Communications inside an aircraft cockpit are currently based on wired or radiofrequency connections. For instance, wireless ones have been introduced to support the tablets. However, the use of radiofrequency technologies remains limited. For example, a wireless connectivity for the headset would be an advantage for the pilots in terms of comfort and flexibility but there are some issues especially concerning radiofrequency interferences but also audio data security. Optical wireless communications based on visible light or infrared offer interesting possibilities to overcome these issues. Indeed, as optical beams are confined in the environment, this technology brings robustness against the risks of attacks, thus increasing security. In addition, radiofrequency immunity ensures the absence of disturbances, allowing more resources for communications. For the first time in the literature and using simulation, this paper investigates the optical wireless channel for pilot headset connectivity inside aircraft cockpit, and determines its performance in terms of maximal data rates that can be achieved for a given link reliability.

Communications inside an aircraft cockpit are currently based on wired connections especially for the audio headsets used by the pilots. A wireless headset would be an advantage in terms of comfort and flexibility but the use of classical radio frequencies is limited by interference and security issues. Optical wireless communication technology is an option for headset connectivity. Indeed, as optical beams are confined, this technology provides robustness against the risk of hacking, thus increasing security. In addition, the use of optical waves ensures the absence of radio-frequency disturbances. Using simulation, this paper presents a thorough study of the optical wireless channel behavior inside the cockpit of an aircraft by considering a headset worn by a pilot possibly in motion and an access point at the ceiling. The impact of the characteristics of the environment model, such as the level of geometric description, the reflectivity of materials and for the first time, the ambient noise induced by the sun, is highlighted. System performance is evaluated in terms of optimal half-power angles and the necessary average optical power of the light sources.

In this article, we explore the performance of optical wireless technology for ensuring audio communications inside an aircraft cockpit. One advantage is that, unlike radio frequencies, opaque objects block optical signals and, therefore, signals cannot pass through walls. This can reduce security risks against eavesdropping and hacking of the physical layer, which is one of the main concerns in the aviation environment. However, optical wireless technology faces some issues, including range limitation and sensitivity to blockages. To study the achievable performances, we propose a modeling of the channels for the uplink and the downlink between the headsets of the four pilots of an Airbus A350 and the access point at the cockpit ceiling. A ray-tracing approach associated with a Monte-Carlo method takes into account the 3D geometric model of the cockpit, the presence of the pilots and their movements. We show that using spatial diversity for headset transceivers can improve performance. Using IEEE 802.11 medium access control mechanism to ensure multiuser communication, the approach highlights the trade-offs between power and delay for a successful communication, linked to the maximum achievable data rate for a given performance level.

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