“How could the pilots shut off the transponders?” This is the question that is taking the whole world by surprise. How could a device that is so crucial to the safety of a flight carrying more than 200 people, be shut off at the touch of a button? It’s almost astonishing that a commercial airliner went missing from the skies in this age of internet, connectivity, and Internet of Things initiatives.
Switching the transponders off lead to the sudden and absolute disappearance of the flight from the face of the earth. Thankfully some military radars of the coast of Malaysia were able to pick up some activity due to which possible flight paths could be predicted. This incident leaves us with a very interesting thought. Are planes equipped with some sort of identification that cannot be switched off at will? And if not, why aren’t airliners incorporating this into their planes?
It’s been over two weeks and the Malaysian airlines flight that vanished en route Beijing is no where to be found. Its under these circumstances that we wonder if the application of the new technology “Internet of things” could have possibly prevented this plane from vanishing over the seas. Internet of things (IoT) is a new and emerging technology that provides a unique identifier to everyday things and connects them in a web called the Internet of Things.
The IoT is a concept so real and applicable in everyday life that one could possibly connect any “everyday item” to the internet and monitor it. Imagine making yourself a cup coffee on your way back home and have it waiting for you as you enter. Thats the power of IoT. Having to never worry about your dog running away again because he has a small chip on his collar thats monitoring his whereabouts. Internet of things again. Tracking intruders into your home and cars? You guessed it, internet of things!
If such small everyday items can be connected in the Internet of things, then why not something as big and important as airplanes? Suppose we provide a plane with a source of identification over the internet of things. Wouldn’t it be convenient for the loved ones of someone on the plane to know where exactly the plane is? By typing in the identification number we could possibly know where exactly the plane is. This form of Identification should not be allowed to be switched of by the pilot or anyone else and should basically be the inherent property of a plane. Wouldn’t that make air travel even safer than it already is?
The world should stop thinking of the Internet of Things as a novelty or an experimental game. This technology has immense potential and actual applications and it’s time we take it seriously. Maybe then in the future a plane wouldn’t have potential to suddenly go missing, leaving the rest of the world to wonder.
