The mammoth engines and precision parts garner most of the attention at the Safran exhibit in Hall 2 here at the Paris Air Show, but many exciting developments from the company aren’t as readily visible, for example the augmented reality and green taxi initiatives from its Electrical & Power division (Hall 2a Stand A228/A252.) The division covers all aspects of aircraft electrical systems, power generation, distribution and conversion, wiring, load management, systems integration and ventilation. While its products and services are incorporated in all Safran engines, they’re also offered independently to airframers, airlines, MROs and others. In fact, “Today, 90 percent of our sales are external sales,” said Alain Sauret, president of the division. The group is heavily involved in “the migration from hydraulic to electric power” on aircraft systems, he added, along with the “hybridization” of aircraft powerplants and electrical systems.
The division’s augmented reality solutions, which superimpose data and images over a real image, are already used in-house, and could soon deliver major benefits to its customers as well, Sauret said. In wiring harness assembly, for example, Safran uses augmented reality to help guide assemblers, ensuring quick and trouble-free harness construction, and eliminating 100 percent of wiring inversion errors. In the aftermarket, Safran has developed an augmented reality tool that can pinpoint the location of failures, defects and potential failures within installed wiring harnesses, reducing troubleshooting and repair time by up to 80 percent.
“We’re ready to use it,” Sauret said, adding that the company is in discussions with some airframers and airlines who are “very interested” in the product.
At the Safran stand, Jean-Roch Cossa, a technical and innovation specialist, displayed the system’s operation, enabling a maintenance technician using a tablet smart device or augmented reality goggles to find the exact location of the trouble spot within aircraft sidewalls. The system can be used on any harness system that has been mapped (which all the wiring harness systems on airliners beyond first generation B737s and A320s are). Safran could deliver the system for a customer’s use, and/or dispatch a troubleshooter with the system to a customer when a wiring issue occurs.
Safran’s “green taxi” EGTS electrical ground taxiing system, in development with Safran’s landing gear division and Honeywell, is another promising technology. It utilizes electric power to move aircraft on the ground at airports, saving fuel, engine wear and reducing noise and emissions. Sauret noted French president Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to the Safran display here at the show, was given a briefing on the green taxi project.