UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS; Chalet 346) is highlighting here at the Paris Air Show its “smart aircraft” solutions, which company president Dave Gitlin calls “an ecosystem” of products and services, employed by OEMs, commercial and military operators worldwide. “We have dozens of smart solutions across our portfolio, and continue to evolve technologies through accelerated innovation,” Gitlin said. Examples include applications based on the company’s proprietary sensing technology, which “can capture data from thousands of inputs across the aircraft – removing some of those operational blind spots and replacing them with valuable information,” said Gitlin. “Our Advanced Aircraft Interface Device (AID) is able to take in all that data and, along with existing data, make it meaningful, much like how the brain processes information for the body.”
Added Ajay Agrawal, v-p, aftermarket, “Our team has developed very specific algorithms which apply to how our customer is flying the fleet,” enabling operators to reduce costs and improve fleet reliability.
Many of its solutions provide benefits throughout the airframe lifecycle, Gitlin said, citing the company’s SmartProbe Air Data System as an example. “We’ve integrated the operation of 16 different sensors into six, through which, along with the reduced number of required pneumatic pressure lines, operators are realizing a 50 percent system weight savings,” said Gitlin. “The simplified architecture also lowers OEM manufacturing costs, decreases power consumption, reduces lifecycle costs, and improves system reliability and operational readiness.”
Next generation airliners illustrate how OEMs are taking advantage of UTAS’s smart solutions, such as the Ground Maneuvering Camera System, and Proximity Sensing Data Concentrator, which monitors multiple surfaces throughout the aircraft, on the 777X. “The aircraft also leverages our probe technology, which not only helps to optimize engine performance, but also meets the new, stringent icing requirements set forth by the world’s aviation regulatory agencies,” Gitlin added. On the A320neo, UTAS’s Integrated Propulsion System accommodates the tighter wing and ground clearances needed for the larger, more fuel-efficient engines. UTAS also provides a simplified and more reliable thrust reverser actuation system for the aircraft, and more effective acoustic panels for an improved customer experience.
Meanwhile, legacy fleets are taking advantage of the company’s Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) and Prognosis Health Monitoring (PHS) solutions. Agrawal noted that in 2015, in the U.S. alone, non-weather-related delays and cancellations cost airlines more than €1.35 billion ($1.5 billion), a figure UTAS is helping to reduce on the widebody platforms (787, 777 and A380) on which it’s focused. “We’re analyzing on-wing data and correlating the data with the OEM engineering models,” said Agrawal. “This is our key differentiator. We make specific recommendations on when to remove equipment ahead of a failure. This has led to real and actionable results including reduced delays and cancellations—and cost savings.”
Last year UTAS customers realized a more than 30 percent decrease in potential delays and cancellations related to components and systems monitored by UTAS technology for the 787 fleet, and an approximate 20 percent decrease in unscheduled removals for various components on the 777 fleet, Agrawal said.
Looking ahead, the company’s R&D efforts will remain focused on “advancing the intelligent aircraft,” Gitlin said. Its 8,000-strong engineering team is complemented by more than 700 researchers at United Technologies Research Centers worldwide. Joining that network soon will be several hundred additional data scientists and digital experts housed in its new Digital Accelerator, in Brooklyn, New York. “These Internet of Things [IoT] experts, who are focused on data, analytics and user experience, will greatly amplify our speed to market with digital product and service solutions,” Gitlin said.