Success! Solar Impulse 2 completes trans-Pacific flight

Solar-powered plane lands in Santa Clara county after nonstop, 62-hour trip

Solar Impulse flies over Golden Gate Bridge
Source: Solar Impulse

Imagine you are piloting a plane the size of a 747. But unlike a 747, this plane has an unheated, unpressurized cockpit in which temperatures fall as low as -40°. Moreover, you have to fly for over 60 hours straight, without ever getting up to stretch. And as for sleep, don’t count on getting much. You can take naps, but only about 6 a day, each lasting 20 minutes.

Sound like your kind of challenge? If so, you should sign up to join the Solar Impulse team. Because that’s exactly the kind of endurance needed to pilot Solar Impulse 2, the solar-powered plane that has just completed the latest leg of its historic round-the-world flight.

Last Thursday, Solar Impulse 2 took off from Kalaeloa, Hawaii, with pilot Bertrand Piccard at the helm. (This is the same Piccard who, in 1999, became the first person to complete a non-stop balloon circumnavigation of the earth.) Sixty-two hours later, the plane touched down on Moffett airfield, in Santa Clara county. From there, it will fly to several points across the U.S. before it takes off from New York for a non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Solar Impulse 2 has four propellers, but doesn’t sip an ounce of fuel. Instead, it relies solely on the power of the sun. As such, it is a testament to modern technology. But as I’ve already hinted, it is also a testament to the depths of human endurance and stick-with-it-ness. If you were impressed that anyone could pilot a plane for over 60 hours straight, consider the plane’s nonstop solo flight from Japan to Hawaii, which took 120 hours from start to finish!

QNX Software Systems is proud to be the official realtime OS partner for the Solar Impulse team. The plane uses the QNX Neutrino OS for several control and data communication functions.

Read my previous posts on this groundbreaking project and check out the Solar Impulse website.

Solar Impulse returns to the skies

Crew of QNX-equipped solar plane set to resume historic flight

Solar Impulse: powered only
by the sun  Source: Solar Impulse

In case you missed it, Solar Impulse, the solar-powered airplane that is flying around the world to promote green energy, has returned to the skies.

The Solar Impulse team suffered a temporary setback last summer, when the plane’s batteries overheated during a five-day flight between Japan and Hawaii. Battery problems notwithstanding, the 120-hour trip set a world record for longest non-stop solo flight.

The team has since upgraded the plane with a newer (and cooler) battery system and has successfully completed three test flights. If all goes as planned, the plane will take off from Hawaii in mid-April for a four-day journey to the continental United States. Once the plane completes its U.S. crossing, it will fly non-stop across the Atlantic.

The plane’s round-the-world trek began on March 9, 2015, when it took off from an airport in Abu Dhabi. It then completed several hops, totaling 18000 kilometers, before landing in Kalaeloa on June 28.

Solar Impulse may be powered by the sun, but it can fly at night, using energy stored in its lithium-ion batteries — all 17250 of them. The plane is massive, with the wing span of a Boeing 747, yet weighs no more than a family car.

Solar Impulse bootup screen. Screen-grab from video.

QNX Software Systems is the official realtime OS partner for the Solar Impulse team. The plane uses the QNX Neutrino OS for several control and data communication functions.

I’ve been tracking the progress of the Solar Impulse project since 2009. Read my previous posts, which include a look at the plane’s virtual cockpit. And remember to check out the Solar Impulse website.

They did it! Solar Impulse team makes non-stop flight from Japan to Hawaii

Solar-powered plane sets new endurance record while completing toughest leg of round-the-world journey.

Touching down in Kalaeloa

Source: Solar Impulse 

Now here's good news for a Friday afternoon: The Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered plane outfitted with QNX technology, has landed safely in Kalaeloa, Hawaii, after completing the longest leg of its round-the-world mission and setting a new endurance record for solo flight.

