Organization

ORGANIZATION

The Avionics Systems Panel meets at least annually, usually at the DASC and ICNS.  Further discussions are held by email as led by the Panel Chair with decisions taken by email proxy, as appropriate. The Panel Chair or their designee provides minutes of meetings, attendees’ list and a current membership list after the meeting.

The panel includes several standing Committees. Current Committees are:

• Avionics Research and Innovation Committee: addressing key contemporary issues in avionics systems Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and focusing on the crucial challenges currently faced by the avionics industry towards enhancing safety, efficiency and sustainability of the aviation/aerospace sector. Chair: Roberto Sabatini; Christopher Camargo, Edwin Aulick, Giancarmine Fasano, Carlos Insaurralde, Alex Gardi.
• Avionics Conference Committee: responsible for supporting and selecting volunteers for the Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), the Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance Conference (ICNS) and creating new conferences or partnerships, consistent with the IEEE guidelines on Conferences. Chair: Chris Camargo; Giancarmine Fasano, Omar Garciacrespillo, George Andrew, Kathleen Kramer.
• Awards Committee: responsible for selecting nominations for the IEEE and AESS Awards in the domain of avionics, and conducting a selection based on ASP established standards and procedures. Chair: Roberto Sabatini; Kathleen Kramer
• Standards Committee: responsible for coordination with IEEE Standards committees to identify needs for avionics standards; promotes new IEEE standards and/or revisions of existing standards that are related to avionics; provides inputs for other IEEE Standards as requested. Chair: Aloke Roy; Kathleen Kramer, Roberto Sabatini
• Education Committee: responsible for advancing the education, publications, and IEEE member levels of students or new members of the Avionics community. Chair: Aloke Roy; Giancarmine Fasano, Omar Garciacrespillo, Christopher Camargo, Irfan Majid, Roberto Sabatini, Carlos Insaurralde, Alex Gardi.
• Journal Publications Liaison Committee: responsible for establishing and sustaining a joint work program with the avionics systems streams of the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems (TAES) and for the AESS Systems (SYS) Magazine and other high-impact journals in the domain. Chair: Roberto Sabatini; Erik Blasch, Aloke Roy, Giancarmine Fasano, Kathleen Kramer, Omar Garciacrespillo
• Nomination and Elections Committee: responsible for the process of nomination of Panel Chair and Vice-Chair, IEEE Senior Members and Fellows, and maintaining the process for selection of Avionics System Panel members with the concurrence of the current ASP Chair.
• Cyber Security Panel Liaison Committee: responsible for establishing and sustaining a joint work program with the AESS Cyber Security Panel to address cybersecurity needs of avionics systems. Chair: Erik Blasch; Christopher Camargo, Kathleen Kramer, Roberto Sabatini, Edwin Aulick
• UAV Committee: responsible for establishing and sustaining a joint work program with UAV interests to promote cross-fertilization of technology research. Chair: Giancarmine Fasano; Erik Blasch, Irfan Majid, Kathleen Kramer, Roberto Sabatini, Edwin Aulick

Each Committee Chair has the responsibility of documenting the processes used for the selection of members and conducting the Committee responsibilities. Each Committee elects its own chair from members, with the concurrence of the Panel Chair.

The Panel elects a Chairman and a Vice-chair whose term of office is two years. Voting and rules-of-order are established in the By-Laws of the Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society.  The Vice-Chair will stand in and lead Panel meetings when the Chair is absent. Committee chair positions shall be limited to two (2) two (2) year terms.

Membership in the Panel is open to active IEEE Associate or higher level members from the Avionics community, who has demonstrated leadership and the desire to advance Avionics technology and system capabilities. Membership falls into one of two categories: (i) active, (ii) emeritus. To remain active, a member must have attended at least 2 of the past 4 meetings. Only Active Members of the Panel can vote on ASP motions and business decisions.  The Chair and the Vice-Chair of the ASP and the underlying Committee Chairs must be members of AESS.

Committees are not considered to be permanent and will be continued at the recommendation of the ASP Chair. Initiation and/or conclusion of a Committee activity will be authorized only by a vote of the ASP membership.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this Panel are represented by the objectives of the individual committees. 

