Giving Aircrews Newer 'Paperless' Options

Whether it's referencing U.S. Air Force instructions or a flight manual, Air Force aircrews are required to have documents on hand when completing their mission.

The Air Mobility Battlelab, located in the USAF Expeditionary Center at Fort Dix, NJ has 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 USAF Major Dan Adler, the PAPeR initiative looks to provide a standard, convenient method for aircrews to view electronic documents different than the standard laptop computer currently used by the USAF.

"Our proposed solution to this is a portable aircrew publications reader that allows aircrews to access their publications anywhere, anytime," Adler said. "We believe 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," 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, Adler set out with seven main objectives for the e-readers. First and foremost was ensuring electro-magnetic interference, or EMI, compliance established in regulations. To do this, Adler sent the device to Concurrent Technologies, a Department of Defense-approved test facility, for an EMI test. The results show the device's EMI transmissions were well below specified limits.

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," Adler said. "A large percentage also said using the e-readers would make it easier them to do their jobs." Feedback also indicated some possible improvements that would help durability and readability, he added.

"PAPeR successfully demonstrated the ability to store and display electronic publications on a commercial-off-the-shelf device," 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."

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