By collecting and exploiting in-service data from the asset, enhanced predictions can be made regarding its condition to increase its operational value. They are developing new products faster, improving production line quality while reducing the time and cost to build aircraft, and reducing the time required to maintain aircraft..

Now that we have refreshed the concepts of digital twins and digital threads, heres how they are being used by OEMs and MROs. Nothing is changing the MRO industry and is driving the development of new solutions more than digitalization, he said. If more data were available, a high-fidelity twin could be populated and that further improvements in aircraft structure life-optimisation would be possible.

Most importantly, the comprehensive digital twin evolves over the full product lifecycle so that it can be used to simulate, predict and optimize the product or production system., Meanwhile, the digital thread is the interconnection between all the different representations and models, linking all of the digital twins capabilities and providing digitalization and traceability throughout the products lifespan, Tutt explained. An automated system based on AI and enhanced by the interconnectivity of IoT can always find the appropriate materials and do it quicker than a manual approach.

They are its Search & Find capability and its Order & Material Traceability. These individual models can feed information from connected sensors in real time and AI analysis can be applied to make real time predictions about the product life cycle, predictive maintenance etc. These technologies also create new datastreams and metadata, which can be further leveraged in future to build advanced AI solutions forming a close loop cycle, he said. Such flexibility is critical to the aviation industry where thousands of small parts require tracking. We are already seeing scenarios like this happen with the technologies we have available today, and this will continue to improve as we incorporate newer technologies into airplane maintenance applications for airlines.. The blurring of boundaries between the digital world and physical products is leading what has become known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0.

We will be happy to schedule a demo so you can discover how Simon AI can help you tame your production process.

? SP's AirBuz, a first ever magazine exclusively on civil aviation from India. Its ecosystem is created using ultra high-fidelity simulation software which comprises the sensor and measurement technologies, simulation and physics-based modelling, industrial Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. which means it works uniformly and efficiently over multiple platforms. Using IoT location and sensor data, engineers can subject the digital twin aircraft to the same weather conditions and environments that they anticipate the model will experience in the real world. Learn how smart hospital solutions are delivering greater efficiencies, better clinical outcomes, and higher patient satisfaction to all sizes of hospitals & healthcare facilities. In the commercial aircraft sector, our data analytics team uses digital twin and model-based engineering tools in working with airline customers to address issues, for example, the air-conditioning system, said Darren Macer, Predictive Maintenance and Health Management technical fellow with Boeing Global Services. The digital twin of digital twins concept will take time to evolve, vendors will start to compete not just on who has the best products, but who also has the most competent digital twins of those products. Using a digital twin, engineers can accurately determine the life of structural components and this information can then be used to improve performance, generate savings or increase operational flexibility. When it comes to documentation and reporting Simon provides a complete overview of the raw materials, labor, and other overhead costs of products during the various production stages. According to Dale Tutt, vice president of Aerospace and Defense with Siemens Digital Industries Software, the digital twin is the precise virtual representation of a physical product or process. How IoT addresses current manufacturing challenges?Download our guide to find out. Maintaining quality and determining where a flaw occurred requires the ability to trace orders and material all the way from the original source to delivery of the final product. Lets start with Boeing: As we continue to develop and enhance our analytics capabilities, we anticipate integrated products that support airline operators, said Darren Macer. Simon alerts managers whenever an asset moves out of its permitted location. RTLS gives a digital representation of how a company's assets move within its four walls. Simon's order and material traceability functions help businesses manage all three business-critical tasks by placing a priority on analyzing, evaluating and improving the aviation business's manufacturing process.

