Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COLOSSUS (Collaborative System of Systems Exploration of Aviation Products, Services and Business Models)
Reporting period: 2023-02-01 to 2024-07-31
COLOSSUS will develop a system-of-systems design methodology which for the first time will enable the combined optimization of aircraft, operations and business models. Resulting specific solutions for intermodal transport and wildfire-fighting as well as developed methods and tools will be openly published in order to foster exploitation for research and industry.OSSUS project, in addition to adding requirements tracking of the stakeholders and proposed solutions, and data visualization and decision making.
COLOSSUS employs a 4-level approach to identify needs, capabilities, and system requirements in the initial phases of the holistic product development process and to cover them appropriately throughout the development cycle. This holistic 4-level approach spans the Business Models, System of Systems, Constituent Systems and Subsystems while capturing the complex interactions and interdependencies between the levels to extend the usual design and product development processes.
Unlike established design-to-cost (DTC) or design-to-value (DTV) driven approaches, the emphasis is on a well-balanced system design which also considers, as far as possible, the interdependencies and dynamic interactions of the new system, product or service with the “outside world”. This approach goes beyond classic MDO or any other CAD/CAE/CAM tools or frameworks usually applied for product development within the industry – thus the need to enhance the capabilities of the AGILE framework to enable European aviation R&I to develop technologies and design concepts that are conducive to the top-level strategic goals of the EU.
The project employs this approach to design two disparate multi-role aircraft of Seaplane and eVTOL configurations for two use cases posing contrasting requirements: Advanced Air Mobility and Aerial Wildfire Fighting
COLOSSUS employs a 4-level approach to identify needs, capabilities, and system requirements in the initial phases of the holistic product development process and to cover them appropriately throughout the development cycle. This holistic 4-level approach spans the Business Models, System of Systems, Constituent Systems and Subsystems while capturing the complex interactions and interdependencies between the levels to extend the usual design and product development processes.
Unlike established design-to-cost (DTC) or design-to-value (DTV) driven approaches, the emphasis is on a well-balanced system design which also considers, as far as possible, the interdependencies and dynamic interactions of the new system, product or service with the “outside world”. This approach goes beyond classic MDO or any other CAD/CAE/CAM tools or frameworks usually applied for product development within the industry – thus the need to enhance the capabilities of the AGILE framework to enable European aviation R&I to develop technologies and design concepts that are conducive to the top-level strategic goals of the EU.
The project employs this approach to design two disparate multi-role aircraft of Seaplane and eVTOL configurations for two use cases posing contrasting requirements: Advanced Air Mobility and Aerial Wildfire Fighting
The work performed and main achievements of the project are provided on a WP basis, where the management and communication related WPs (1 and 6) are omitted in this section.
WP 2 deals with the Business Models, Scenarios & Assessments. The stakeholder definitions and their needs, and the scenarios and objectives were identified for both use cases and detailed in D2.1 and D2.2 respectively. The identification and assessment of technologies that are relevant to both the use cases were also performed and documented in D2.3. The Life Cycle Analysis and Life Cycle Costing models which will be used for assessment were formulated and described in D2.4. Lastly, the challenging problem of formulating an SoS approach to Business Models saw significant progress with the clear definition and initiation of a methodology which will ultimately enable creating tailored Business Models for the ADAM and EVE use cases. In addition, the concept of Value Functions were formulated which quantifies the effectiveness of a given System of Systems and as such is used for evaluation.
WP 3 aims at creating a Transformative Digital Collaborative Framework (TDCF) which supports the System of Systems (SoS) development. The requirements of the TDCF has been identified through systematic interviews with the project partners and compiled into D3.1. An outline of all the tools involved in the project and to be integrated within the TDCF are provided in D3.2. The final deliverable due within the first reporting period, relates to multilevel optimization strategies and algorithms, is in the writing phase and demonstrations of these capabilities in connection to WP 4 and WP 5 have been performed. Some key highlights from the TDCF include, requirements modelling in a digital environment (ARMADE), architecting of the system of systems using a specialized too (ADORE)l, enabling workflow execution with tools hosted across countries and organizations (RCE and CPACS), and accelerating workflow setup (MDAx).
WP 4 focuses on the integrated aircraft design tailored for System of Systems, and within the first reporting period 2 deliverables were due and completed. The first relates to the development of the tools and methodology for aircraft design compatible with the SoS approach, and the second provides a set of aircraft (both eVTOL and Seaplane) to be analyzed within WP 5 SoS Simulations. The set of aircraft spans two timelines (near and far term), using various technologies (ex: Fully-Electric, Hybrid-Electric powertrains) as well as a broad range of TLARs allowing WP 5 to explore the SoS design space. The work on the second phase of aircraft design with an increased fidelity level has also been initiated within this reporting period.
