Aircraft Communications System with An Operational Digital Twin

A vehicle communications system for communicating with a vehicle, wherein the vehicle communications system comprising:

• a computer system;
• and
• an operational digital twin for the vehicle, wherein the operational digital twin runs on the computer system and models a vehicle computer system in the vehicle in which the operational digital twin has a vehicle interface configured to communicate with the vehicle computer system and a client interface configured to communicate with a client computer system in a location remote to the vehicle, wherein the operational digital twin stores remote information received from the vehicle computer system using the vehicle interface to form stored information;
• sends the stored information responsive to a request received from the client computer system using the client interface;
• retrieves the remote information responsive to request but absent from the stored information from the vehicle computer system using the vehicle interface to form retrieved information;
• and sends the retrieved information to the client computer system using the client interface, wherein the operational digital twin operates to provide network connectivity between the vehicle computer system in the vehicle and the client computer system with an increased a quality of service to the client computer system.

A method for facilitating communications between a client computer system and a vehicle computer system in a vehicle, the method comprising:

• establishing, by an operational digital twin running on a computer system, communications with the client computer system using a client interface in the operational digital twin and the vehicle computer system in the vehicle using a vehicle interface, wherein the operational digital twin includes a model of the vehicle computer system;
• storing, by the operational digital twin running on the computer system, remote information received from the vehicle computer system using the vehicle interface to form stored information;
• sending, by the operational digital twin running on the computer system, the stored information responsive to a request received from the client computer system using the client interface;
• retrieving, by the operational digital twin running on the computer system, remote information responsive to request but absent from the stored information from the vehicle computer system using the vehicle interface to form retrieved information;
• and
• sending, by the operational digital twin running on the computer system, the retrieved information to the client computer system using the client interface, wherein the operational digital twin operates to provide network connectivity between the vehicle computer system in the vehicle and the client computer system with an increased a quality of service to the client computer system.