Qatar Airways will be first in the world to know where its planes are, minute by minute

Qatar Airways will be the global launch customer of GlobalBeacon, a technology solution by Aireon and FlightAware that is designed to provide up-to-the minute global tracking of all aircraft equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in 2018, approximately three years before the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) recommendation for compliance by 2021.

Source: Qatar Airways. Plane in Qatar Airways livery in action.

GlobalBeacon combines FlightAware’s worldwide flight tracking information, including origin, destination, flight plan route, position, and estimated time of arrival with data from Aireon’s space-based ADS-B aircraft surveillance system, due to be operational in 2018. The solution will provide Qatar Airways with state-of-the-art technology to meet and exceed Global Aeronautical Distress Safety System (GADSS) requirements and recommendations.

In addition to aircraft tracking and location reporting requirements, GADSS requires aircraft to provide immediate notification of abnormal events, regardless of air traffic unit boundaries and without a degradation of baseline search and rescue services. Further, distressed aircraft status tracking under GADSS can be activated by the pilot, automatically by the aircraft and remotely by the operations control centre.

Announced by ICAO in March of 2016, the GADSS was created to help improve the ability to detect commercial aircraft in remote locations. The key components of GADSS recommend that aircraft report their position to the airline’s operations centre at a minimum of once every 15 minutes under normal flight circumstances. However, if an aircraft should become in distress, position reports are then to be provided every minute. GlobalBeacon will provide a permanent minute-by-minute reporting capability, exceeding the ICAO recommendation.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker, said: “As one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, both our needs, and our drive to deliver the very best services for our global passengers, are continually evolving. GlobalBeacon will seamlessly integrate with our existing ICAO 2018 compliant flight watch technology (Total Operations System), and further enhance our fleet management by providing updates every minute.

“I am proud of Qatar Airways’ leadership in this vital area of aviation safety and awareness. We will be the first airline in the world to have the capability to use worldwide satellite air surveillance to support our airline operations and to achieve the highest level of flight tracking standards ahead of the ICAO 2021 mandate.”

“Qatar Airways is a leader in the aviation industry, and their proactive approach to implementing the GADSS recommendations reinforces that point,” said Aireon CEO, Don Thoma. “With a modern fleet of 190 aircraft flying all over the world, across remote and oceanic airspace, Qatar Airways and GlobalBeacon are an ideal match and no new avionics will be required. We’re excited to welcome them as a partner.”

“With GlobalBeacon, Qatar Airways is getting the most state-of-the-art solution to meet GADSS recommendations in the industry,” said FlightAware CEO, Daniel Baker. “The adoption of this solution shows their commitment to their customers, employees and international community to help improve airlines and aviation stakeholder’s ability to locate aircraft in distress and improve search and rescue capabilities.”

Cartrack tracks vehicles over more countries

Source: Cartrack website.

Cartrack, which provides fleet management solutions, insurance telematics, vehicle tracking and recovery, may soon be operating at more locations near you.

The company sees a opportunity in the growing number of vehicles and the developing telematics market. Using the existing office in Singapore as a hub, new offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong have been opened this year.

Evert Ong, CEO of Cartrack Singapore said: “There is considerable growth coming from small and medium sized businesses and large organisations looking to optimise their fleet and workforce.”

Overall, global subscriber base grew by 24 percent to more than 430,000. This growth comprised a 196% increase in fleet management subscribers and a 35% increase in stolen vehicle recovery subscribers.

Over 10,000 screened for Ebola at Indian airports since 10 August

The Indian government has reported that 10,194 passengers from countries affected by Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been screened by the Immigration Department via airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Trivandrum, Kolkata and Kochi.

A number of individuals have tested negative for the disease as of 16 August, including two Nigerian nationals and an Indian national. Another Nigerian national is under observation at Dr RML Hospital. 

A quarantine cum isolation health facility at Delhi Airport is operational, and all suspect cases detected at Delhi Airport will now be admitted to this facility, the government said. Since 16 August, five citizens of Indian origin aged 38 (M), 38(F), 7(M), 2 (F) and 31(F) have been admitted to this facility. All of them have been found negative for EVD in tests done at NCDC.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) is tracking such passengers, the details of whom are provided to them by the Airport Health Organization. Today, 90 passengers were enrolled for follow up in their respective states through State IDSP units. As of 17 August, a cumulative number of 267 passengers are being tracked. Most of them are in the States of Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Control Room in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has received 557 calls since its inception on 9 August. Most of the callers have sought information on signs and symptoms of the disease and travel related risk of acquiring the infection.

WHO has reported a total of 2,127 cases and 1,145 deaths as of 13 August 2014 due to EVD from affected countries. 

Crowdfunding takes off for some businesses

Crowdfunding has been highly successful for some entrepreneurs, with websites like Kickstarter leading the pack. The basic project puts together a concept, some pictures of the work in progress, and asks for backers to fund the product. The entrepreneur can be anywhere in the world, and the backers can come from anywhere in the world as well.

Funding is typically requested through an escalating tier of pledges, with larger backing eligible for a product with more features. The whole process can be gamified with stretch goals, with growing backing for the project 'unlocking' a new reward for everyone at selected milestones. 

While anyone can try crowdfunding, the Internet recognises those who have clearly put a lot of effort into their proposals. The more intriguing the story, the slicker the packaging and the more sophisticated the pledging plans, the more likely it is to be successful. It also helps to have something tangible which can be mailed to the backers; crowdfunding for a service is less likely to be successful, especially one that is tied to geographic location like a mobile food truck.

Most projects on Kickstarter are US-based but there are some from the Asia Pacific. Zelos Helmsman, a watch that can be made of bronze or stainless steel, is the most successful active Singapore-related project on Kickstarter at the moment, with Yahoo Singapore reporting that the project was fully funded within two days of its launch on Kickstarter. The Helmsman is over 200% subscribed at the time of writing.

CDN$1 gets name recognition on the website, and CDN$420 a Helmsman watch. "We wanted to create the Helmsman to be a modern sports watch, functional yet sleek enough to take with to the office. Its automatic movement powers the watch by your kinetic energy so no batteries will ever be needed... Each variant of the Helmsman will be limited to only 50 pieces and will be individually numbered," states Zelos Watches on the Kickstarter project page. 

Pawda, a GPS-based tracking system that works with iOS and Android mobile phones, is a project from Sydney, Australia. According to maker Ross Lambert on the Kickstarter project page, Pawda is a small lightweight GPS tracking device which fastens securely to a pet's collar. Once the pet leaves a virtual perimeter or 'safe zone', the Pawda user receives an alert on the Pawda smartphone app. A map shows exactly where the pet is. The device can track the pet using the same network as your mobile phone, in real time, in the same way that Google Maps adjusts your location as you move.

While the device is marketed for pets, it could just as well be fastened to a toddler's backpack, or to a suitcase full of money; it's up to the imagination. 

A pledge of A$45 gets a Pawda t-shirt, and A$99 the device itself. View the associated video here.

*All images from the Kickstarter website.

*All percentages correct at the time of writing.