AIRSIDE OPERATIONSIn need of artif icial intell igence?

THE INNOVATIONJOURNEYHow do consumers keep pace?

SOLAR GLAREA fair reflection?

The aviat ion consultancy of Egis

The Helios Newsletter - Issue 3, 2017

ON AIR«

Executive Chairman

Mike ShorthoseLEADING EDGE Disruption & innovation from the ground up

BIG DATAMore than byte-sized chunks

Big data just gets bigger. According to Google’s

former CEO, Eric Schmidt, “Every two days now we

create as much information as we did from the dawn

of civilisation up until 2003”: a startling statistic, which

highlights just how far we have come in our ability to

generate, collect and store data. Despite this only a

tiny proportion of the data collected is actually used

for business benefit.

The aviation industry is no different and there

is great potential for revenue generation at airports

through increased capacity, enhanced passenger

experience, efficiency gains and more.

Air travel has been shaped by many moments of

disruption: for example, 1997 when the deregulation of

Europe’s domestic travel markets paved the way for a

no-frills style of travel. This edition of our newsletter takes

‘disruption and innovation’ as its theme. A big topic in

boardrooms around the world, and given its potential

across our key markets, we are spreading the theme

over two newsletters – starting ‘on the ground’, with

airports, and in the New Year looking upwards to air traffic

management.

At our 2017 Airport Seminar, which took place in

London a few weeks ago, Director of Airport consulting,

Steve Leighton, shared his team’s ideas for how Artificial

Intelligence could be applied in an airport environment.

In an entertaining interlude, he illustrated how machine

learning works using the ‘flappy bird’ game! We’re unable

to reproduce that bit for you here, but you can find out

more in Steve’s article.

Other speakers at the seminar tackled drone ATM,

cybersecurity, airport noise and airspace - sharing

innovations, ideas and best practice. A common theme

emerged: on the innovation journey, public acceptance

is essential and innovators need to build Human Factors

(HF) and societal considerations into their planning. The

point is further illustrated later in Philip Church’s article

about his work to ascertain the likely impact of solar glare

on airport operations from a planned solar plant.

Finally, it has been a period of growth and expansion

for Helios. I personally find it hugely rewarding to see

people develop, so it gives me great pleasure to point you

to news of some well-deserved promotions and welcome

new additions to our team on the back page.

With best wishes,

of data ever created has been generated in the past two years

98

of the aviation market see big data analysis as high priority

60%Sources: Helios estimates, Forbes, IJCSA

90%2.5quintillion

bytes of data are producedevery day

5% of data being collected is actually analysed and monetised

million terabytes. The amount of data that will be produced annually by aeroplanes by 2026

5%

A rtificial Intelligence, or AI for short, is very much part of the current

technology industry zeitgeist. It refers to the ability of computers to

perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. An explosion of new AI

applications has been driven by the combined availability of large data sets,

cheap high-performance computing, algorithmic research and lots of venture

capital funding. The people and organisations behind these applications are

looking to make greater use of automation in roles historically considered

beyond the abilities of machines: think self-driving vehicles, medical diagnoses,

legal case study research, human level speech processing and translation and

even autonomous flying taxis.

Whilst to many people, AI today means Tesla’s car autopilot, Amazon’s Alexa

or Google’s Home, here at Helios we are focussed on near-term applications in

the airport and ATM domains. The ability of neural networks, supercharged by

deep-learning techniques, offer airports tantalising opportunities to automate

many activities. Consider a future airport operation where the airfield is

surveilled by a network of cameras, microphones and drones. For example, AI

techniques could use this data to manage the monitoring of wildlife, intruders,

Foreign Object Debris (FOD) and drones on or around the airfield. They could

also power automatic asset management, independently monitor each and every

turnaround process, or observe APU usage on stand and underpin automated

ground movement operations.

The implementation of AI in the aviation domain is in its early stages, but the

pervasiveness of the technology is such that it will become common place.

Nevertheless, the benefits of AI for aviation could be limited if we don’t get a

good grasp of the regulatory, legal and ethical implications, particularly in a

safety-critical, regulated industry such as ours. That is why we believe it timely

that airports start to grasp the implications and opportunities of AI for their

businesses.

Clearly, the potential is vast - as is the hype - which is why the world’s

biggest technology firms are investing huge sums into building their AI

capabilities. At Helios, we understand AI (and know our RNNs from our CNNs!),

so if you would like to know how it could impact your airport operation, get in

touch.

AIRSIDE OPERATIONSIn need of artificial intelligence?

