Releasing a Digital Twin into the Real World of Aviation

The 3DJuump platform started with a research project involving very large digital mockups of an aircraft used to help build 3D training simulators, explains Sylvain Bonneau, head of the Akkodis 3DJuump division.

“We discovered that most of the 3D material existed already, in CAD files,” Bonneau says. But even though the data was available, we had to recreate it from scratch with infographics. It was frustrating to know the data was there, we just couldn’t use it.”

The tools that would have allowed the team to transfer the data simply did not exist.

“CAD files are mainly mathematical descriptions of the surface of an object. On the other hand, mass-market 3D graphics for real-time display are based on meshes, consisting of triangles. These are two different languages,” Bonneau says. “We wanted to bridge this gap to avoid recreating everything.”

From Concept to Commercial Success: The Journey of 3DJuump

A portable server played a key role in moving the platform developed by Bonneau and his team from the drawing board to the real world of aircraft maintenance.

They set themselves an ambitious goal: displaying the huge, data-rich digital mockup of an aircraft and its parts on a standard computer. And, amazingly, as far back as 2008, they got close to achieving it. The team members therefore decided to develop their work into a commercial product.

Fast forward to 2023 and 3DJuump is now a considerable success and in use as the main digital collaboration platform for design and product engineering teams across several parts of a global aircraft manufacturer, including its space and helicopter divisions.

Bonneau and his team wondered if the 3DJuump digital mockup could now be used to interpret real-life data from in-use aircraft. Could a digital twin help manufacturers keep better track of their aircraft after delivery to operators?

Unlocking Post-Delivery Insights with Digital Twins

Information about aircraft once they have been delivered can be useful to manufacturers in many ways. Over the lifetime of an aircraft, it will be subject to several modifications, cabin upgrades, or redesigns to make it fit for new purposes.

Aircraft owners often go back to the manufacturer for redesign and modification. But to be able to make a tailor-made and precisely priced proposal for a specific aircraft, manufacturers need data, everything from documentation showing modifications to equipment flight time.

Specific aircraft data would make it much easier and cheaper for manufacturers to design modifications and a digital twin of a specific aircraft would help them give customers a real vision of the proposed plan.

“Manufacturers have no real idea of their aircraft ‘in the wild’, what modifications have been carried out, and so on,” Bonneau says. “This is a very big issue for them.”

Collaborative Opportunities in Aircraft Data Sharing

Operators whose transport aircraft are regularly modified or upgraded to fulfill new roles are interested in sharing aircraft data with manufacturers.

The Akkodis team of platform specialists works with clients to integrate real-life data into the 3DJuump digital twin platform.

3DJuump's Potential in Naval Applications

Bonneau believes other users, including naval craft with components provided by different suppliers, could benefit from the platform.

“To establish an efficient maintenance platform for such a super complex piece of machinery, with information flowing freely between subcontractors, navy, on-board, and on-shore maintenance teams – this is where 3DJuump could come in,” he says.

Overcoming Data Integration Challenges in Aircraft Parts

The team ran up against one tricky problem – how to attach data to individual aircraft parts. While aircraft parts are identifiable by serial number, manufacturers do not have access to the information they can provide, for example, whether a part has been replaced by an identical one and how long it has been in operation.

The team needed to find a way to distinguish between a part number, which identifies a type of component, and a serial number, which identifies one specific piece of equipment.

“The platform was not initially ready to bear this kind of information and we had to make it evolve,” Bonneau says. “That was the main difficulty, but we solved the problem, and I think that makes 3DJuump maybe the only platform able to support this kind of use case.

Innovative Solutions for Secure, Portable Aircraft Data Management

The team modified 3DJuump for private communication networks, particularly for maintaining classified transport aircraft. They encountered security challenges with deploying the client/server platform on clients' private networks. The resolution was implementing a portable server.

The standalone setup, comprising a server-equipped suitcase, ad-hoc Wi-Fi, and connected tablets, makes the 3DJuump digital twin accessible on board via a small tablet. This allows personnel to inspect and record changes in the aircraft before and after each flight. During cabin upgrades, which can ground planes for extended periods, technicians use the 3DJuump tablet and portable server to daily document their progress, ensuring alignment with the design office and facilitating shared insights into the work.

As the digital and the physical world increasingly converge, Bonneau and his team of digital experts are doing an innovative job in aviation, bringing digital mock-ups to life with the latest information and technology.