Fly-by-Wireless

    The Challenge

    Beginning with the design or concept of a current aircraft or spacecraft, your challenge is to engineer the design of the first aircraft or spacecraft with no wires, connectors, or penetrations! You may choose to add functions that the original vehicle does not have. Be sure to identify future aerospace applications as specifically as possible.

    Background

    A large commercial passenger aircraft has more than 100,000 wires, with a total length of 470 km and weight of 5,700 kg. There is about 30% of additional weight in harnessing and connectors. About 30% of electrical wires are potential candidates for a wireless substitute. Wiring lacks dissimilar redundancy and has limited maintenance flexibility and access. Many bulkhead penetrations and connectors are needed between compartments, into tankage and to pass from interior to exterior. Many permanent and temporary sensors are not added because of wiring efforts and associated weight.

    The business case for going wireless in the commercial aircraft industry has resulted in approval of the protected worldwide spectrum frequency band for Wireless Avionics Intra-Aircraft (on-board) Communications – sharing the RF band from 4.2 to 4.4 GHz with Radar Altimeters where safety-critical wireless may operate. Other wireless bands are already used for tire pressure monitoring and, of course, passenger services. Many technologies are evolving that support totally passive RF wireless sensors. In addition, there are optical, magnetic, and ultrasonic methods – even X-ray communications are being developed. Engineering trade-offs are necessary to understand where wires, connectors, and penetrations can be eliminated and benefits gained by adding wireless sensing and even control – the elements of which are system metrics and requirements, vehicle architectures that enable the use of wireless, and the “tool box” of alternatives to wires, connectors, and penetrations.

    Beginning with the design or concept of a current aircraft or spacecraft, show how you would reduce the wires, connectors, and penetrations as close as possible to zero and add functions that the original vehicle does not have. Identify future aerospace applications as specifically as possible.

    Potential Considerations

    In your design, you may (but are not required to) consider:

    • Reduction (total and percentage) in data wiring
    • Reduction (total and percentage) in connectors
    • Reduction (total and percentage) in penetrations
    • Reduction (total and percentage) in weight
    • Number of increased functions – specific benefits stated for safety, reliability, efficiency, etc.
    • Ability to verify figures used in original design or concept

    Additional optional considerations:

    • Total weight reduction may be shown to include supporting brackets and avionics boxes/displays.
    • Some data not needed during flight can be stored and wirelessly downloaded after the flight.
    • Redundancy for little weight penalty is often very helpful.
    • Non-digital control cables, connectors, and penetrations are also a target for reduction.
    • Weight credit may be shown for sensors whose data will reduce weight in other systems.
    • Wireless functions that involve other aircraft or ground systems, including ground testing, count towards overall totals.

    NASA in no way endorses any non-U.S. Government entity and is not responsible for information contained on non-U.S. Government websites.