Raytheon Technologies (RTX) subsidiary Pratt & Whitney and Indian startup Awiros have unveiled an aircraft engine inspection tool based on artificial intelligence (AI).
Called Percept, the product is integrated with Awiros’ Video Intelligence Operating System and a cloud-based interface enabling users to capture video and imagery of aircraft engines through mobile devices.
Advantages of using the analysis tool include real-time response to engine part requirements, cost-efficient examination, and rapid turnaround of engine assets.
“Building the Percept tool in collaboration with RTX has been one of the most exciting opportunities in the journey of Awiros as a startup,” Awiros CEO and Founder Vikram Gupta stated.
“We are proud that Percept’s high-fidelity scanning of Pratt & Whitney engines with handheld mobiles phones, without any specialized hardware, is being commercially deployed in the aerospace industry.”
Reduced Time and Effort
According to RTX, Percept reduces the time of aircraft engine evaluation by almost 90 percent through automated inspection compared to traditional part-by-part examinations conducted by human inspectors.
“The Percept tool helps reduce time and effort involved in the pre-and-post lease analysis of aircraft engines,” Pratt & Whitney Customer Support Vice President O Sung Kwon said.
“We have been working with Awiros, an Indian Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence start-up for the past few years to mature this technology; we are excited to be shifting from technology development to now bringing an operational product to the market.”
Teaming With Indian Industry
Awiros was selected as the winner of Raytheon Technologies’ Innovation Challenge.
Launched in September 2019, the project sought a future aerospace partner from over 60 Indian and global startups focusing on AI, machine learning, and computer vision fields.
Participants worked on proposals to optimize and automate aircraft engine inspections with less human intervention.
Awiros’ solution was evaluated between 2020 and 2021 and is expected to be launched commercially this year.
“As the fastest growing aviation industry and world’s emerging start-up capital, India has become a hotbed for agile aerospace innovation,” Pratt & Whitney India President Ashmita Sethi said.
“Percept is the result of some of India’s best and brightest minds collaborating with Pratt & Whitney to innovate a solution that delivers significant efficiencies and value to our customers.”