Orbit recently signed two contracts with aircraft manufacturers. The company provides a variety of  communications and tracking systems in both commercial and military sectors. Image credit: Orbit

[Satellite TODAY 08-07-13] Israel-based ORBIT Technologies has signed a $4.2 million contract to supply its IP-based video surveillance system on board a major European aircraft manufacturer’s passenger planes.

“This is very a significant penetration for us as far as the size and quality of deal in terms of serving the passenger market,” said Ofer Greenberger, ORBIT’s CEO, during an exclusive interview with SatelliteTODAY.com.

The company’s video surveillance system is the second Orion-based system to be integrated in this manufacturer’s new line of passenger planes, which are currently under development, according to Greenberger. ORBIT has already received a major order from the European aircraft manufacturer for its Orion-based Communication Management System, which will be responsible for internal aircraft communications. The aircraft manufacturer has indicated that upon completion of the plane’s development, it estimates follow-up orders with ORBIT for additional systems for hundreds of new planes that it expects to manufacture, according to a written statement from ORBIT.

Currently in the final stages of development, Orion has a variety of vertical applications ranging from civil to military aviation markets, Greenberger said. Speaking about the advancement of “situational awareness technology,” he noted how the technology will be useful for helicopter and fighter jet pilots. The video surveillance system captures video footage of areas of interest both on board and outside the aircraft, including the wing tip, engine inlet, cockpit cabin door, cargo ears and routes these video streams to cockpit displays. The system has Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) interfacing capabilities to allow easy integration with aircraft avionics.

In addition to increasing the crew’s situational awareness, the new system can also interface with the in-flight entertainment system on passenger aircraft to deliver these same video streams to the travelers’ entertainment displays. The system’s distributed IP architecture allows for easy scalability, facilitating the system’s integration in aircrafts of any size using the same building blocks, according to a written statement from ORBIT.

The fact that ORBIT’s communication management system as well as its video surveillance system have been selected by this major European aircraft foreshadows a bright future for the company, he said. “These deals are a strong confirmation of the suitability of our ORION as an avionics platform for the civil aviation market, and we look forward to further expanding the scope of cooperation between our companies in the future,” he added.

The deal with the European aircraft manufacturer follows Orbit’s July 25 announcement that it had signed a new $1.2 million contract with Embraer, the Brazil-based aircraft manufacturer, to provide its audio management solution over IP (AMSIP). This is a secure, patent-pending digital audio management system with IP interfacing capabilities, which allows aircraft to securely manage a variety of communications. The embedded technology would likely be used for crew communication and has a wide range of applications from weather data to navigation and tracking.

Jay Gullish, director of space and telecommunications with Futron Corporation previously said he believes that “even though the [Brazil] contract is small, it positions Orbit well for future opportunities. It’s a huge strategic win,” he said.