Safeguarding Future Flights through Technologies: A Chief's View on Innovation

As the population around the world grows, demand for urban air transportation will increase. Safeguarding lives will continue to be the top priority for aviation regulators, airplane operators and manufacturers in the world. Honeywell Aerospace innovates and integrates thousands of products and services to advance and easily deliver safe, efficient, productive and comfortable experiences worldwide.

At Honeywell, I have had the opportunity to see that first-hand as I’ve led new product development teams for navigation and communication functions, embedded global positioning system inertial navigation systems (EGI) advanced technology projects, application engineering, and customer and product support engineering. Currently, as an Engineering Chief, I am working on how we can leverage emerging technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and natural language processing to increase automation in major Aerospace programs.  Applying these innovative approaches to automate existing processes will help improve quality, boost productivity and reduce cycle time and cost.

Since people and technology are two important factors that motivate me, I am very fortunate to coach and guide global teams of both young and experienced avionics engineers who challenge me every day to live up to their expectations.  I also am privileged to be part of a most experienced group of Honeywell Chief Engineers and have the opportunity to interact with them on diverse technologies. The combination of trust from so many Aerospace leaders throughout my career at Honeywell and the privilege of working with talented and knowledgeable engineers create the perfect environment to keep me inspired.

I’ve always been excited by solving challenging problems, starting with my avionics integration and flight test days on light combat aircraft with India’s Aeronautical Development Authority (ADA). I was one of the engineers who cracked an onboard GPS outage issue on Honeywell-fielded GPS receivers, and enjoyed other opportunities to problem-solve such as leading a team of engineers to develop the navigation and landing guidance system for the Boeing 787, building the System Integration Test Setup (SITS) and widening the customer and product support base from India for a variety of mechanical and electrical products for several aircraft platforms. I also had the privilege of leading the team that installed the first GPS-based Landing System in India at Chennai International Airport.

As Navigation and Sensing business focal in the region, I facilitate innovation among Honeywell Technology Solutions engineering and support the India business team in customer discussions on major pursuits. I represent Honeywell at various technology forums, showcasing our technology capabilities, networking and exploring areas for future industry collaboration.

Today, I have a front row seat for how technology advances are improving our existing products and systems. In sensors, micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnologies will bring a revolution, while connectivity and machine learning are taking avionics toward new disruptions. Avionics hardware also is going through phenomenal change, and gradually will be replaced by software functionality and new processors like System on Chips (SoCs).

Future connected sensors technologies will supersede traditional systems, paving the way for collaborative flying. Radio navigation will be replaced by satellite navigation, and inertial systems will be aided with multiple other sensors. Already, Honeywell technologies like Ka/Ku band connectivity are enabling high-speed broadband connectivity and changing the flying experience for pilots, crews and passengers alike.

In short, the way we fly today will change drastically in ways we once could not have imagined. Thanks to smart sensors, connected technologies, data analytics and machine learning – which before long will be everywhere – we’re headed toward a new world of unmanned aerial vehicles that one day will enhance urban mobility.