The plane lifted off from Nagoya on June 28 and touched down in Kalaeloa almost 120 hours later, using the sun as its only power source. And did I mention? The plane had only pilot, André Borschberg, who was at the helm for the entire 5-day flight. Yes, he was able to take naps while the plane was on autopilot — but only 6 a day, each lasting 20 minutes. Color me impressed.

The team’s round-the-world flight, which started on March 9 in Abu Dhabi, hit a snag when the plane reached Nagoya, where weeks of bad weather threatened to cancel the project. But, finally, a five-day window of clear weather opened and the team was able to resume its historic journey, which is dedicated to the promotion of green energy.

The team’s other pilot, Bertrand Piccard, will fly the next leg, from Honolulu to Phoenix, Arizona. Piccard’s name may ring a bell, but not because of any Star Trek connection: In 1999, he became the first person to complete a non-stop balloon circumnavigation of the earth.

QNX Software Systems is the official realtime OS partner for the Solar Impulse team, and the plane uses the QNX Neutrino OS for several control and data communication functions. Read my previous posts for more information on the Solar Impulse project.

Behind the controls of the Solar Impulse

Virtual cockpit lets you follow progress of round-the-world flight in real time.

What’s it like to get behind the controls of a solar-powered plane — a plane now in the process of circumnavigating the globe? You and I will never really know, but we can enjoy the next best thing: a virtual cockpit that provides a pilot’s eye view of the plane’s instrument panel.

Just point your browser to the Solar Impulse website whenever the plane is in the air, and you will see real-time updates to the plane’s flight instruments. For instance, in this screen capture, you can see the current position of the ailerons, airbrakes, elevators, and rudder, along with the airspeed (in knots), vertical speed (rate of climb or descent), heading, and altitude:



And in the following screen capture, you can see much of the same information, presented in a different fashion, along with the attitude indicator, which shows whether the wings are level and whether the nose is pointing above or below the horizon:



I've covered only a subset of the real-time information displayed on the Solar Impulse website. For example, you can also view a map of the plane’s progress, a video feed of the mission-control center, and the current power mode of the plane’s electrical system:



QNX Software Systems is the official realtime OS partner for the Solar Impulse team, and the plane uses the QNX Neutrino OS for several control and data communication functions.

Flying in the dark on solar energy

Crew of QNX-equipped Solar Impulse plane gears up for historic flight.

The Solar Impulse 2, aka SI2
Source: Solar Impulse

The countdown has begun. On Monday, March 9, the Solar Impulse 2, a one-of-a-kind airplane that runs exclusively on solar power, will take off from an airport in Abu Dhabi. The destination? Abu Dhabi!

That’s right, this is a round trip — but not just any round trip. It is, in fact, the first attempt to fly around the world using only the power of the sun. On board will be André Borschberg, the former jet pilot who, together with Bertrand Piccard, cofounded the Solar Impulse project 12 years ago. (Piccard’s name may ring a bell — as well it should. In 1999, he became the first person to complete a non-stop balloon circumnavigation of the earth.)

The Solar Impulse can fly at night, using energy stored in its lithium-ion batteries. But it’s no fly-by-night operation. Borschberg and Piccard have spent the last 12 years on this project and have set 8 world records in the process, including longest uninterrupted flight (26 hours, 10 minutes) and highest altitude (9235 meters) for a solar-powered plane. That’s pretty impressive, but then, everything about this plane is remarkable, from the wingspan (72 meters) to the number of voltaic cells (17250) that power its electric motors.

Solar Impulse bootup screen. Screen-grab from video.

The human element is equally impressive. To cross the Pacific or Atlantic ocean, the plane, which has a cruise speed of 90  km/h, will need to stay airborne for about 5 days, nonstop. And that means the pilot also needs to stay airborne for 5 days, in an unheated, unpressurized cabin with temperatures ranging from -40°C to +40°C. Yes, the pilot is allowed to take naps, but only 6 a day, each lasting 20 minutes. Not surprisingly, both pilots (Borschberg and Piccard will each take turns flying the plane), have learned self-hypnosis and meditation techniques to help them enter and exit deep sleep as quickly as possible. The plane can accommodate only one pilot at a time, and the team plans a total of five stops to allow changes of pilots.

