Working in a Collaborative Factory of the Flight Simulators Branch of RISE

Project Information

WrightBroS

Grant agreement ID: 822483

DOI

10.3030/822483

Project closed

EC signature date 20 September 2018

Start date 1 January 2019

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 993 600,00

EU contribution

€ 993 600,00

Coordinated by

POLITECHNIKA SLASKA
Poland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WrightBroS (Working in a Collaborative Factory of the Flight Simulators Branch of RISE)

Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Problem addressed

WrightBroS project is aimed to develop a prototype of NewTechnology flight simulator. The project has been inspired by collaboration of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Their collaboration become for us the symbol of fruitful collaboration betwen Academy and Industry, two metaphoric brothers. That is why we erected the “Collaborative Factory of the Flight Simulators Branch of RISE” and started the project giving it the acronym WrightBroS to commemorate Orville’s and Wilbur’s efforts. Research in WrightBroS is performed by teams from Silesian University of Technology (PL) - Coordinator - and two High Tech companies: LG Nexera (software development company from AT), and Virtual Reality Media (professional flight simulators manufacturer from SK). Coordinator provides to the WrightBroS project the equipment of exceptional in Europe Virtual Flight Laboratory at SUT.

Importance for society

Importance for society lies in increasing the effectiveness of pilots’ training, which influences the safety of aviation by using flight simulators equipped with inventions developed in the project. Second essential impact of the project on society is related to Marie Curie actions general goals. Particular attention is being paid to wide and efficient networking, dissemination and communication. WrightBroS project strengthens career perspectives of participating scientists and becomes the foundation for lasting collaborations in exploitation of results. The envisaged deployment by VRM of the NewTechnology products will increase competitiveness of European industry on the world market of professional flight simulators.

Overall objectives

Technological objectives of WrightBroS project were focused on:

(1) Development of system for procedural knowledge acquisition and processing
(2) Development of AR-based maintenance and service system
(3) Development of NewTechnology flight simulator

In addition, soft objectives of the project were implemented through rich programme of mutual staff training, networking, and organising events dedicated to respect cultural heritage of more than 100 years of aviation history, to commemorate Wright Brothers and their first flight.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Fault self-diagnostics

The concepts of a fault diagnosis was addressed at different levels with special focus in industrial electronics. It was a starting point towards selection of practical solutions for design of self-diagnosis modules in flight simulator. This latter has been completed in the second year of the project.

Image processing and recognition

We studied advanced image processing and pattern recognition. Based on these studies we proposed a set of algorithms relevant for development of AR-support to flight simulator. In addition we created WrightBroS database presenting 27 various devices of flight simulator cockpit. These images served as input date for verification of accuracy of various image processing and recognition methods.

Knowledge processing

Knowledge management has been decomposed to knowledge acquisition, storage and processing. Knowledge acquisition in turn, was considered in a framework with human agents and human-inspired agents. Similarities and differences of both approaches were identified. As third framework, the one with machine agents was also addressed. Then, the studies were focused on acquisition of particular type of knowledge having special importance for the system developed in the WrightBroS project. This type of knowledge is a procedural knowledge. Not only the process of its extraction from instructional texts has been considered, but also issues related to representation and storage. We focused on storing in a database the procedural knowledge describing flight simulator procedures. Then, the approach to model the scenario player as a hierarchy of finite state machines was proposed and verified by intensive computer simulations.

AR-based support to flight simulator

Supplementing flight simulator with augmented reality technology is aimed to provide more efficient training of the pilot. The AR system implementing "Learn as you go" paradigm has been developed and demonstrated in Boeing 737 flight simulator

NewTechnology flight simulator

The prototype of the NewTechnology flight simulator of the class FNPT II was constructed for Boeing 737 aircraft.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

“The Flight Simulators Branch of RISE” achieved a progress beyond the state of the art by developing a new AR-based product applicable for interactive training of pilots and aircraft technicians (transition training, cockpit and aircraft systems familiarization, etc.).

The AR application in connection with the AR glasses allows the technician or pilot to see the real environment of the cockpit (instruments, avionics, switches, etc.) combined with a computer generated image (schemas, links, descriptions, pictures).

The simulator (FSTD) developed in the project represents level FNPT II MCC and is planned be located in Virtual Flight Laboratory (VFL) at Silesian University of Technology (SUT), Gliwice, Poland for further scientific and technological collaboration between VFL and Virtual Reality Media (VRM) Trencin, Slovakia. The developed technology will allow the user to make education (learning and testing) of the pilot more efficient, cheaper, in a shorter time.

Hence the progress beyond the state of the art materialized in development of NewTechnology Flight simulator supplemented by augmented reality system for presentation of additional information.

We have demonstrated the capability and fully functional system for specific task: training of preflight procedure supported by the use of the most modern technology available on the market.

By above results, the project is expected to impact innovation potential of other (non aviation) sectors, too. Direct results of the project, although focused solely on manufacturing of the NewTechnology flight simulators, due to application of a structural approach based on universal knowledge acquisition and management system, become a framework and a fully functional demonstration of innovative enabling technology regarding application of Augmented Reality in manufacturing, maintenance and training of operation of other products.