Boeing’s 777-200 ecoDemonstrator has taken its position on the static line following the completion of its final round of testing during a flight from Boeing Field in Seattle to Singapore via Osaka. The widebody, making the ecoDemonstrator program’s first appearance at an international air show, made the trip on a 30-percent blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced by Los Angeles-based World Energy while carrying perishables in what Boeing calls a cold-chain “smart” container in its cargo hold.

Some of the campaign’s most promising tests evaluated technologies dedicated to sharing digital information between air traffic control, the flight deck, and an airline's operations center to aid routing efficiency and safety. Others involved an electronic flight bag application that uses next-generation communications to automatically provide rerouting information to pilots when weather conditions warrant; so-called connected cabin technologies that make galleys and lavatories “smart” and monitor cabin conditions such as temperature and humidity to facilitate automatic adjustments; and cameras to provide more passengers with a view outside the airplane.

On the flight to Singapore, cargo handlers watched how the “smart” LD-3 containers reacted to temperature and other environmental changes communicated over the airplane’s network system. Some 10 percent of perishable items stored in conventional containers spoil during long trips; the ecoDemonstrator team expects the lightweight smart containers to completely avoid the need to dispose of valuable food and pharmaceuticals.

The ecoDemonstrator program dates back to 2012 when Boeing launched the first flying testbed, a 737. The 18-year-old former Air China 777-200 became the sixth airplane to participate with its first demonstration flight on November 6. Ahead of the latest round of trials, Boeing tested in the five previous platforms a total of 112 technologies, some 35 of which the company employed in production airplanes, including the winglets on the 737 Max and glass panel touch screens in the upcoming 777X.

Smart Cabin

Speaking with AIN just ahead of the Singapore Airshow, ecoDemonstrator program director of technology integration Jeanne Yu pointed to electronic communication between Boeing’s network system and a German team’s own network system called the intelligent cabin, or iCabin, as the cornerstone of the latest round of testing.

“One of the reasons we chose this airplane was that we are working with the industry to develop standards for onboard network systems,” Yu explained.

While the smart cabin accounted for several of the 50 technologies tested on the 777, the outside of the airplane carries “smart” vortex generators that use temperature-sensitive “shape-memory” alloys to passively retract the surfaces aloft, in colder temperatures. Given the fact that vortex generators only come into use during takeoff and landing, making them retractable lessens drag during cruise. Furthermore, the shape-memory alloys do away with the need to connect the vortex generators to the aircraft’s electronic or hydraulic systems.

The airplane’s smart technology also extends to pilot interfaces, including a head-up display that attaches to a lightweight headpiece as a replacement for conventional projector/combiner HUDs. Called a head-worn display, the system uses waveguide technology and promises a weight reduction over current HUD systems of 69 percent. Program applications include the NMA, or new midsize airplane, into which Boeing continues to study a business case.

“The idea here is that we would allow the pilots to bring their own headset,” explained ecoDemonstrator program leader Doug Christensen. “The equipage on the airplane is lighter. It allows a more broad use of that technology at different airports. So it's a way of making airplanes lighter [and] more fuel efficient, but it also adds that additional capability across the fleet.”

Other human factors-related technologies under study in the ecoDemonstrator include crew health and alertness monitoring using several commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) physiological monitoring devices either worn by the pilot or mounted into the flight deck for passive data collection. The goal of the study centers on demonstrating the efficacy of COTS equipment for data collection and analysis to meet regulatory compliance for future reduced crew operations.

In the field of communications, the program tested the use of DataComm in place of voice communications to give flight crews more and better information, allowing for more efficient airplane operation. Other operational efficiency items include a digital flight tracker, which allows the airline and, in turn, the Federal Aviation Administration, to monitor the airplane and provide additional information to the crew to optimize flight paths.

“So, if there are reroutes, if there's weather, if there are [other] issues, it can optimize the rerouting of the airplane,” said Christensen. “And that includes…voiceless communications with ATC. So we tested new technology that allows us to do voiceless DataComm communication with the ATC...There are no communication risks and it allows us to be safer.

“It helps because there is often radio frequency congestion to some of these busy airports. So the DataComm helps us access data more readily.”

Somewhat more mundane advances but perhaps of more interest to passengers reside in the so-called smart cabin, including a moisture-absorbing Dry Floor in the airplane’s lavatory made of recycled carbon fiber from Boeing’s factories. The floor—part of the program’s “fresh lavatory” concept—contains minute holes through which moisture gets absorbed via the airplane’s pneumatic system.

The suite of technologies in the lavatory also includes a UV light disinfectant system that kills more than 99 percent of germs, a point-of-use UV water disinfectant, and a touchless trash flap.  

In the main cabin, recycled carpet tiles cover the floor. “In a triple-seven during its lifetime in airline use, about 8,000 tons of carpet go to landfills,” noted Yu. “And so to have the recyclable carpet in there and tiles that you’re able to pull out certain sections more easily rather than [the entire carpet], you really can reduce waste throughout the lifetime of the airplane.”

Another high-tech cabin feature invisible to the eye but quite evident to the ears—a wireless sound system—uses the airplane’s interior panels to emit sound rather than traditional speakers. The ecoDemonstrator team plans to play movies in the cabin for visitors during the show using the system, including as many as 500 STEM students from local schools invited to tour the airplane.

“We get really excited about that part of [the program]," said Christensen. “It’s fun taking executives through and people that are interested in sustainability, but when you start seeing the young people that are really motivated and excited about sustainability and innovation in aviation...there’s just a buzz when we get those students on the airplane and show them what we're doing. So that's going to be a highlight for us in Singapore.”