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World’s First Mixed Reality Trainer Developed by Airbus

4Dec

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Operations, Uncategorized

World’s First Mixed Reality Trainer Developed by Airbus

The unlikely partnership between Airbus and the Microsoft Hololens has led to the development of the world’s first mixed reality trainer for aviation applications. In cooperation with Japan Airlines(JAL), Airbus has developed a prototype for training the mechanics and crew of A35 XWB using the ‘Hololens’ technology and immersive headsets. A considerable amount of resources is focused on training the crew to develop skills required for the operation of the aircraft. This new technology will provide a cost-effective and safer alternative to the traditional training methods. The headsets enable the user to train on an interactive, virtual 3D system while being aware of their surroundings and coworkers. Trainees can access the aircraft digital data which can be viewed from any angle to vir...

31May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aerodynamics and wind energy, Aviation

Active flow control for boundary layers

Author: Henry Tol, PhD Candidate Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft Article published in Leonardo Times Magazine, Edition of January 2017. Turbulence and the transition to turbulence are recognized as unsolved problems in physics. Likewise, control theorists have hardly ever come across a problem this challenging. The goal of active flow control is to cross these interdisciplinary boundaries by considering the relevant flow physics when designing the control algorithms. Motivation The ability to control fluid flows to any desired state has great consequences for many applications. Imagine future aircraft where the traditional control surfaces (elevator, rudder, etc.) are replaced with flow control devices, which can accelerate the flow over the wings to generate lift and control m...

“Een hightech topbedrijf met een sociaal randje”

14May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

“Een hightech topbedrijf met een sociaal randje”

Werktuigbouwkundige Marcel Goldschmeding aan de slag als campuspromotor voor ASML Op het moment dat we Marcel spreken, focust hij zich op zijn master systems & control (TU Delft). Een sterk inhoudelijke master die er om bekend staat ‘lastig’ te zijn. Maar dat vormt geen probleem, integendeel zelfs. Marcel: “Ik had zin in de uitdaging, dat motiveert me juist!” Zijn studieactiviteiten combineert hij met het werken als campus promoter voor ASML. Marcel: “Via mijn bestuursjaar bij de studievereniging van werktuigbouwkunde kwam ik in contact met een oud-bestuurslid die campus promoter was voor ASML. Ik was geïnteresseerd in de mogelijkheden van een Scholarship bij ASML, dus we hebben daar toen enkele keren over gesproken. Toen hij stopte met zijn werk als campus promoter, heeft hij mi...

China’s C919 Completes Its Maiden Flight

5May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations

China’s C919 Completes Its Maiden Flight

Today, China’s C919 completed its maiden flight, bringing China one step closer to realising their long-standing dreams of having their own home-grown commercial aircraft. The narrow-body aircraft was in the air for 90 minutes before it returned safely to the Pudong airport in Shanghai. Prior to the flight, state television announced that it would be flown at an altitude of 3000 meters and achieve a speed of 300kmph. The flight was cheered on by thousands including dignitaries and enthusiasts. China has hoped to build its own commercial airplanes since the 1970s when Chairman Mao Zedong’s wife, Jiang Qing, backed a project. The C919 was announced by China nearly a decade ago in May 2008, when they set up the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). It was initially in...

1May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations, Propulsion

Aurora unveils eVTOL aircraft

Uber has declared that by 2020 they plan to have a network of ‘flying cars’ in Dallas and Dubai. The new service will be called Uber Air. With Uber Air people will be able to order flying taxis in the same way users of the current Uber app can order car rides. This sounds fantastic and happening so soon! However, during the Uber Elevate summit of April 25-27 2017 in Texas Uber’s chief product officer Jeff Holden admitted that Uber is rushing the Uber Air initiative. Uber Air will consist of electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Although these eVTOL aircraft seem to be a promising concept, the technologies needed are not yet fully developed. The eVTOL aircraft are envisioned to be fully electric with zero-emissions, autonomous and near-silent. It looks like this vision...