As mentioned in previous posts, QNX Software Systems is the official realtime OS partner for the Solar Impulse team, and the plane uses the QNX Neutrino OS for several control and data communication functions. So, as you can imagine, come next Monday, my browser will be tuned to the Solar Impulse website. I hope yours will, too.

Until then, here's a “making of” video of the Solar Impulse 2. Enjoy.

Solar Impulse plane completes final leg of cross-America trek

It has the wingspan of a Boeing 777, but weighs only as much as a family car. It has four propellers, but doesn’t sip an ounce of fuel. It's called the Solar Impulse, and it is the first plane designed to fly round the clock using only solar power.

In early May, the Solar Impulse took off from Mountain View, California on the first leg of its journey across America. Last night, it completed the trek, landing at New York's JFK Airport. In between, the plane made stopovers at Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis, and Washington DC, allowing the Solar Impulse team to meet the public, show off the plane, and promote their vision of renewal energy. (In New York next weekend? If so, you're in luck: you can see the plane in person at JFK.)

Along the way, the plane set a new distance record for solar-powered flight: 1541 kilometers. The previous record was 1116 kilometers, set by — you guessed it — the Solar Impulse team.

QNX Software Systems is the official realtime OS partner for the Solar Impulse project, which uses QNX technology for several of the plane's control and data management functions. For more on the project and the people behind it, see the Solar Impulse website.

But before you go, check out this video, which starts off with some inspiring clips of the Solar Impulse in flight — followed by a cameo appearance by Larry Page wearing Google Glass.

Taking a long, hard look at the ozone hole

For more than 20 years, a Harvard research team has been taking QNX technology to stratospheric heights

The NASA ER-2 high-altitude
aircraft

Hey, do you remember when everyone was in a knot over the ozone hole? You know, the one over Antarctica? The one the size of Antarctica? Based on all the press it has received lately (read: not much), it is yesterday's problem. I, for one, haven’t worried about it — or even thought about it — for a good 10 years.

But here’s the thing. The ozone hole didn’t go away. And it’s not going away soon. Yes, evidence suggests that the hole will heal, but the process promises to take decades — by 2050, if we’re lucky. (Strictly speaking, the hole heals every Austral Spring, but only temporarily; it always returns the next Austral Winter. And it isn’t exactly a hole, since the ozone doesn’t disappear completely from the upper stratosphere. It does disappear from the lower stratosphere, however.)

Did I mention only one hole? Sorry to mislead you. There are, in fact, substantial ozone losses over the Arctic as well, with the loss during the winter of 2011 achieving ozone hole status.

Ozone depletion is serious stuff. It may contribute to an enormous list of problems, from crop failures to eye cataracts to skin cancer. So it’s important to do the hard science and measure its progress, along with any factors that can affect it. Otherwise, how do you argue for a cogent policy on controlling substances and industrial practices to prevent ozone depletion? And do you know whether the policies and practices you put in place are doing any good?

Problem is, measuring and analyzing ozone depletion is a long-term project that takes patience and commitment. Fortunately, the Anderson Research Group from Harvard University seems to have those qualities in spades.

Making the upgrade
The group has been operating continuously since 1979. (For context, that was the year that Philips demonstrated the first Compact Disc. Remember those?) For the first few years, the group used a balloon to carry their instruments high into the atmosphere, but with the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in the mid-80s, they graduated to a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft, which flies as high as 21 kilometers. (If the ER-2, depicted above, looks to you like a modded U-2, you’re right.)

The team’s first QNX-based instrument,
which measured OH in the lower
stratosphere, was deployed in an ER-2.

