Initiative aims to give aircrews newer 'paperless' option

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) --  Whether it's referencing Air Force instructions or a flight manual, aircrews are required to have documents on hand when completing their mission. 

The Air Mobility Battlelab, located in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Fort Dix, developed an initiative to make document reference lighter and leaner in the future with the Paperless Aircrew Publications e-Reader, or PAPeR, initiative. 

Spearheaded by the battlelab's Maj. Dan Adler, project officer, the PAPeR initiative looks into providing a standard, convenient method for aircrews to view electronic documents different than the standard laptop computer currently used by the Air Force. 

"Our proposed solution to this is a portable aircrew publications reader that allows aircrews to access their publications anywhere, anytime," Major Adler said. "Through numerous personal interviews, we learned that having something more portable and lighter than a laptop could amplify mission success for aircrews. " 

Enter the iRex Iliad e-Reader, a "commercial-off-the-shelf" portable publications reader able to store data and read data from USB-compatible flash drives. This device was selected for use by the AMB for the demonstration on the initiative. 

"Aircrew personnel were given the e-readers for a multi-day period of time to use and evaluate the systems," Major Adler said. "The demonstration also included members using the e-readers in and out of aircraft during day and night operations." 

As part of the demonstration, Major Adler set out with seven main objectives for the e-readers. First and foremost was ensuring electro-magnetic interference, or EMI, compliance established in Air Force regulations. To do this, Major Adler sent the device to Concurrent Technologies Corporation, a Department of Defense-approved test facility, for an EMI test. 

"The results show the device's EMI transmissions were well below specified limits," Major Adler said. 

Other objectives focused on evaluating impact on emergency egress, suitability for approaches and departures and assessing night vision imaging system compatibility, data update procedures, network security measures and functionality and ease of use. 

"From our feedback, it was determined by a large percentage of those who used the e-reader that it was easy to use, read and control," Major Adler said. "A large percentage also said using the e-readers would make it easier them to do their jobs." 

The demonstration feedback also indicated some possible improvements that would help durability and readability, Major Adler said. However, overall, the demonstration proved the initiative as a success. 

"PAPeR successfully demonstrated the ability to store and display electronic publications on a commercial-off-the-shelf device," Major Adler said. "It showed that a small portable device, other than a laptop computer, could replace the majority of individual issue aircrew publications and Air Force instructions." 

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Lathrop, Air Mobility Battlelab commander, said in his recommendation for the device that it can help aircrews perform their mission with more ease and capability. 

"Aircrews look for every edge to improve their work environment and perform the mission better," Colonel Lathrop said. "Through further study and analysis, I believe a suitable device can be chosen for this effort." 

The Air Mobility Battlelab was established in 2001 to identify and demonstrate the utility of innovative concepts with potential to enhance Air Force capabilities. AMB will deactivate in September 2008 as part of an Air Force cost-savings initiative.

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