilities to support real-time FDM and to manage
data privacy and security requirements.

4.2 Deliverable 2&3

The deliverable of Working Group 2 describes use cases that make use of in-flight transmission of flight data.
Known data sources that currently transmit or might transmit in the near future from an aircraft have been
described. Most important is the data of the digital flight data recorder, also known as black box. However,
also other data, such as aircraft condition monitoring system reports, often sent via very high frequency (VHF)
data link is of high interest. Future systems can include video streaming for surveillance and analysis or health
sensor data for health monitoring.
Twenty-eight use cases have been identified for the aviation cloud. These use cases are categorized in two
groups: real-time data streaming, and on-demand or post-flight data collection.

The real-time aspect is a new quality that has never been available for ground flight data processing. It is an
enabler for new techniques and processes in aviation. The use cases of this category contain high potential
for innovation. Real-time processing of flight data will increase flight safety, dispatch reliability, efficiency and

14