Aspen Connected Panel Patent??

Is this going to be a problem for those of us who are hoping that the IFD440/540 will communicate with our iPads and Androids?

http://www.aspenavionics.com/news/aspens-connected-panel-technology-receives-united-states-patent/

Mike

Aspen claims that they have "the industry’s only FAA-certified and patented avionics technology to safely interface wirelessly with non-certified mobile devices such as the Apple iPad or Android devices before, during and after flight." That pretty much describes what I suspect that Avidyne was planning to do with the built in wireless and Bluetooth hardware that's already in the IFD440s and 540s. (The software isn't in place yet to do anything with it.)

My concern is that Aspen will claim that their patent covers all certified avionics that talk to iPads and similar gadgets. If that view is upheld, it would mean that our IFD540s could not talk to iPads and Androids unless Avidyne pays a royalty to Aspen for the use of their patent. Avidyne may decide to cough up, or they may decide to forget the whole wireless/Bluetooth thing. Or they may decide to charge ahead as planned and let Aspen sue them for patent infringement. A patent is only worth what you're willing to spend to defend it.

In any case, it's not going to make the lives of those of us with IFD540s any simpler or cheaper. But a few patent attorneys are going to be able to increase their standard of living.

Mike

ddgates wrote: Would it not serve Aspen's interests (e.g., sell more PFD/MFD units) if their equipment talked with the Avidyne units in a collaborative manner?  The "connected panel" patent is only useful if the units are actually interfaced?

Sure, but Aspen's Connected Panel requires one of their CG100 Connected Gateway boxes to be installed in addition to the Aspen PFD. The CG100 is the wireless interface. If you have one of those you no longer need the wireless that's built in to the Avidyne IFD540. So the Aspen system costs more ($2500 for the CG100 plus installation plus space to put it) and it negates any work that Avidyne has done to interface their units directly to the outside world.

I'm sure that Avidyne could connect their stuff to the Aspen system, just like the Olathe guys do. But that would require more software development work. We all know how fast that goes. And more expense. And more complexity for users, who would have to buy the full Aspen suite in order to connect up their IFD*40s.

Or we can all pay a license fee to Aspen for the privilege of turning on our built-in IFD*40 wireless features. Which is exactly how Aspen handles to upgrade options to their PFD. Nobody goes through the effort of getting a patent and making a big splash about it if they don't intend to put up a toll booth that charges everyone who is marginally close to what they're doing.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Mike