Air France KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M), the Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) and Gulf Air have announced the introduction of augmented reality (AR) for certain aircraft maintenance training processes.
Using mixed-reality technologies developed by Nuveon, a joint venture founded between AFI KLM E&M and NLR, the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre, the start-up has perfected, and validated with Gulf Air the world’s first supplementary training module for MRO training dedicated to the Rolls Royce Trent 1000. This is using the HoloLens system, a pair of mixed-reality smart glasses.
According to AFI KLM E&M, in addition to giving the trainees freedom of movement, the Hololens enables trainers to superimpose a virtual environment over their real surroundings. Complex mechanical systems and components, such as those in the Trent 1000 engine on the Boeing 787 – are rendered as a hologram, allowing the trainees to collaboratively train as a team and get to know them without physical constraints.
Following the 787/RR Trent 1000, Nuveon is preparing to launch similar solutions for the 777/RR Trent 800 and PW4000.