The collaboration agreement between Politecnico di Torino, Aeronautica Militare and Leonardo Aircraft Division was signed today Tuesday 13 April for the development of a "collaborative digital platform" capable of providing operators with new tools for learning and supporting activities operational in the field, such as to make a vast amount of technical content in digital format usable in a simple and efficient way, also through virtual reality / augment tools and in "on demand" mode.
The signing of the collaboration agreement took place at the rectorate of the Polytechnic of Turin by prof. Guido Saracco, rector of the Polytechnic of Turin, of the air squad general Giovanni Fantuzzi, logistic commander of the Air Force and of the engineer. Marco Zoff, managing director of Leonardo Aircraft Division.
The platform more generally aims to accelerate the so-called "digital transformation" of the activities and technical processes of logistic support and to offer the infrastructure suitable for the progressive implementation of artificial intelligence tools that will be developed during the project and oriented to a continuous improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of maintenance operations, whether they are carried out at the "home base" or in the operating theater. Precisely in the operating theater, the "mission critical" context of the aeronautical sector and the fact that modern aircraft are characterized by maintenance systems and processes that require the ability to acquire both high-level technical knowledge and the ability to operate in highly integrated environments, it becomes necessary to adapt the tools and technological infrastructures for training and support, bringing them to the state of the art.
The platform will guarantee user access in any location in the world, allowing the connection of both pocket or wearable digital devices (“wearable smart devices”) and normal PCs, thus favoring a “web oriented” solution.
Leonardo Velivoli will play the role of integrator of the project, taking care of the architecture, the definition of the standards and ensuring the coordination of the project partners; the Air Force will play the role of "end user" by defining the use cases in the training and operational scenarios of interest and providing the necessary support for testing and validating the system; the Polytechnic of Turin will guarantee research skills and access to the most innovative technologies.
The project also envisages the involvement of one or more innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selected from among those that have transversal skills both in the aeronautical field (to ensure sufficient domain competence) and in the IT field.
