Latécoère, Signify, and Huneed Technologies Announce Strategic Partnership on Li-Fi Implementation in Commercial Aircraft
Latécoère
Latécoère, the partner of "Tier 1" of major international aircraft manufacturers, is pleased to announce the transition to the industrialisation of its Li-Fi technology, through a memorandum of agreement signed with Signify.
" The Paris Air Show 2019 allowed Latécoère to show the power and speed of Li-Fi. Our technology, which illustrates our leading position in terms of innovation, has raised high expectations from the market and is now ready to take the next step, says Yannick Assouad, CEO of Latécoère. Signify and Huneed Technologies will open new horizons and new opportunities to Li-Fi, that its use is widespread in aircraft cabins. "
The Li-Fi technology allows a connectivity experience onboard a higher aircraft in terms of bandwidth, latency and stability. Another advantage of Li-Fi is that it does not interfere with sensitive equipment and that the connection is not affected by the movements of the aircraft. Li-Fi also reduces cabling and, coupled with an infrastructure upgrade to low-weight fibre optic solutions, will reduce the weight and fuel consumption of the plane.
Increasing the power of Li-Fi with the Trulifi system developed by Signify
Signify launched its Trulifi systems earlier this year and has installed around 100 projects worldwide. The Trulifi combines energy-efficient LED lighting with reliable, secure and high-speed wireless bi-directional connection, with speeds of up to 250 Mbps for the downlink and uplink.
" Through this partnership, Signify, and Latécoère will transform the passenger cabin experience by providing them with the latest connectivity technology," said Olivia Qiu, Director of Innovation at Signify. The Trulifi has enormous potential, and our ambition is, in addition to aircraft, to also provide this technology to other forms of public transport, so that users have access to a reliable, secure and fast Internet connection, wherever they are."
As a first step, Trulifi will be used to connect the media players of the headrests. In a second phase, the Li-Fi will allow passengers to connect their devices to embedded media and the Internet, but also to interact with each other and to have the same connectivity experience onboard is on the ground.
Start of the industrialisation phase with Huneed Technologies
Huneed Technologies, a South Korean expert on tactical communications equipment and aerospace, became the third partner in the industrialisation of ' Li-Fi infrastructure in rooms Latécoère. The group will jointly develop with Latécoère for the development and production of the passenger distribution unit and the fibre optic router.
" We are thrilled to be recognised by Latécoère for our expertise in communication technology and knowledge production in the context of this innovative partnership," said Eugene Kim, President of ' Huneed Technologies. This opportunity is a perfect fit with our growth strategy to globally expand our business in the aerospace to ' commercial aviation. Huneed will supply Li-F's electronics and data communications software to enable widespread adoption of this technology, which will play a critical role in the next generation of smart booths to deliver the best possible passenger experience. "
About Latécoère
Latécoère is a Tier 1 partner of major international aircraft manufacturers (Airbus, Embraer, Dassault, Boeing and Bombardier), in all segments of the aeronautical market (commercial, regional, business and military aircraft), in two areas:
• Aerostructures (58% of total turnover): fuselage sections and doors.
• Interconnect systems (42% of total revenue): embedded cabling, bundles electric and avionics bays.
As of December 31, 2018, Latécoère employed 4,958 people in 13 different countries. Latécoère, a public limited company with a capital of 189,637,036 euros divided into 94,818,518 shares with a par value of 2 euros, is listed on Euronext Paris - compartment B. ISIN codes: FR000000032278 - Reuters: LAEP.PA - Bloomberg: LAT. FP
About Signify
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and individuals and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-driven services deliver business value and transform lives in homes, buildings and public spaces. With a turnover of 6.4 billion euros in 2018, we have around 27,000 employees and are present in more than 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world.
About Huneed
Huneed Technologies, a long-time developer and manufacturer of tactical wireless communications systems for the South Korean military, is now ready to manufacture avionics hardware and become a global provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul services.
Over the last ten years, Huneed Technologies has gone from being a company to becoming a leading global supplier to Boeing Defense and Space. Prestigious achievements, including the Boeing Performance Excellence Award 2016 and a Boeing Supplier of the Year nomination, punctuated Huneed's reputation as a trusted global aviation supplier.
Huneed's strategic and measured growth in the aerospace market has allowed it to become the partner of choice for some of the world's largest aerospace companies.
Conclusion
Li-Fi will allow passengers to access a much higher level of bandwidth than the one currently provided by Wi-Fi. Passengers will access faster internet connection, download and stream content at the comfort of their seats.
Professor Haas said: “This technology is perfect for planes as it doesn’t interfere with radio signals in the same way as Wi-Fi, which uses radio waves. Instead, Li-Fi takes advantage of visible light.”
“Li-Fi is a game-changer for three reasons. First, it solves a ‘congestion’ issue. In the data-driven world that we live in, we are running out of radio spectrum. This is a problem in crowded places like airports and aircraft interiors as it means that the current available bandwidth does not support the hundreds of people wishing to use data-intensive applications and the internet in the same place at the same time. Li-Fi solves this issue by using 1,000 times the bandwidth compared with the entire radio frequency spectrum. This is additional free, unregulated bandwidth in the visible light spectrum.
“Second, it paves the way for local-area networks to be established, which means that passengers can make calls, use the internet and access in-flight entertainment systems more easily.
“Third, in a world fast being dominated by big data, safeguarding information is paramount. In the cabin, although Li-Fi signals can leak through windows, the technology offers greater protection to passengers than a Wi-Fi connection. But the biggest gains will be experienced by OEMs. Their manufacturing halls often have lots of LED lighting and few windows, which will enhance data security in their facilities.”