Author: Steve Leightonsteve.leighton@askhelios.com

T h e a b i l i t y o f n e u r a l n e t w o r k s , s u p e r c h a r g e d b y d e e p - l e a r n i n g t e c h n i q u e s , o f f e r s a i r p o r t s t a n t a l i s i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o a u t o m a t e m a n y a c t i v i t i e s

Ask anyone with responsibility for innovation about the key ingredients for success, and

somewhere near the top of their list will be ‘consumer trust’ or ‘stakeholder confidence’.

Leading innovators like Amazon, Air BnB, and Apple address these issues in their business

models and in the fundamental user experiences they create; incorporating checks and balances,

feedback loops, transparency and security in equal measure. And when leading innovators, like

Uber, fail to live up to expectations, the business consequences make headlines. It remains to

be seen whether Uber will be allowed to operate in London beyond 2019, but more than 750,000

consumers have petitioned in their favour. Convenience, cost, and ‘ease of use’ benefits drive not

only early adoption, but also ongoing loyalty.

At our 2017 Airport Seminar, which took place at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London,

consumer trust and stakeholder confidence were a common thread across diverse topics such

as drone traffic management, artificial intelligence, cyber-security and aviation noise. Within each

of these topics, the promise of a range of innovations depends, to some extent, on winning the

hearts and minds of the people, as well as the regulators.

Take drones for example, airport delegates at the seminar are already planning to use robotic

birds of prey to relocate birds away from runways, others are using drones for infrastructure

inspection, but large-scale innovations like drone delivery hubs won’t happen without new

regulations and public acceptance. The technical enablers already exist but are not necessarily

proven. It won’t be long before detect and avoid technology has been sufficiently miniaturised to

enable drones to navigate busy skies, but overcoming public concerns about privacy and safety

when it comes to ‘swarms’ of delivery drones overflying homes and parks is another matter!

The answer may lie in the ability of trusted brands like Amazon and Google to show that

convenience, cost and user experience are worth the risk, and in the ability of urban planners

and aviation regulators to apply the right checks and balances. The experience of Uber may just

give the London public the confidence that regulators will use their muscle when needed, and that

operators will do more than pay lip service to complaints.

The challenge in all these things lies in demonstrating safety, developing the right regulatory

process/structure and ensuring the human remains central to the solution, both as user and

service provider. This is more important than ever given the pace of technological change relative

to the ability of regulators and the public to keep up.

THE INNOVATION JOURNEYHow do consumers keep pace?

Author: Andrea Kingandrea.king@askhelios.com

I t w o n ’ t b e l o n g b e f o r e d e t e c t a n d a v o i d h a s b e e n s u f f i c i e n t l y m i n i a t u r i s e d t oe n a b l e d r o n e s t o n a v i g a t e b u s y s k i e s . . .

S olar glare is a comparatively new and complex phenomenon affecting aviation;

one that has become more widespread with the successful expansion of solar

energy.

Given the relative infancy of regulation on solar glare, new problems are still

being identified. In 2014, pilots complained about the level of glare radiating from the

Ivanpah solar thermal plant in Nevada. None of the issued guidelines from the FAA

were applicable, given its location away from airports and that it would not impact

approach procedures to the nearest aerodromes. Yet a specific, government-backed

glare study confirmed pilot complaints of significant ocular impact with potential for

afterimage.

Our own work in this area, on behalf of Ingegneria Dei Sistemi SpA (IDS),

concluded that given the line of sight and overall dimensions of a proposed solar plant

in Italy, visual conditions for pilots on approach to a nearby aerodrome could be a

hazard to aviation safety. Glare would occur, and be intense, creating discomfort for

pilots on a range of approach types. Under such conditions pilots could

experience temporary inability to scan the sky for other aircraft, significant distraction

and discomfort, temporary inability to read instruments while manoeuvring and

difficulty identifying navigational landmarks.

A traditional ATM safety approach deals essentially with systems failures,

procedures, and human factors with regard to system usage, ergonomics and

communications. Sunlight does not belong directly to any of these categories, so that

glare from the sun is not included in a traditional safety study as a parameter. Instead,

there are standards to make sure that cockpit instruments remain visible when in

direct sunlight, for example, and pilots are submitted to medical tests. However, it has

already been proven that glare from natural sunlight has contributed to aviation

accidents (FAA study, 2003). As such, reflection should be considered as an

aggravating factor in a safety study.

Our study with IDS involved complex geometric analysis, computing luminance,

evaluating glare and simulating effects, testing against scenarios, and identified

significant glare issues. The final report was accepted by the Italian CAA, including our

proposed operational mitigations, but ultimately, the plant was not built due to other

constraints.

This kind of work highlights the importance of properly evaluating impacts of new

technologies, and of updating ATM safety procedures to take account of innovations,

like solar energy plants.

SOLAR GLAREA fair reflection?