Lots of things have changed since 1979, but for the past two decades, one thing hasn’t: the group’s use of QNX technology. It all started in 1990, when the group decided to replace their homegrown OS kernel with the QNX RTOS v2. They then upgraded to the QNX RTOS v4 in 1992, which is also when they deployed their first QNX-based system, an instrument that measured OH (hydroxyl radical) in the lower stratosphere. More recently, they migrated to the latest generation of the QNX technology, the QNX Neutrino RTOS, aka v6.

Alphanumeric soup
To measure phenomena in the stratosphere, the team created a data acquisition architecture that takes advantage of core QNX strengths, including multitasking, message passing, realtime performance, and transparent distributed networking. Flexibility is a key characteristic of this architecture, since it must support a variety of instruments that measure an alphanumeric soup of airborne radicals and reactive intermediates. These include BrO, ClO, ClONO2, ClOOCl, NO2, OH, HO2, O3, CH4, N2O, CO, and CO2, as well as water vapor, water isotopes, and total water. (Why measure water? Because its presence in the stratosphere can contribute to ozone depletion. And because the increased frequency of heavy storms, such as Hurricane Sandy, may inject more water into the stratosphere.)

Here is the full configuration of the data acquisition architecture, which includes control and acquisition programs running on a flight computer as well as display and interactive commands running on a ground support computer:



According to Norton Allen, a software engineer for the Anderson group, “From the start, we needed an OS platform that would scale with our growing requirements, and that would satisfy our demands for high reliability — sending a plane into the lower stratosphere is a costly proposition, so there’s no room for software failures. At the same time, we needed a standards-based platform that would let us write portable applications. The QNX OS has been able to deliver on all counts."

“We needed an OS platform that would scale
with our growing requirements, and that would
satisfy our demands for high reliability.”
Global scale
I’ve barely touched on the many research activities of the Anderson Research Group. To quote their website, the group “addresses global scale issues at the intersection of climate and energy using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches drawn from the disciplines of chemistry, physics and applied mathematics.”

So if you’ve got a minute, visit the site. Who knows, you may learn something — I did.

What has the QNX auto team been up to?

Well, let's see...

• Nancy discovers that, when it comes to demos, three minutes isn't enough
   
• Paul discovers that most drivers think too highly of themselves
   
• Linda thinks the connected car means business
   
• Andy would rather fill his tank with switchgrass than corn
   
• Paul discovers that Firebirds once drove themselves
   
• Andy talks to his car and discovers New York's water towers
   
• Nancy dares you to prove your mastery of automotive trivia
   
• Marc makes his apps lean and mean
   
• Paul thinks the self-driving car ain't what it used to be
   
• And Andy asks why cars don't just disable phones
   

Green shift: QNX sponsors EcoCar 2 competition

This just in: QNX has officially announced that it is a bronze sponsor of the "EcoCar 2: Plugging in to the Future" competition. Established by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy, the competition challenges universities across North America to reduce the environmental impact of a Chevrolet Malibu without compromising performance, safety, or consumer acceptability.

QNX Software Systems will provide teams with access to the QNX CAR 2 application platform, which serves as the foundation for the infotainment systems and digital instrument clusters being developed for the vehicle. This is the same QNX CAR platform featured in the QNX reference vehicle.

For more information on the competition and on QNX's involvement, check out this post on the QNX auto blog.
 

How do you feel about growing food for your gas tank?

The first time I heard about corn-based ethanol, I was gobsmacked. Growing food so you can feed your SUV? It sounded wrong to me, and still does. Maybe I'm being super naïve, but shouldn't we solve the problem of feeding the world's hungry before pumping corn into V8s?

If that's not enough, the practice has contributed to a significant increase in food prices — a problem that hurts the poor (read: hungry) far more than it does the rich or financially comfortable.

Of course, there are arguments for using corn-based ethanol, but they aren't water-tight. In fact, some argue that using corn-based ethanol may increase, rather than decrease, the carbon footprint of your gas tank.

But let me stop right there. My friend Andy Gryc tackles this topic in further detail on the QNX auto blog. Hop over there and check out what he has to say.
 

