Virgin Atlantic loads up flights to carry half a terabyte of data

March 11, 2013

Virgin Atlantic is preparing for a significant increase in data as it embraces the Internet of things, with a new fleet of highly connected planes each expected to create over half a terabyte of data per flight. The airline is expecting an "explosion" of information generated from a growing number of sources, from employees and customers to cargo containers and planes, Virgin Atlantic IT Director David Bulman told Computerworld UK last week at the Economist Technology Frontiers event. In particular, the introduction of 787 aircraft—ordered by Virgin Atlantic for delivery in 2014—is expected to dramatically increase the volume of data the airline will need to deal with. Connections from cargo to aircarft "The Internet of things, in a broad sense, is where we are starting to see everything from planes to cargo devices getting connected," Bulman said. "The latest planes we are getting, the Boeing 787s, are incredibly connected. Literally every piece of that plane has an Internet connection, from the engines, to the flaps, to the landing gear. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/infrastructure/3433595/boeing-787s-create-half-terabyte-of-data-per-flight-says-virgin-atlantic/#tk.rss_all