The adoption of Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality (AR/VR/MR) technologies across aerospace industries is accelerating at a rapid pace due to continued travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is making remote working and remote monitoring practices, a near default option.
Raman Vaidyanathan, CTO – Strategic Solutions, Engineering & IoT, Tech Mahindra, says several AR/VR use cases have emerged over the last few years for the aerospace industry with applications ranging from product design to Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO). There is also growing adoption of digital technologies within the aerospace industry, which is taking lessons from the automotive industry from automation. “We have seen that aerospace OEMs are working with the auto industry, with a view to understanding the practices that can get applied to the aero industry from a digital point of view towards improving efficiency and delivering better productivity, which is essential to their industry,” Vaidyanathan said.
Clear Vision
While the automotive industry is at the forefront of adopting new-age digital technologies for various use cases, the aerospace industry is now working with partners to cross leverage digital solutions that can be applied as relevant. Tech Mahindra, for example, has developed an AR/VR cabin configurator for aircraft maintenance and upgrade firms along with pitching this solution for customer services groups - who will deal with the upgrade of the aircraft. AR/VR technology is being used to develop solutions for airline customers that allow them to visualise aircraft cabins after upgrades to the interiors, seats, In-Flight Entertainment (IFE), cabin lights, etc, at 1:1 scale. This technology is already in use in widespread use in the automotive industry.
AR/VR technologies are also being used for the whole digital twin concept, which can be visualised through smart glasses. A digital twin is the digital model of a physical product, in which information taken from different sensors attached to the physical product captures the condition/performance of the product to create a digital avatar. The digital twin can be monitored in real-time, and embedded advanced analytics can predict the product’s future performance by extrapolating the historical data captured by the sensors.
Increasing Adoption
Tech Mahindra also provides Augmented Reality (AR) remote support solutions that significantly bring down issue resolution times and enable Subject Matter Experts (SME) to provide solutions remotely. Using an AR smart glass solution, the technician gets to see the step by step work instruction displayed within his/her field of view. Technicians can simply follow the instructions (text, drawings, audio, video etc.) via the smart glass in a hands-free way without the need to carry paper-based instructions.
The increasing adoption of such solutions has been driven by the growing maturity and readiness levels of AR/VR/MR hardware for industrial use in terms of battery life, noise cancellation features, usability etc. There remain challenges as different smart glasses function in different ways and users need to decide on the product best suited for them. These are primarily related to how commands are provided to smartglasses and the operating environment (indoors or outdoors). Depending on the type of smart glass, these inputs are provided either by touch or touchless inputs or via a handheld device. The inputs can include hand gestures (swiping), air tapping (making specific gestures which are recognised by the smart glass), iris tracking, voice commands and inputs directly to the device or to an external controller. Comfort levels are also of vital importance, especially in hot and humid conditions. Hence smart glasses need to be comfortable enough for usage eight hours a day across the entire work shift.
Remote Maintenance
An AR/VR environment very effectively simulates a physical aircraft or its components and therefore is increasingly being used not only for the training of maintenance engineers but also to provide them with technical support while performing tasks on the aircraft. This was in evidence last year when the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) trialled the use of Microsoft HoloLens Mixed Reality (MR) devices for aircraft maintenance in July 2020. Since aircraft operate under very stringent certification and safety regulations, important maintenance tasks often require OEM support. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Boeing’s Recovery And Modifications Services Team (RAMS), comprising of specialist technicians, could not travel to Australia to assist in certain tasks for the C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft (also operated by the Indian Air Force).
“The first project was to replace the floatation equipment deployment systems panels inside C-17s, which consist of explosive components that deploy life rafts in an emergency. This technology is a massive benefit to resourcing the workforce moving forward, with significant potential to empower and train less-experienced technicians,” RAAF Maintenance team supervisor Sergeant Thomas Lane said.
Using the Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality devices with Boeing-developed software, the Boeing team in the US could send technical drawings and documents, provide instant feedback and direct the overall task through a secure ‘cloud’ connection while the technical team in Australia could share their screens allowing the Boeing support team to see exactly what they see inside the aircraft through iris tracking. This mode of training reduces not only travel and its associated costs but also training time.