Honeywell Aerospace - Advanced Air Mobility Project
Faculty Mentor Name
Krishna Sampigethaya, Jesse Chiu, Sivaraman Mani, Pankaj Rajpoot
Format Preference
Poster
Abstract
This Honeywell-sponsored research project, conducted through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Undergraduate Research Institute at the Prescott Campus, investigates secure embedded communication architectures to support emerging Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and next-generation aerospace platforms. As UAM vehicles increasingly rely on distributed, network-connected embedded systems for flight operations, maintenance, and ground interaction, resilient cybersecurity mechanisms are essential to ensure safety, trust, and system resilience.
The project utilizes a Linux-based embedded development board integrated with an SE050 secure element to implement hardware-rooted device provisioning, cryptographic key management, and certificate-based authentication. A custom iOS application is developed as a trusted mobile client, enabling secure, authenticated, and encrypted communication with the embedded system over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Low Energy. Mutual TLS and public key infrastructure are used to establish bidirectional trust between the mobile device and the embedded platform, ensuring that only authorized clients can access system services or transfer data.
In addition to system development, the project incorporates security analysis and penetration testing to evaluate vulnerabilities in provisioning workflows, wireless communication paths, and authentication mechanisms. The resulting prototype demonstrates a scalable security model applicable to UAM ground-to-vehicle interactions, such as operational data exchange, maintenance access, and configuration updates, while providing students with hands-on experience in applied aerospace cybersecurity research.
Honeywell Aerospace - Advanced Air Mobility Project
This Honeywell-sponsored research project, conducted through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Undergraduate Research Institute at the Prescott Campus, investigates secure embedded communication architectures to support emerging Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and next-generation aerospace platforms. As UAM vehicles increasingly rely on distributed, network-connected embedded systems for flight operations, maintenance, and ground interaction, resilient cybersecurity mechanisms are essential to ensure safety, trust, and system resilience.
The project utilizes a Linux-based embedded development board integrated with an SE050 secure element to implement hardware-rooted device provisioning, cryptographic key management, and certificate-based authentication. A custom iOS application is developed as a trusted mobile client, enabling secure, authenticated, and encrypted communication with the embedded system over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Low Energy. Mutual TLS and public key infrastructure are used to establish bidirectional trust between the mobile device and the embedded platform, ensuring that only authorized clients can access system services or transfer data.
In addition to system development, the project incorporates security analysis and penetration testing to evaluate vulnerabilities in provisioning workflows, wireless communication paths, and authentication mechanisms. The resulting prototype demonstrates a scalable security model applicable to UAM ground-to-vehicle interactions, such as operational data exchange, maintenance access, and configuration updates, while providing students with hands-on experience in applied aerospace cybersecurity research.