Author: Philip Churchphilip.church@askhelios.com

I D S / H e l i o s S t u d y : S i m u l a t e d v i s u a l c o n d i t i o n s o n a p p r o a c h

Expansion and growth at Helios

From left to right: James Hanson, Claire Davies, Adam Parkinson, Mark Scott, Ian Cheung, Andreia Simoes,

George Stanford, Sarah Groom, Alexandru Burlacu, Vishal Nair, Huw Ross

We’re delighted to announce four promotions to the Helios director team. Claire

Davies, James Hanson, Adam Parkinson and Mark Scott will be well known to

many readers of ON AIR!, so please join us in passing on our congratulations. These

promotions recognise the breadth and depth of their aviation knowledge together

with a strong track record in nurturing close and trusted relationships with clients

and colleagues. Their day-to-day work and project activities continue as before.

The good news doesn’t stop there. We have also recently welcomed a wealth of

new talent to the team. Our ops and safety expertise has been boosted with the

arrival of Garyth Lofthouse and Huw Ross. Garyth is an operations expert, previously

working as a pilot and an air traffic controller and has more than 30 years’ industry

experience. Huw, a qualified safety trainer, arrives with over 12 years’ experience in

the industry delivering safety, operational, and business improvement projects for

airports and air navigation service providers. Senior Consultant Andreia Simoes is

an International Airport Professional (ACI-ICAO). She joins us from Brazil where she

worked at Sao Paulo Airport. Her 16 years’ experience includes scientific research,

master plan implementation as well as airside and landside operations.

Sarah Groom joins with eight years’ experience in the aviation industry. She

takes a project support role working with the Industry Consultation Body (ICB), NSA

Coordination Platform (NCP) and the Expert Group on the Social Dimension of SES

(EGHD), these three groups are key to the implementation of the Single European

Sky (SES). Consultant George Stanford joins us having completed a graduate

development program, specialising in aero-mechanical systems evaluator. He has a

Masters in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Bristol.

We also welcome five new analysts to the company, a talented bunch, with

degrees in aviation and architecture from Prague CTU, science safety and human

factors in aviation from Cranfield University, chemical engineering and management

from Imperial College, aerospace engineering from The Politechnical University of

Bucharest, and geography and music from Trinity College Cambridge.

Helios MD Nick McFarlane commented: “It’s great to announce these well-

deserved promotions, and to welcome so many talented people into the business;

it’s one of our biggest recruitment drives, and we look forward to introducing them

all to you over the coming months.”

Information sharing Three companies have been brought together for an

airport master planning project. They would all like to

know what the total budget of the project is, but without

revealing what they individually contributed.

Unfortunately there is no third party (or trustworthy

consultancy!) available to act as a middle man. The

companies can exchange information secretly between

one another (so that the third company is not privy to the

conversation) and they always tell the truth. How can

the total budget for the project be known by all 3 of

them? And what is the minimum number of 2-way

conversations necessary before one of them can

announce the total value to the two others?

The answer will be published in the next edition of

ON AIR!. Please send your solutions to onair@askhelios.

com. All entries must be received by 10th Jan 2018. The

first correct answer drawn at random after this date will win

a pair of Helios noise-cancelling headphones. Good luck!

And the winner is…The answer to the puzzle “the cube conundrum” is too long

to include here! So, for the full solution visit www.askhelios.

com/resources/issue-3-2017-off-air. Congratulations to

Walter Keating of Austro Control, who sent the correct

answer and came first in the draw.

HOT AIR«

OFF AIR«

ON LINE«

Please send change-of-address notifications to onair@askhelios.com; by post

to Helios, 29 Hercules Way, Aerospace Boulevard, AeroPark, Farnborough,

Hampshire, GU14 6UU, UK; or call us on +44 1252 451 651.

This newsletter has been written for the interest of our clients and colleagues.

We believe the facts are correct at the time of printing, but cannot be held

responsible for any errors or omissions.

www.askhelios.com

Helios is the aviation consultancy of Egis, delivering management consultancy,

strategy, investment and technical advice across the globe. Combining

analytical rigour, strategic context and creativity, we bring independence and

insight to every opportunity we address.

Our parent company, Egis, is an international group headquartered in Europe,

with over 14,000 employees and a turnover of $1bn.

Did you know?.. .Helios consultants write regular blogs. These are short and

topical, covering industry news, insights and conference

reviews.

Here’s a selection of our latest:

• European drone regulation – consultation closes soon

(Andrej Hyll)

• Aviation start-ups and the innovation agenda (Andrew

Burrage)

• European ATM – a sea of connections with shifting influences

(Ivan Baruta)

• Drone ATM – bridging the gap between UAS and manned

aviation (Piotr Sirko)

Go to www.askhelios.com/blog to read them and follow us on

Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook to get notifications.

Three companies have been brought together for an