Wireless avionics intra-communications: Current trends and design issues

Wireless technology is expanding to areas previously reluctant to the use of this type of technology. In the aeronautics industry, wireless has recently gained preference for on-board systems that conventionally used only cables. Recent interference and reliability studies with state-of-the-art standards suggest the feasibility of a relatively new research area that has been called wireless avionics intra-communications (WAICs). This paper presents a non-exhaustive survey of efforts in this emerging area. The objective is to identify topics, design issues, and synergies with other fields. The design of WAICs resembles some aspects of networks on ground, but it also adds some particular issues that remain to be addressed. This paper attempts to identify design issues of WAICs that range from physical-layer to application and security layers. Structure health monitoring, bus communications, control/sensing, and cable replacement, are examples of applications of WAICs.