How to make a Mercedes disappear

I was Googling the new Canon 5D Mark III SLR when I stumbled across this über-cool use of its predecessor, the 5D Mark II. The video, which Mercedes created to promote a new hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, needs little by way of explanation. So without further ado, let's roll the tape:


 

CNN airs video of Solar Impulse solar-powered plane

It has the wingspan of a Boeing 777, but weighs only as much as a family car. It has four propellers, but doesn’t consume an ounce of fuel. It's called the Solar Impulse, and it's the first plane designed to fly round the clock using only solar power.

I've already posted several articles on the Solar Impulse, which uses the QNX OS for a variety of control and data management functions. But this CNN video has some particularly nice shots of the plane. Enjoy!


 

Green cars need to learn the fast-boot boogie

It's funny how things happen in three's... or at least two's.

Earlier this morning, I came across photos of the ESB Sundancer, a concept electric vehicle showcased at the first Symposium on Low Pollution Power Systems Development, in 1973. The symposium aimed to promote greener vehicles, especially those that didn't rely on gasoline or diesel oil. Unfortunately, gas was dirt cheap, so the Sundancer and other vehicles shown at the event never gained traction.

A few minutes later, I visited the QNX auto blog, only to discover that my colleague Nancy Young had just posted an article on — wait for it — the need for green in automotive. Holy Synchronicity, Batman!

But here's the thing: Nancy doesn't talk about battery technology, or fuel efficiency, or any of the other topics you expect to find in a "green automotive" article. Instead, she discusses why infotainment systems need to boot quickly.

What's the connection? Well, I'm not going to spoil the ending for you. Read the post and find out.
 

Tridium greens up with QNX

The folks at Boeing's largest manufacturing facility (over 1 million square feet) faced a challenge. On the one hand, they wanted to reduce the high energy costs of lighting such a huge area. But at the same time, they needed a solution that would maintain a safe working environment and provide flexible, easy-to-configure lighting zones.

To address this challenge, Boeing turned to Tridium, a global supplier of energy management and device-to-enterprise integration systems. Tridium's solution not only slashed power consumption — up to 30% during peak periods and up to 50% on weekends — but also provided real-time alarming and allowed operators to program the system remotely, from any web browser.

Boeing is one of many customers to benefit from Tridium's solutions, and for more than a decade, many of those solutions have run on the QNX OS. Case in point: The Tridium Niagara Framework, a software platform used in factories, schools, universities, and office buildings to control a host of applications, including energy management, building automation, security, lighting control, and convergence retailing. More than 250,000 instances of the Niagara Framework operate in 50 countries.

So why I mentioning all this? Because QNX and Tridium announced today that Tridium has optimized the latest version of its Niagara Framework, NiagaraAX 3.6, for the QNX Neutrino RTOS.

For details, read the press release. But in the meantime, check out this video, which describes what happens when you integrate various systems — HVAC, lighting, elevators, and so on — with the QNX-powered Niagara framework:


 

Keeping it green with Kieback&Peter

Quick: What do the Reichstag in Berlin, the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg have in common?

Give up? They all use the QNX OS. More specifically, they use QNX-based building management systems from Kieback&Peter.

For Kieback & Peter, downtime isn’t an option. They need to deliver systems that run 24/7, with no excuses. That requirement, among other things, spurred them to choose the QNX OS back in the early 1990s. Twenty years on, their enthusiam for QNX remains undiminished.

I've had only one opportunity to speak with Hans Symanczik, who heads up sales and marketing at Kieback&Peter, and it was a blast. He's a super-positive, enthusiastic guy, and he made the QNX video team feel at home the minute they arrived on his doorstep. So without further ado, let's roll the tape:


 

Solar Impulse aircraft completes first international flight

A few days ago, I told you that the Solar Impulse, a solar-powered airplane that takes advantage of the QNX Neutrino RTOS, was ready to take its first international flight. Well, the Solar Impulse team must be breaking out the champagne, because the flight was a success.