By using digital twinning, GE Aviation has been able to improve the overall efficiency of engine monitoring by double digit percentage improvements in coverage, lead time and false positives, said Deshmukh. One example of nonproductive time is the staff hours spent coordinating and searching for assets using a manual system that depends solely upon human intervention. The order and material traceability functions help uncover the traffic jams that threaten each production phase. Component manufacturers, for example, are primarily focused on individual components, while engine OEMs are focussed on the engine as an entire asset. HyDiag- Automated flight control actuator diagnostics procedure, Modelling real-life systems and processes using digital twins is becoming increasingly common, Boeing and IGRUA Explore Collaboration Opportunities to Enhance Early Career Flight Training in Indiat, Rolls-Royce Explores Opportunities for its Trent engines for widebody aircraft at Wings India 2022, IOC Signed Between HAL and PHL for Helicopter Purchase/Lease. Simulations are run that predict the performance of various aircraft components over the lifecycle. These abilities are made possible by Bluetooth RTLS devices that can see those signals. Before the next generation of aircraft technology after 2030, no major other cost savings potentials are to be expected., We are in the midst of a very exciting transformation, as we partner with companies that are obtaining significant reductions in manufacturing time by 50 percent through digitalization, and seeing similar results with maintenance operations, concluded Siemens Dale Tutt. Given the clear economic, operational and safety advantages offered by this approach, it wont be surprising if digital twinning/threading has become an integral aerospace industry practice by that point in time, like Lean Management and Just-in-Time Delivery did in previous years. AI pilots can get thousands of hours of flight time on a digital simulation in a fraction of that time and learn in days than what it takes, a human pilot, months to experience. A Digital Twin will continuously learn and update itself using data from sensors that monitor various aspects of the real-life products environment and operating conditions. For system efficiency experts, the good news is that digital twins do not just refer to virtual airplane models. In the final analysis, digital twin technology can help improve a business's return on net assets. Data is critical for creating an effective digital twin. Overall, GE Aviation is using these technologies to invest in improving the accuracy of our Off-Wing/In-Shop analytics, said Deshmukh. Rolls-Royce pioneers cutting-edge technologies that deliver clean, safe and competitive solutions to meet our planets vital power needs. Digital twin technology has been implemented for some time now across organisations. We pioneer cutting-edge technologies that deliver the cleanest, safest and most competitive solutions to our planets vital power needs. This model can go through a range of simulated environments that the asset is likely to encounter. These abilities are made possible by Bluetooth RTLS devices that can see those signals. Todays aviation maintenance software solutions make aircraft maintenance management easy with digital twin software integration.

The flow of information from raw data to high-level understanding is propelled by data fusion techniques sensor-to-sensor, sensor-to-model, and model-to-model fusion which are implemented, and will function, at different levels.

The RFID tags share information through wireless transmissions throughout the manufacturing facility.

The failure to do so can result in fatal consequences for their consumers and spell financial disaster for the company. This process also leads to a 50 percent reduction in assembly hours on manufacturing lines with a 90 percent reduction in change orders and quality issues and a 25 percent reduction in scheduled maintenance hours through optimization of maintenance processes. Notably, our cloud platform is "technology-agnostic" which means it works uniformly and efficiently over multiple platforms. Simon's analytics and report graphics improve the business's understanding of how its assets occupy available space as well as the ebb and flow of inventory.Simon speeds up issue reporting and slashes manager reaction time to potential problems. . In addition, Simon automatically reports the production history of each work order which provides management with the documents it needs to prepare for audits. This also allows us to enact preventative engine maintenance, which can greatly reduce aircraft downtime and, in turn, enhance reliability.

The team has created and currently maintains operational digital twins of components to track each individual components unique characteristics and detect degradation rates., Boeing has the capability to create digital twins whenever new physical components are installed.

Two years after publishing Twinning, ATR contacted aerospace companies who are using digital twins/threads to update us on their progress. Here are some of their predictions, again on a company-by-company basis. Digital twin technology also has been used to train AI to fly autonomous aircraft. At GE Aviation, Dinakar Deshmukh foresees a number of exciting applications for digital twinning/threading. The system can show how much of their day employees spend actively working at their posts and how much is passive downtime.

(It can be found online at www.aerospacetechreview.com.) Since the production history of every product is open to visual inspection, Simon makes it easy to respond to questions from a client about a product's work order status. Meanwhile, Boeing is using digital twinning to predict and find possible fatigue maintenance hot spots in the F15 Eagle.