Research and Innovation Committee Objectives:

1. Liaising with national, regional and international R&D organizations impacting the future of the aviation and aerospace sector.
2. Developing and maintaining a robust research dialogue in collaboration with relevant industry and Government organizations.
3. Initiating and supporting R&D activities in the avionics sector, with a focus on the following areas:

• UAS integration in all classes of airspace and UTM;
• Evolution of the certification framework and standards for integrated CNS/ATM and Avionics (CNS+A) systems;
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) in avionics systems design and operations (including the challenges of certification and the role of explainable AI);
• Cyber-physical security of avionics and CNS/ATM systems;
• Fault-tolerant avionics and intelligent Heath and Usage Management Systems (HUMS);
• Avionics for future space transport, Space Traffic Management (STM) and intelligent satellite systems;
• Civil and military airspace integration and CNS+A systems interoperability;
• Evolutions of Avionics Human-Machine Interfaces and Interactions.

1. Contributing on behalf of IEEE to external avionics research and regulatory organizations, including (but not limited to) ICAO committees/groups, the NASA UTM program, the EU SESAR joint undertaking, and the FAA NextGen program.

Avionics Conference Committee Objectives:

1.    Work with AIAA DATC in reviewing and selecting DASC and ICNS conference proposals.

2.    Develop new conferences related to the ASPs areas of interest.

3.    To strengthen the IEEE Avionics Conference series by encouraging more regional and international participation.

4.    Educate Avionics Conference Committees as to Best Practices.

5.    Make a recommendation on the future of the cycle of international conferences.

6.    Maintain a repository of past conference Budgets, Final Reports, and lessons learned.

Awards Committee Objectives

1. To honor our major technology contributors.

2.    Propose new awards that should be administered by the ASP. Establish and publish process for nomination and selection of IEEE and AESS Avionics Awards.

3.    Increase the visibility and number of candidates for Major IEEE Awards.

4.    To award those unselfish individuals that donate their time and energy to promote the Avionics community.

Standards Committee Objectives

1.    To provide input to Standards maintained by other parts of the IEEE.

2.    Identify possible standards activities in avionics.

Education Committee Objectives

1.    Encourage and support student participation in DASC, ICNS and other AESS local chapters’ Conferences.

2.    Facilitate Tutorials for conferences and Section Meetings.

3.    Encourage the generation and dissemination of Avionics educational opportunities.

4. Work in cohesion with AESS Education and Student Activity programs to promote avionics-related training for students and young professionals.

5. Promote interaction between avionics programs in academia and the avionics-oriented industries.

6. Launch initiatives to enhance the outreach of the Avionics Systems Technical Panel to WIE, professionals from related engineering domains and students from regions where formal AESS chapters are not functional.

Journal Publications Liaison Committee

1. Recommending qualified reviewers and, upon request, associate editors for the avionics systems streams of the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems (TAES) and for the AESS Systems (SYS) Magazine.
2. Proposing authoritative research papers and critical review papers on key contemporary issues in avionics systems design, development, test/evaluation, and certification.
3. Liaising with the Conference Committee and selecting high-quality conference papers for possible publication in TAES, SYS and other high-impact journals (substantially updated versions undertaking an independent peer-review in line with the journals’ standard procedures).

Nominations and Elections Committee Objectives

1. Establish and document the process for the election of ASP Chair & Vice-Chair, and Committee chairs.
2. Plan and execute the Election process for ASP Chair and Vice-Chair.
3. Facilitate ASP nominations/endorsements for Senior Member and Fellow Grade.

Cyber Security Panel Liaison Committee Objectives

1. Establish a joint work program with the AESS Cyber Security Panel to address the cybersecurity needs of avionics.
2. Promote academic research in the domain of avionics cybersecurity.
3. Identify existing IEEE standards in the avionics domain and recommend revisions to address cybersecurity considerations.
4. Monitor industry activities that can impact avionics cybersecurity.

UAV Panel Liaison Committee objectives

1. Establish a joint work program with the AESS UAV Panel to promote cross-fertilization of technology research and development.
2. Explore existing avionics capabilities that can be readily adapted to support UAV operations.
3. Promote technology research and development for shared airspace use by manned, unmanned and urban air platforms.
4. Monitor industry and regulatory activities that may impact avionics use in the UAV/UAM markets.

March 2019