Big data roles in aerospace industries
Data has become a vital component in our daily life due to digital transformation in the 21st century. They are not merely for personal applications, but also for governments, businesses and industrial use. Internet websites require data to improve their services and experience for the users. Businesses collect and use data to understand the needs and habits of their costumers, which can then be transformed into something beneficial. Even many smart home devices, such as mobile phones, have exploited extensive data sources, to provide relevant information and serve the users.
The role of data becomes more and more important through the rise of new phenomenon, called big data. Big data is data collections with massive and extraordinary volume, collected from a large variety of different sources, structured or unstructured, which then, their patterns, trends and characteristics can be analysed and visualised through computer systems. The processed data and their analysed results can then be utilised for different purposes, such as business, security or enhancing social interaction. Due to their volume and complexity, big data are not easy to be processed through "normal" management database system nor be processed traditionally.
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| Supercomputers are one of the technological breakthrough for enchancing big data processing and analysis. (Photo: Mahti supercomputer, CSC Finland, source: www.csc.fi) |
Due to significant advancements of computer technologies, in the forms of hardware and software, including data storage, memory, processor and computational systems, as well as internet technology for data communication, it is not surprising if massive data are gathered to be big data. Big data are then required to be analysed using a variety of computational systems and modern analysis, such as data mining, artificial intelligence and other modern computational methods. The processed data are aimed not limited for providing information, but they also function for increasing profits, enhancing safety and security for different types of industries and businesses. Most world industrial players have exploited big data to optimise their business, safe and profitable.
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| Many major airlines have used forecasting models, established using available big data, for estimating the number of passengers and flight demands. (Photo: Heathrow International Airport London, source: www.airwaysmag.com/) |
Aerospace industries are not the exception. These indutries have utilised big data analytics to increase their profits, improve the comfortably and service to their customers as well as optimise their flight safety features. Massive data sources, such as customers data, tickets information, airport logistics and weather forecasting, have formed big data, which then can be utilised for optimising different business aspects in aerospace industries. Their incomes can be increased through flight demands forecasting and reducing unnecessary operational costs.
For example, forecasting models [1], established using big data availability, have benefited many aerospace industries, for evaluating regularly many vital decisions, such as the ticket prices, evaluating flight demands and number of passengers to a particular city or country, or to determine the type of aircraft to be used on particular route to ensure the efficiency and passengers satisfaction. Big data analytics has also become a key factor for strategic decision making, such as opening a new flight route. These are few aspects which can be exploted by aerospace industries to increase their profits.
Beside purely business aspect, big data can also be used for technical aspect, which is certainly still connected to business aspect. Aerospace industry's players have also exploited big data to reduce unnecessary costs. According to data released in 2012 by International Air Transport Association (IATA), approximately 33% flight operational costs are due to fuel consumption [2]. Many aerospace industries have used artificial intelligence mechanism, built using big data, to analyse technical flight data, such as route, flying distance and height, type of used aircraft, its weight and weather. Then, the big data analytics estimates optimised fuels to be used to a particular flight route. This strategy has proven to give a positive impact to their income, safety and environment.
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| The cooperation between General Electric and Southwest Airlines have assisted the airline to reduce its operational cost by optimising the fuel consumption. (Photo: Southwest aircraft, source: www.ge.com) |
Southwest airlines, one of major airlines in United States with the headquarter in Dallas, Texas, is one of airlines which has utilised big data for optimising fuel consumption [3]. This airline has a strategic cooperation with General Electric, the biggest aircraft engine manufacturer. The business cooperation is in the implementation flight system analytics for optimising the fuel usage for more than 700 Boeing 737 aircraft owned by the airline. Cloud computation systems collect and analyse massive data obtained from many flights, such as wind speed, humidity, aircraft weight, maximum engine thrust and flight altitude. The flight analysis provides a crucial information about the amount to optimised fuel to be prepared and used for other future flights.
Technical data generated from aircraft also contributes to big data. A large number of sensors has been integrated in most modern aircraft. The sensors generate and transmit massive volume of data. Let take an example for Boeing 737 with two engines fitted on its wing. Each engine is able to produce about 20 terabytes (TB) data each hour. If the average flight duration between New York and Los Angeles is about 6 hours, it results in 240 TB data from both engines for one single flight. In United States alone, there are almost 30,000 commercial flights taking place every day. It is hard to imagine how much big data will be generated in a year. According to data from US National Air Traffic Controllers Association, there are approximately 90,000 every day in United States airspace, including commercial, cargo, private and military flights [4]. Big data obtained from these technical data, are not only beneficial for business aspects, but they can also be used to enhance safety features and aircraft assets' maintenance [5].
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| Technology of Engine Health Management (EHM) utilised big data, enables repair and maintenance Rolls-Royce aircraft engines to be done more effectively, efficiently and economically. (Photo: Rolls-Royce aircraft engine, source: www.rolls-royce.com) |
In the end of 2018, Rolls Royce received more than 70 trillions data points generated from operational and service each year [7]. In order to deal with big data challenges, the company established a special unit named R2 Data Labs. The unit has used modern computational systems and artificial intelligence for analysing big data. Beside to EHM, the processed data can also be used for improving future engine designs, smart manufacturing, efficient operations and to enhance the customer services, that is the airlines which used their engines.
In addition to big data obtained from integrated sensors fitted on aircraft engines, other technical big data are generated from many different sources, including from the sensors fitted on aircraft structures, data from previous maintenance, flight routes, aircraft technicians and components' availability, supply changes and other logistics. In general, the big data has been used by aircraft manufacturers to support their customers (airlines) in terms of business and technical aspects. For example, Boeing has established a concept, called Aircraft Health Management (AHM) [8]. The system uses those sources of big data to optimise maintenance and repair, to then minimise flights delays, re-routes, and cancellations. The system collects regularly big data and then transmits to the centre. The information is then processed further to be useful information, such as maintenance and supply change managements.
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| Significant flight reduction in 2020 due to covid-19 pandemic (Source: www.businessinsider.com/) |
There are still many other aspects which big data plays significant roles, which have not been discussed yet, such as risk management, digital transformation and enhancing costumer services. This year, aerospace industries have been hit hardly due to covid-19 plague, which has been declared as pandemic by World Health Organizarion (WHO). Many airlines have gone into bankruptcy or suffer a substantial loss, leading to mass aircraft grounded and laying off their employees. What roles and how the big data can contribute to recover aerospace industries during and post covid-19 pandemic? We will see the next edition!
This article was also published in KIPMI website in Indonesia language in: https://kipmi.or.id/peran-big-data-dalam-industri-penerbangan.html
By:
Martha Arbayani Zaidan
Nanjing, 25 December 2020
under-quarantine at Atour hotel
References:
[1] Kim, S., 2016. Forecasting short-term air passenger demand using big data from search engine queries. Automation in Construction, 70, pp.98-108.
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