Technology has improved without any doubt flight safety and efficiency. Granted, there is always cost involved, giving the accounting departments hot flashes. From auto-pilots to flight management systems or from anti-skid to EGPWS (enhanced ground proximity warning system) the industry agrees that we could not function without them.
Granted, prior operating new technology within a major carrier, the said technology has be certified. In the avionics world they call this TSO: technical standard order. Certification can be a very painful process for the keen developers who rightly believe they have the answer for all problems within their specialty.
I for one am not very excited when facing hurdles for any worthy project. Sometimes they take forever to implement such as electronic flight bags read here IPad’s in the flight deck.
Ultimately, technology has to prove itself as being « bombproof » in order to make it’s way in our flight decks. As a pilot, this is a great feature. And this makes also the operator quite protected against impending lawsuits coming from all directions when a mishap happens.
The freedom of artificial intelligene
These days, we cannot set our eyes on media, lend an ear to any report without being sold the infinite joy, freedom and convenience that artificial intelligence will bring to the human race. AI development centres grow at a much faster rate than super low cost airlines.
When the aerospace and avionics expert Thales mentions this week that AI is nowhere anytime soon to appear in flight decks, I trust what they say. Apple’s Siri or any other cute interface from any smartphone manufacturer can barely go on typing more than a couple words on screen without monstrous errors in English, never mind French, German and so on.
« Hey Siri ouais Enriou note Going round and 10 Dad windshield », Yep: this is an actual voice dictation live for you dear reader. (Hey Siri why are you not going around in that windshear?”
I have control: “ Windshear, firewall, go-around flaps” (hey I am an Airbus guy).