Quality and safety are critical elements in the aviation industry. As well, Boeing built the new F-15EX on a digital thread to maintain low operational and maintenance costs: By analyzing identical processes and infrastructure as other F-15 variants (supply chain and maintenance procedures), weve developed a digital twin to predict depot maintenance and aircraft fatigue..

In sum, the use of IoT in asset location raises staff productivity levels, which results in improved staff morale and increases the number of units processed by the factory in any given period of time. Unscheduled engine removal (UER) and in-flight shutdown (IFSD) of engines are one of the drivers of delays and cancellations, Deshmukh told ATR. This approach should ensure that aircraft are available more often, while unpredicted maintenance events and their consequences are reduced. A high-fidelity twin adds detailed knowledge about the initial condition of the asset, such as detailed component geometry, mechanical assemblies and system calibration details, and updates these during the assets life from the collected data. Learn how smart hospital solutions are delivering greater efficiencies, Indoor Wayfinding 101 - Why Campuses Everywhere are Offering Digital Guidance. If the parameters drop below the set conditions, the system notifies managers. This intelligence is then used by GE Aviation to maximize the performance and reliability of an asset in-service, optimize asset/component in-service life and maintenance, and forecast/balance shop visits for overhauls while optimizing repair/overall workscopes. Quality and safety are critical elements in the aviation industry. We will be happy to schedule a demo so you can discover how Simon AI can help you tame your production process. This is a key part of the Rolls-Royce Blue Data Thread strategy, a digital information thread connecting every Rolls-Royce powered aircraft, airline operation, maintenance shop, and factory..

The Bluetooth device passes the information it gathers to the cloud platform. Digital twinning bridges physical products with intelligent virtual replicas, the technology is being embraced across the industrial sector. This information helps eliminate inefficiencies and identify the assets causing congestion and obstruction in the product pipeline. Manufacturers can track pallets, parcels, forklifts and other moveable equipment. They then install on-board sensors and satellite connectivity on the physical engine to collect data, which is continuously relayed back to its Digital Twin in real time. Siemens has fully embraced the concepts of digital twinning/threading and made them integral to Siemens Digital Industries Softwares Xcelerator portfolio. Operators expect to maximize Time on Wing (TOW) and have predictable engine removals for service (to avoid UER). SITA Lab is currently working on a fully functional digital twin of a US East Coast airport. By using IoT sensors on a digital twin, a precise and yet safe cargo load can be determined thereby increasing cargo revenue per flight. Meanwhile, the digital AVIATAR Technical Logbook reduces manual efforts by up to 80 percent compared to a paper logbook and reduces the defect closing time by 50 percent on average, which improves turnaround time and maintenance efficiency..

At the same time, these companies are able to reduce physical test programs up to 25 percent by using virtual testing. A factory of the future using Industry 4.0 technology would be able to populate such a high-fidelity digital twin automatically during manufacture. By integrating the various applications airline engineers or crew use to complete their daily tasks, we can deliver efficiency and analyze local data to derive insights in real-time. What are digital twins ? The RFID tags share information through wireless transmissions throughout the manufacturing facility.

A digital twin approach, with appropriate sensors added to the aircraft, enables the load spectrum to be continually updated based on the actual loads the aircraft experiences and the resulting life prediction would be adjusted accordingly. What is the Best Technology for Asset Tracking. Before delving into this progress, it seems sensible to reintroduce the concepts of digital twins and threads, so that the updates that follow are in context. During the fatigue analysis, a load spectrum is assumed and when combined with the appropriate material data, the life of a component can be determined. All monitoring data and infrastructure management features are easily accessed anywhere from mobile devices using the web.

NASA has been using software replicas of its spacecraft for decades. We have a fundamental role in meeting the environmental and societal opportunities and challenges that the world faces. Beacons, Tags, Gateways, and Other Technologies Explained.