Cassini to perform final series of daring maneuvers

26Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space flight

Cassini to perform final series of daring maneuvers

The Cassini spacecraft, part of the international Cassini-Huygens mission, is due to start a series of 22 orbits in between Saturn and its rings today, the 26th of April. The ring plane passages pose the final challenge of the mission: having orbited the planet for the last 12 years the spacecraft is set to enter Saturn’s atmosphere on September 15th. The data gathered in the revolutionary maneuvers are expected to further expand our understanding of the Saturnian environment and the origin of the planet and its rings and moons. Already in 2005 the Huygens probe touched down on the Saturnian moon Titan, which has lead to the insight into its many atmospheric and internal processes. From the combination of the in-situ data recovered by the Huygens probe and remote observations performed...

26Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Space engineering, Space flight

ExoMars: Journey of the Unknown

Author: Nora Sulaikha, Editor at Leonardo Times, TU Delft Article published in Leonardo Times Magazine, Edition of January 2017. Space exploration may be considered a relatively new venture, having gone into full speed only a little over fifty years ago. However, the knowledge that a great unknown existed outside of what human beings can see with their bare eyes is timeless. From our small world, we have gazed upon the cosmic oceans for untold centuries. In 750 BC, the Babylonians invented the first ever almanac-tables that charted the movements of the Sun, the Moon, and other planets. Science flourished during the renaissance, and in the 17th century, astronomers pointed a new device called the “telescope” at the heavens and made discoveries that made them realize we were all ...

Printed titanium parts to reduce costs on the Dreamliner

13Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, Manufacturing, News

Printed titanium parts to reduce costs on the Dreamliner

Norsk Titanium AS, a Norwegian 3D printing company, has been hired by Boeing Co. to 3D print structural titanium parts for its Dreamliner. Titanium parts alone cost about $17 million out of the total $265 million cost of the plane. This is due to the 787’s carbon fiber fuselage and wings and result in a higher titanium requirement. This is obviously a sizeable portion of the costs and Boeing has been looking for ways to reduce these costs. Norsk Titanium Vice President, Chip Yates, claims that by 3D printing these, as opposed to manufacturing them the traditional way (with forging and machining), they will be able to cut down the costs of each 787 Dreamliner by around $2-3 million. Considering that Boeing produces around 144 Dreamliners each year on average, this will lead to a sizeable...

5Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, Propulsion, Space engineering, Space flight

The Airbus Zephyr

Authors: Rens van der Zwaard & Max Aalberse, MSc Students Aerospace Engineering, TU Delft Article published in Leonardo Times Magazine, Edition of January 2017. The Zephyr 8 is a compromise between Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and satellites. It has the ability to fly autonomously in the stratosphere, above all weather and air traffic, the advantage being that it can perform its functions without having to take unexpected weather changes into account. Its endurance at this altitude is in the order of weeks. Therefore, the Zephyr can do the job of a satellite while flying sufficiently close to the surface to make high-resolution images and is inexpensive to use, relative to developing and launching a satellite. Another advantage is that the Zephyr can always stay focused on th...

SpaceX relaunches a used rocket making history

1Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space engineering, Space flight

SpaceX relaunches a used rocket making history

On March 30, 2017, SpaceX made spaceflight history by reusing a rocket that was used for a previous launch. Their Falcon-9 rocket that was previously used for a mission eleven months earlier, was used to launch the SES-10 satellite. This satellite is intended to provide TV, internet, telephone and radio coverage for South America. The rocket, once launched at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, deployed its payload successfully about half an hour later. Following this, it was autonomously guided back to a droneship called “Of Course I Still Love You” that was stationed in the Atlantic and landed safely. SpaceX has been on the path toward using reusable rockets and this launch marked a milestone for them. In the past year, they have managed to recover the first stage of nine o...