A joint research project aimed at developing the aircraft cabin of the future – in particular by enabling wireless connections between elements such as seats, galleys and lavatories – is entering its second phase, following the completion of the first design review.
The iCabin project was established in 2018. The partners can now begin the detailed design of new, intelligent cabin features enabled by wireless communication between future intelligent cabin equipment. Later in 2019, the first iCabin prototype equipment will be tested in the Digital Solutions Lab at Boeing’s facility near Frankfurt, Germany.
The project team develops IoT-enabled cabin equipment, such as intelligent seats, galleys and surfaces in the cabin space. Diehl Aviation contributes its expertise in the field of intelligent cabin applications, predictive health monitoring, expansion of crew functionality, digital passenger services and the analysis of cabin data, including research into the improvement of materials and surfaces.
iCabin is a joint research project involving partners Bühler Motor, Diehl (also project leader), Jeppesen, KID Systeme and Zodiac Aerospace. They are supported by associated partners Boeing, the Baden Württemberg Cooperative State University, Etihad Airways Engineering and the Hamburg University of Technology.
In addition, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is providing co-funding as part of its aviation research support, contributing an expected €3.9m (US$4.4m). The research project has an expected completion date of March 31, 2021.