Another use case being explored for Boeing aircraft is using a digital twin to achieve a perfect cargo load balance. Get the latest industry news, thought leadership, Digital Twins in Aviation and 8 Ways They Can Transform Workflows. The ability to map complex, real-life scenarios on a virtual platform allows Rolls-Royce to improve and adjust operations as well as maintain our highly complex aero engines even more effectively. OEMs and MROs are ideally placed to harness the ROI and benefits of digital twin technology to optimise their service offerings and business performance. All monitoring data and infrastructure management features are easily accessed anywhere from mobile devices using the web. Managers have the advantage of reports showing workflows that are 100% transparent. Until recently, the focus had been on improving production efficiency and performance in engineering processes, from parts manufacturing to aircraft design. It is clear that digital twinning/threading is already providing substantial benefits to the aerospace industry, from component manufacturers and OEMs to operators and their MROs.

We can think of digital twins as a kind of simulation - a technologically advanced simulation. Digital twins enable us to exercise and understand the behavior of an asset in states/situations likely to be encountered in its lifecycle, said Dinakar Deshmukh, GE Aviations vice president of Data and Analytics. GE has already built digital twin components for its GE60 Engine family and has helped develop the worlds first digital twin for an aircrafts landing gear. In ABM, digital twins of key engine parts have been developed, and these individual twins are aggregated to predict, well in advance, the likelihood of engine removal., The power of the ABM approach speaks for itself. But according to the companies we spoke with, the future promises bigger and bolder advances. To keep on top of the monumental task, today's aviation manufacturers need an automated tracking system that concentrates on regulatory compliance. These 3D and mathematical models of all physical hardware allow us to evaluate airplane performance without ever touching the airplane, said Macer. This is an application of machine learning to the Radio Frequency Identified (RFID) asset tags used for inventory tracking.

For instance, the IDG (Integrated Drive Generator) Predictor avoids up to 30 percent of unscheduled removals for some airlines and could generate several hundred thousands of Euros saved each year for a fleet of 100 A320s, Isendahl said. By mapping the data on how an airline expects to fly a particular engine and combining it with the airlines specific data on expected part life and so forth, IFS can use this technology to provide companies with accurate predictive maintenance deadlines right down to individual part and serial numbers, said Elliott. It is the only game changer of this decade. Given current technology, the potential investment required for a low-fidelity approach, is minimal. For GE Aviation, the true power of digital twinning/threading lies in its ability to improve the management and maintenance of components, aircraft, and fleets, all with the common goal of increasing their reliability. Therefore, in the future almost every manufactured product could have its own digital twin as long as it somehow generates data which can be captured and analysed. The system can show how much of their day employees spend actively working at their posts and how much is passive downtime. How digital twins work in aviation?

If you would like to discuss digital twins, tracking, and location analytics further, please contact us. This feature is an example of how Simon's analytics based on the collection of real-time data yield valuable insights. This allows us to model potential operational scenarios entirely digitally. Aviation manufacturers have something in common with all other manufacturing entities: the need to boost capital in the most efficient way possible. Search and find application builds on IoT location and sensor data to provide management with insights in real-time.

Real-time data enables management to discover the seeds of production line obstacles that prevent the end product from arriving in a timely fashion. This mirror image allows a business to simulate the life cycle of a particular thing or organization or a workflow process for the purpose of predicting and solving potential problems.

Although achieving fullyfunctional digital twins will demand a premeditated and persistent effort to reap the rewards, it will be game-changing and can deliver incredible results. Data downloads effortlessly into comma-separated values (CSV) files or to external databases using APIs. This can include requirements, simulation models, analysis models, bills of materials, and any other data that is needed to define the product or process. We are one of the worlds leading industrial technology companies. The reverse is also true. This provides operators with the data they need to make smart decisions to maximise aircraft availability, while minimising engine maintenance costs and flight disruptions. All of Simon's system monitoring devices plug directly into the existing IT network. If data pertaining to the initial condition of the asset is available (system calibration details, component geometry, mechanical assemblies, etc.

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