Check out this short clip from AFP:


 

Solar Impulse plane poised to take first European flight

It has the wingspan of a Boeing 777, but weighs only as much as a family car. It has four propellers, but doesn’t consume an ounce of fuel. It is, to say the least, unique in the aviation world. And if you’re in Paris this June, you’ll have the unique opportunity to see it take to the skies.

I’m talking about the Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the first plane designed to fly round the clock using solar power. Equipped with four electric motors powered by 12000 solar cells, the HB-SIA has already made several flights, but always within Swiss borders. That’s about to change.

Recently, the HB-SIA received clearance to make its first European flight. The first stop is Brussels, where the plane will be on display from May 23 to 29. From there, the HB-SIA will fly to Paris, where it will make a guest appearance at the International Paris Air Show, from June 20 to 26. Weather permitting, the HB-SIA will fly over the air show every morning, allowing visitors to see a plane powered only by the sun.

As mentioned in previous posts (see here and here), QNX is the realtime operating system provider for the Solar Impulse project. I hope to provide more details in coming posts.

Here's an Associated Press video documenting the completion of the HB-SIA's first 24-hour flight (you may have to wait out a 10-second commercial):



By the way, the Solar Impulse team doesn't have suffer from any delusions that solar-powered planes will someday replace conventional aircraft. Their main goal is promote greater use of renewable energy. To quote Bertrand Piccard, the plane's creator, "Solar Impulse is being developed primarily to change the energy consumption philosophy. We want [everyone] to understand that the renewable energy sources can be used quite effectively."
 

Embedded World video: iControl's home management platform

In February I introduced you to iControl's broadband home management platform, which uses an ARM-powered, QNX-controlled touchscreen to access thermostats, security cameras, healthcare services, news apps, and a variety of other services.

Well, here's a brand new video of the iControl system, taken at the recent embedded world conference. This time round, you get to see some nice closeups of the touchscreen interface:


 

Enabling the digital home: iControl's broadband management platform

I can't believe I missed this one. Recently, I've been profiling some of the cool QNX-based devices that wowed the crowds at this year's CES conference. These devices included the BlackBerry PlayBook, the BMW ConnectedDrive system, and the Audi 3G MMI system.

There was one system I missed, however: iControl's broadband home management platform, which uses an ARM-powered, QNX-controlled touchscreen to deliver home security, energy management, and home healthcare. The device offers multiple connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and ZigBee — the latter allows the system to integrate with thermostats, smart bulbs, light switches, motion detectors, and other devices.

Okay, enough from me. Let's listen to Jason Domangue from iControl as he provides a guided tour of the system:



News Flash: I just found out that the iControl system will be featured in the QNX booth at Embedded World.

 

QNX posts source code for smart energy demo

This just in: QNX has published the source code to its Flash-based smart energy demo.

The download provides source code for the demo's Flash application and device drivers. It also includes a workshop presentation that walks you through the process of building, editing, and running the demo software.

To download the source code and workshop presentation, click here. Note that you'll have to set up a "MyQNX" account, if you haven't already.

If you aren't familiar with QNX's smart energy reference, it provides out-of-the-box support for Zigbee sensors, Insteon home area networks (HANs), streaming IP video cameras for security monitoring, an application for calculating costs of energy consumption, and Internet connectivity for retrieving weather information and performing remote control and diagnostics. Other features include zone temperature controls, individual and zone light controls, and appliance monitoring and control.

The reference also employs persistent publish/subscribe technology from QNX Software Systems, which provides an abstraction layer between the HMI (user interface) and the system’s control software. As a result, it becomes much easier to add, change, or upgrade sensors, thermostats, alarms, and control mechanisms, without having to change the HMI.

Speaking of the HMI, here's a screen capture of the main screen for the smart energy reference. But why stop at a still picture, when you can see a moving picture instead? Click here to see videos of the reference on three platforms: Atmel, Freescale, and TI.


Click to enlarge.