Just reading an article in Aircraft Owner & Pilot.....talking about Project Eva and a collaboration between AOPA, NATS, Funke Avionics and Trig Avionics and there development of a similar unit to the PAW.....Just a little concerned that if this goes ahead and with FLARM there are too many units starting to appear and no uniformity. This will further fragment the cohesive nature of what we are trying to achieve....Different aircraft will be surely transmitting with different protocols and probably frequencies making it all very messy....
There is a common format to broadcast this information, which as ADS-B, that is the worldwide standard. However it requires some expensive gear to be able to handle it in a compatible way with all the other infrastructure. Project Eva (
Electronic
Visibility via
ADS-B) is based around ADS-B, and how to make that more accessible with more affordable equipment.
As fas as I know there is only one other 'broadcast' protocol for local traffic awareness, which is FLARM, and that is encrypted. What PAW via the P3i protocol archives is the ability to have a free and open protocol for local traffic awareness. The PAW box implements this protocol, others may also decide to support P3i as being an open protocol anyone can join in. It is this openness that should encourage adoption for the benefit of all, at a more affordable price point than the closed FLARM system.
Anything where a fair chunk of development is out in the open will have hurdles to overcome. What is really good is that with the testing to date issues are being identified quickly, looked into, and Lee and his team are not afraid to take a step back and re-think such a key element. Congratulations to them for doing that, all too often people will push on and just make things worse for all in the longer term.