Emirates and Boeing Sign MoU for Drones and AR in Aircraft Maintenance
Photo: Emirates.com
Emirates Airlines and Boeing have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 16th in Dubai. The objective was to utilise advanced digital technologies and further enhance improvements in maintenance operations.
According to the Emirates statement, the focus is on aircraft inspections with the help of drones and the use of virtual and augmented reality in enhancing the effectiveness of maintenance, as well as modern prognostics and predictive maintenance.
Ahmed Safa, The Divisional Senior Vice President of Emirates Engineering, said that the agreement with Boeing will provide opportunities to explore the benefits of advanced technologies, as a way of strengthening operational reliability, minimising disruptions, and making sure that the fleets operate to the highest standard. Important steps are taken to optimise aircraft maintenance on the fleet of Boeing 777s, either by drones – which act as a meticulous inspection tool – or AR visualisation, providing engineers with information about potentially defective parts that are not visible.
Brad Surak, Vice President of Digital Aviation Solutions, Boeing Global Services, said further in the statement that it takes more than simply improving maintenance operations to support customers in the digital transformation journey. In order to fulfil the needs for optimisation, innovation must be applied, for both short-term and long-term goals.
The implementation of drones in maintenance is considered as a step forward for the company. It quickens the exterior inspections on wide-body aircraft, using ultra-high resolution cameras with the capacity of reaching every angle of the aircraft to mark surface faults. It allows more precision, highly detailed reports and imagery.
The use of AR and VR tools enable engineers to consider the innermost workings of the aircraft. They effectively provide accurate inspections, minimise the risk of human error, and lower the time the aircraft spends out of service, ultimately improving the fleet availability and performance.
Provided by Boeing, the modern prognostic and predictive maintenance technology utilises advanced analytics and prognostic insights, which provides the Emirates with the opportunity to make more informed decisions regarding fleet maintenance.