WP 5 is tasked with the Holistic System of Systems Engineering. Within the first reporting period, one deliverable (D5.1) and two milestones (M5.1 and M5.2) have been submitted. D5.1 provides a state-of-the-art report on the Holistic SoS Engineering. M5.1 suggested an initial approach to investigate ConOps, and M5.2 marked the first release of the agent-based simulation from WP5. Due to the importance of ConOps in the SoS, it was decided that this work should be further explored and is therefore ongoing in a multi-step process covering the key elements involved in the ConOps. Both of the Agent-Based Simulations from WP 5 have seen extensive development and exploitation, and are increasingly being integrated alongside the other tools from the project. The key highlights from this WP include the wildfire fighting ABS which can model any real-world environment, and wildfire scenario, including aircraft and the tactics employed to fight the fire. For this use case, optimization studies spanning aircraft TLARs, fleet size, tactic choise and more have been performed. The Sustaimable Intermodal Mobility use case (ADAM) agent-based simulation models the existing ground transport network and augments it with the aircraft solutions form the project. Combined with passenger choice modelling, and intermodal routing, it enables the identification of a business model suitable for all stakeholders.
WP 2 deals with the Business Models, Scenarios & Assessments. The stakeholder definitions and their needs, and the scenarios and objectives were identified for both use cases and detailed in D2.1 and D2.2 respectively. The identification and assessment of technologies that are relevant to both the use cases were also performed and documented in D2.3. The Life Cycle Analysis and Life Cycle Costing models which will be used for assessment were formulated and described in D2.4. Lastly, the challenging problem of formulating an SoS approach to Business Models saw significant progress with the clear definition and initiation of a methodology which will ultimately enable creating tailored Business Models for the ADAM and EVE use cases. In addition, the concept of Value Functions were formulated which quantifies the effectiveness of a given System of Systems and as such is used for evaluation.
WP 3 aims at creating a Transformative Digital Collaborative Framework (TDCF) which supports the System of Systems (SoS) development. The requirements of the TDCF has been identified through systematic interviews with the project partners and compiled into D3.1. An outline of all the tools involved in the project and to be integrated within the TDCF are provided in D3.2. The final deliverable due within the first reporting period, relates to multilevel optimization strategies and algorithms, is in the writing phase and demonstrations of these capabilities in connection to WP 4 and WP 5 have been performed. Some key highlights from the TDCF include, requirements modelling in a digital environment (ARMADE), architecting of the system of systems using a specialized too (ADORE)l, enabling workflow execution with tools hosted across countries and organizations (RCE and CPACS), and accelerating workflow setup (MDAx).
WP 4 focuses on the integrated aircraft design tailored for System of Systems, and within the first reporting period 2 deliverables were due and completed. The first relates to the development of the tools and methodology for aircraft design compatible with the SoS approach, and the second provides a set of aircraft (both eVTOL and Seaplane) to be analyzed within WP 5 SoS Simulations. The set of aircraft spans two timelines (near and far term), using various technologies (ex: Fully-Electric, Hybrid-Electric powertrains) as well as a broad range of TLARs allowing WP 5 to explore the SoS design space. The work on the second phase of aircraft design with an increased fidelity level has also been initiated within this reporting period.
WP 5 is tasked with the Holistic System of Systems Engineering. Within the first reporting period, one deliverable (D5.1) and two milestones (M5.1 and M5.2) have been submitted. D5.1 provides a state-of-the-art report on the Holistic SoS Engineering. M5.1 suggested an initial approach to investigate ConOps, and M5.2 marked the first release of the agent-based simulation from WP5. Due to the importance of ConOps in the SoS, it was decided that this work should be further explored and is therefore ongoing in a multi-step process covering the key elements involved in the ConOps. Both of the Agent-Based Simulations from WP 5 have seen extensive development and exploitation, and are increasingly being integrated alongside the other tools from the project. The key highlights from this WP include the wildfire fighting ABS which can model any real-world environment, and wildfire scenario, including aircraft and the tactics employed to fight the fire. For this use case, optimization studies spanning aircraft TLARs, fleet size, tactic choise and more have been performed. The Sustaimable Intermodal Mobility use case (ADAM) agent-based simulation models the existing ground transport network and augments it with the aircraft solutions form the project. Combined with passenger choice modelling, and intermodal routing, it enables the identification of a business model suitable for all stakeholders.
The COLOSSUS approach has the potential impact that it can identify new markets for a given product and/or derive a new product for a given market (Product Push/ Product Pull paradigms). The holistic approach employed in COLOSSUS allows for evaluation of any potential solutions, with respect to various stakeholders involved and their (often) contrasting interestes. The approach employs an SoS Agent-Based Simulation, which models the key actors involved through their roles and decisions and thereby offers a "playground" within which various scenarios can be evaluated.