Application of CPCI Single Board Computer in Airbus Inflight Entertainment System

The development of economic globalization has made exchanges between regions more and more frequent, and as the preferred means of transportation for long-distance travel, airplanes are increasingly affecting people's lives. Although airplanes are very fast, long-distance flights of several hours or even more than ten or twenty hours are still exhausting, so how to kill time on a long-distance flight is a tricky problem. However, recently, if you have experienced a transoceanic flight, you will definitely notice a significant change in the flight. You must have noticed that the in-flight entertainment system of the aircraft has changed! Do you feel that time is passing faster than before? A more comprehensive and convenient entertainment system makes your time on the plane no longer boring.

In the past, when we were on a plane, we could see a large screen and multiple small screens, but people could only watch entertainment programs edited by the airline. The movies played might not be what you wanted to watch, or you might have watched them before, or even hate them. That was like living a year in a day. You can't affect the entire crew on the same plane because of your dislike. Besides, the seats on the plane are variable, and they can't be as comprehensive as the lecture halls in reality. It is possible that the screen you see is a little dark or reflective due to the angle of the seat. Now, the plane provides an in-flight entertainment system in front of each seat. You can choose the movies, cartoons, news, music channels, and games you want to watch. In-flight entertainment systems have become a weapon for competition between airlines! Many airlines' transoceanic aircraft are equipped with such entertainment systems. Who would take your transoceanic aircraft if there is no personal entertainment system?

Figure 1 Airbus A330 in-flight entertainment system

In-flight entertainment systems are part of the aircraft's electronic systems, which extensively use embedded computing technology. GE Intelligent Platforms' rich experience in the embedded industry played an important role in how to install entertainment systems on the latest Airbus aircraft.

Airbus' main technical requirements are:

High performance, small size, light weight, and reinforced features;

It can be used in harsh environments and wide temperature conditions on aircraft, and needs to meet the I/O requirements of avionics applications;

The I/O requirements required GE Intelligent Platforms to be designed specifically for Airbus.

GE Intelligent Platforms has extensive experience in the field of avionics and fully understands Airbus' technical requirements. For this solution, we recommend the 3U CPCI single-board computer - CL11. We recommend the use of the 3U CPCI motherboard CL11 as the system controller, and specially design the I/O of CL11 according to the user's I/O functional requirements. This solution adds functions that meet Airbus' requirements and provides long-term support for Airbus with stable financial capabilities.