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Given the labour shortages and A number of aerospace man- Innovations supports inspec-
safety challenges recently faced ufacturers are also leveraging tions across the lifecycle of the
by the industry, improving busi- AI to automate and improve engine, during maintenance,
ness processes with Artificial factory operations and supply lease transitions and more.
Intelligence (AI) and machine chains. This has the benefit of Aiir Innovations is now a
learning have become a top reducing delays, lowering costs, front-runner in the aviation
priority for many leading aero- improving productivity, and software market, working with
space companies. Generative generally improving customer companies like KLM Airlines,
AI—models like ChatGPT are experiences. Waygate Technologies and MTU
slowly but steadily being used According to the startup innova- Leasing Services, among others.
to track, schedule, and manage tion monitoring platform Valuer, Aiir Innovations plans to use the
maintenance based on historical 157 new startups focusing investment to grow its remote-
data and predictive analytics. on developing AI tools for air- first team and expand globally,
lines have been founded since and set a new standard for
2019—with thousands more engine inspections.
“This AI-based technology going back to the mid-2000s.
enables them (airlines and Similarly, another company
manufacturers) to predict parts While there is no doubt that the in the cohort, the U.K.-based
and schedules before they’re vast majority of these startups KIT-AR helps manufacturing
even needed. Although in India won’t make it past seed funding, companies digitally enhance
we haven’t started seeing the the volume of new startups in their human workers to reduce
full impact of applications of AI just the aviation industry alone the cost of poor quality by com-
in aerospace, I am sure there is a testament to the great bining augmented reality with
are plenty of benefits that are seachange that is coming. machine learning to provide
on the horizon,” the official step-wise context rich instruc-
informed. StartUps in AI Sector tions with automated quality
control.
Recently, 11 new startups
focused on AI and autonomy
According to the American support programme Aerospace “
Consumer Satisfaction Index, joined the aerospace startup
nearly every airline declined in
customer satisfaction in 2022. Xelerated, initiated by Boeing. We believe that
Not only can AI improve the air- Of these, Netherlands-based Aiir enhancing workers is
craft maintenance and operation Innovations, a leading startup the way for aerospace
side, but also the customer-fac- in AI, has raised €2.1 million to companies to eliminate
ing parts of the business. transform engine maintenance. mistakes and errors in
These include Chatbots to con- their manufacturing
verse with customers, discover “Ensuring jet engines are
their pain points, and deliver inspected completely and production lines,”
solutions. By automating the objectively is key to ensuring
more tedious conversations, AI the safety and efficiency of commented Manuel Oliveira,
can free up human workers to aircraft. Aiir achieves this by CEO of KIT-AR.
deliver the personal experiences actively supporting human
that a machine simply can’t do. inspectors in all aspects of the Boeing and Airbus with AI
In the COVID-19 pandemic, job, from managing reporting
nearly all airlines used Chatbots requirements to an AI assistant Two of the most prominent man-
as requests began to soar. Now, for detecting potentially ufacturers in aviation, Airbus and
they’re a critical component of missed defects,” Boeing, have also recognized
the industry, especially as labor says CTO & Co-Founder Miriam the potential of AI to bring about
shortages continue. Huijser. With its software, Aiir a paradigm shift in the industry.
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