Future of EFB...

from Aviation International News Online...

Intel and Panasonic wooing aviation with EFB product lineup
by Stephen Pope

Two of the computer industry's biggest names appear to be taking a keen
interest in aviation, betting that airlines and business aircraft
operators will continue to rely on off-the-shelf computer technology to
serve their electronic flight bag (EFB) hardware needs well into the
predictable future.

Computer chip maker Intel and notebook manufacturer Panasonic last
month co-hosted an industry event in Miami, called the 2005 Aviation
Symposium and attended by representatives from every major U.S. airline
except JetBlue, whose executives had to bow out at the last minute after
a blizzard shut down New York JFK Airport.

The purpose of the event was twofold. First, the computer companies
wanted to convince airline executives that the combination of Panasonic
Toughbook notebook computers and Intel Centrino mobile processors adds
up to a better choice for the flight deck than the portable touch-screen
EFB computers a number of small suppliers sell. Second, the computer
industry executives were seeking information about precisely what
technologies would best serve the airlines, both for the cockpit and for
maintenance operations, presumably so that they could go out and develop
them.

Intel chief strategist Chris Thomas told the airline representatives
attending the event that future hardware and software for the flight
deck will be designed around mobile concepts applied to a broad range of
portable computing devices, adding that all processes in the future
would emanate from the initial goal of eliminating paper from the
cockpit, which he called a key cost driver.

“Getting rid of paper will save huge sums of money down the road,”
Thomas said. While business aviation often outpaces the airlines in the
implementation of new cockpit technology, the Miami event made it clear
that major U.S. airlines are serious about installing EFB computers
across their fleets. Once that starts happening, business aircraft
operators will be the beneficiaries of new aviation-specific EFB
technology—perhaps based on Panasonic's Toughbook notebook computing
platforms.

Still, airline CFOs need to see the bottom-line return on investment
figures before they commit to a broad capital outlay for technology that
will be bought or leased for a fleet of airplanes. Some experts predict
portable EFB technology is only a stepping stone until the widespread
introduction of avionics systems that integrate navigation charts,
electronic checklists, aircraft manuals and other information on the
flight displays.

To assist airline executives in determining the benefits of equipping
their fleets with portable EFBs, Jeppesen has created a
return-on-investment tool that lets carriers plug numbers into a
computer to calculate how much money they can save by going paperless.

Rance Poehler, president of the Panasonic division that manufactures
Toughbook computers, told symposium attendees that the cost savings the
airlines will realize by equipping with EFBs now will far exceed what
they could save by waiting for technology developed by the avionics
industry.

He demonstrated a Panasonic Toughbook computer mounted in the cockpit
and connected to a handheld display. Noting that a Toughbook notebook
stopped an AK-47 round in Iraq, Poehler said his company's products are
well suited to the cockpit environment