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---
title: "Real-Time Pilot Data Synchronization for Research Platforms"
categories: [Open Source, Research Infrastructure, Simulation, iMotions]
author: Vamsi Bramhadevi
date: 2025-12-07
---

## Overview

The **Pilot Data Synchronization** project is an open-source research infrastructure initiative designed to enable real-time data transfer from flight simulation environments into behavioral research platforms such as **iMotions**. This system bridges the gap between technical simulation data and applied human-subject research by allowing synchronized physiological and environmental measurements.

Originally developed to support aviation-focused behavioral studies, the platform has evolved into a modular, cross-platform telemetry relay suitable for a wide range of real-time human-in-the-loop research applications.


## The Problem

In many research environments, behavioral datasets and simulation-based telemetry operate in isolation. Researchers conducting experiments in simulated environments often lack:

- Reliable real-time data pipelines
- Cross-platform simulation compatibility
- Automated data validation and delivery
- Integration with commercial research platforms

This limits reproducibility, introduces manual data handling overhead, and significantly delays experimental analysis.



## The Solution

The **Pilot Data Synchronization system** solves this problem through an open, modular data pipeline composed of:

- **X-Plane Plugin** – extracts live simulation telemetry
- **Baton IPC Layer** – handles local inter-process communication
- **Relay Server (Rust)** – normalizes and transmits data streams
- **iMotions Platform** – consumes synchronized research events

The system currently supports continuous real-time transmission of:

- Altitude
- Airspeed
- Vertical Speed
- Heading

Data is streamed at millisecond resolution with verified stability across Mac and Windows environments.



## System Architecture

The data flow follows a layered safety and validation model:

1. **X-Plane Plugin** captures flight telemetry
2. **Baton IPC** transports structured payloads locally
3. **Rust Relay** performs normalization, safety checks, and transmission
4. **iMotions** receives validated research events

By isolating concurrency and memory safety inside the Rust relay, the system ensures high reliability even under sustained telemetry loads.



## Technical Achievements

This iteration achieved several critical milestones:

- Full real-time transmission of four synchronized flight metrics into iMotions
- Cross-platform build validation for Mac and Windows systems
- Rust-based network relay hardening with structured packet validation
- CI pipeline modernization with pinned toolchains and test automation
- Dynamic data visualization support for research validation

Most importantly, the system now enables **live experimental workflows** where researchers can observe simulation conditions and behavioral responses simultaneously.



## Research Impact

This integration directly enabled the completion of a long-running research workflow that had previously been blocked due to infrastructure limitations. By providing a stable, real-time data pipeline, researchers can now:

- Focus on behavioral analysis instead of data engineering
- Conduct reproducible, synchronized experiments
- Expand into multi-modal physiological and simulator-based studies

The system is now serving as active research infrastructure rather than a proof-of-concept prototype.



## Open Source and Community Value

The project emphasizes:

- Open modular architecture
- Strong documentation for onboarding
- Contributor-friendly issue tracking
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Research-driven product design

This makes the project suitable for future student teams, external open-source contributors, and interdisciplinary researchers.



## Future Direction

Planned next steps include:

- Dynamic IP handling for multi-host laboratory environments
- Automated device discovery
- Research-grade data loss detection
- Expanded real-time metrics pipeline
- Public API for additional simulation sources



## Conclusion

Pilot Data Synchronization demonstrates how open-source infrastructure can directly enable scientific research. By integrating flight simulation telemetry with behavioral research platforms, the project removes a significant technical barrier and creates new possibilities for human-simulation hybrid experiments.

This work highlights the value of sustainable, community-driven research software as a foundation for long-term experimental innovation.



## Project Links

- GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/oss-slu/PilotDataSynchronization




*This project is part of the Open Source with SLU initiative supporting sustainable research software and collaborative engineering education.*
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