Decision Analytics and Decentralized Ledger Technologies for Determination and Preservation of Spare Part Value in Aircraft Maintenance

Aircraft spare parts are used to quickly replace defective parts and ideally avoid expensive aircraft-on-ground situations. Understanding the Fair Market Value of surplus parts is of eminent importance for the competitive advantage of a company. Decisions such as purchase, sale, storage or scrapping are made on the basis of the determined value. Domain experts state that the value of a part depends significantly on its specific characteristics, condition and workshop event history. If the documentation of this history is incomplete, this can lead to a complete loss of value of the part, since, for example, safety-relevant parts may no longer be used without complete documentation. For companies that want to be able to survive in the highly competitive Maintenance Repair and Overhaul market, the use of digital technologies for data-based decision making has become unavoidable. The drowning of data while at the same time thirsting for information affects all market participants who manage their spare parts using digital technologies. The competitive advantage over others is now to use this data efficiently and make decisions based on data rather than experience and instinct. On the other hand, processes still exist in this industry that require documentation in paper form. One such process is the documentation of workshop events for safety-relevant spare parts by means of certificates. Low mutual trust and the heterogeneity of regional requirements in a global market prohibit the establishment of a central instance for data management. The determination of a Fair Market Value was carried out manually for a long time, with great personnel effort and low reliability. The design of an Automated Spare Part Valuation concept provides a basis for data owners to use the amount of data reliably. Similar implementations in industry and with integrated automated evaluation prove the usability. The problem of incomplete certificates of workshop events is addressed and solved by the conception, implementation and evaluation of a Blockchain-based Certification System. The characteristics of a blockchain, in particular its decentralization and persistence, meet the requirements that could not previously be met in an environment with a lack of trust and due to the danger of a single point of failure.Flugzeugersatzteile dienen dem schnellen Austausch von defekten Teilen und vermeiden im Idealfall teure Aircraft-on-Ground-Situationen. Das Verständnis für einen Fair Market Value der überschüssigen Teile ist von eminenter Bedeutung für den Wettbewerbsvorteil eines Unternehmens. Entscheidungen wie Kauf, Verkauf, Einlagerung oder Verschrottung werden auf Basis des ermittelten Werts getroffen. Domänenexperten geben an, dass der Wert eines Teils maßgeblich von seinen spezifischen Charakteristika, seinem Zustand und seiner Werkstattereignishistorie abhängt. Ist der Nachweis dieser Historie lückenhaft, so kann es zum vollständigen Wertverlust des Teils kommen, da etwa sicherheitsrelevante Teile ohne lückenlose Nachweise nicht weiter verwendet werden dürfen. Für Unternehmen, die in der Lage sein wollen im starken Wettbewerb des Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Markts zu bestehen ist der Einsatz digitaler Technologien zur datenbasierten Entscheidungsfindung mittlerweile unumgänglich. Das Ertrinken an Daten bei gleichzeitigem Verdursten an Informationen trifft alle Marktteilnehmer, die ihre Ersatzteile mittels digitaler Technologien verwalten. Der Wettbewerbsvorteil gegenüber anderen besteht nun darin, diese Daten effizient zu nutzen und Entscheidungen weniger nach Erfahrung und Instinkt, sondern datenbasiert zu treffen. Andererseits existieren auch in dieser Branche immer noch Prozesse, die eine Dokumentation in Papierform erfordern. Ein solcher Prozess ist die Dokumentation von Werkstattereignissen für sicherheitsrelevante Ersatzteile durch Zertifikate. Ein geringes Vertrauen untereinander und die Heterogenität regionaler Anforderungen in einem globalen Markt verbieten die Etablierung einer zentralen Instanz zur Verwaltung der Daten. Die Ermittlung eines Fair Market Value erfolgte lange Zeit manuell, unter großem personellen Aufwand und geringer Zuverlässigkeit. Die Konzeption eines Automated Spare Part Valuation Konzepts bildet eine Grundlage für Inhaber von Daten, um die Menge an Daten verlässlich zu nutzen. Ähnliche Umsetzungen in der Industrie und mit integrierter automatisierter Bewertung belegen die Einsatzfähigkeit. Das Problem der lückenhaften Zertifikate von Werkstattereignissen wird durch die Konzeptionierung, Implementierung und Evaluation eines Blockchain-based Certification System adressiert und gelöst. Die Eigenschaften einer Blockchain, insbesondere die Dezentralität und Persistenz, erfüllen die Anforderungen, die in einem Umfeld mit mangelndem Vertrauen und aufgrund der Gefahr eines Single Point of Failure, bisher nicht zu erfüllen waren

Benchmarking a Blockchain-based Certification Storage System

A comprehensive empirical study is performed to measure the performance of a Blockchain-based Certi cation Storage System in Hyperledger Fabric. This work is based on a proof of concept in the aviation industry and fol- lows a Technical Risk & E cacy evaluation strategy to determine the utility derived from the use of the artefact. Relevant tuning parameters for per- formance and scalability as well as bottlenecks are identi ed. The impact of con guration parameters such as blocksize, transaction arrival rate and number of concurrent users on the systems performance is investigated. Ob- servations show that demands at throughput above system limits lead to transaction failures. Contributed are a repeatable process to performance sensitivity analysis and recommendations for con guring a Blockchain-based Certi cation Storage System for stable but high performance. The results can be used as a basis for optimizing the performance of similar systems

Blockchain Aplicada à Aviação: Uma Revisão Integrativa da Literatura

O sector da aviação acumula uma enorme quantidade de dados e os armazena em um repositório central, de cada fornecedor de instalações, como no caso das companhias aéreas. Se nos referirmos somente a uma operação de voo, são muitos dados relacionados a aeronaves, voos, passageiros, bagagem e logística, alimentação e toda a equipe de operações. Um único voo é um item perecível e não pode ser consumido novamente, portanto, o setor deve apostar em métodos de alto nível para proteger os dados e informações. Em vez disso, as companhias aéreas ainda estão trabalhando em repositórios centrais que funcionam nas lógicas do DBMS (Database Management Systems). O sector da Aviação precisa ser transparente e cauteloso sobre seus dados depois de observar o tipo de crescimento que estamos enfrentando na área de viagens. O blockchain pode ser uma solução transparente e segura com a informação se mantida a rede privada e fornecido o acesso ao público para verificar as informações sem alterá-las. Além disso, a criptomoeda pode ser extremamente útil para qualquer transação, como reserva de bilhetes, vendas a bordo e outras compras relacionadas das companhias aéreas. O blockchain pode ser construído para facilitar as operações de companhias aéreas e aeroportos e, por sua vez, resolverá vários problemas de gerenciamento de dados junto com a segurança. A presente dissertação mostrou através de uma revisão integrativa de literatura que o blockchain pode ser o pilar que apoiará todo o ecossistema das companhias aéreas e do relacionamento com os clientes, pois envolve tecnologia muito avançada para gerenciar e transacionar dados em vários níveis.The aviation sector accumulates a huge amount of data and stores it in a central repository, for each facility supplier, as in the case of airlines. If we refer only to a flight operation, there is a lot of data related to aircraft, flights, passengers, baggage and logistics, food and the entire operations team. A single flight is a perishable item and cannot be consumed again, therefore, the sector must invest in high-level methods to protect data and information. Instead, airlines are still working on central repositories that work on the DBMS (Database Management Systems) logic. The Aviation sector needs to be transparent and cautious about its data after looking at the type of growth we are experiencing in the travel industry. The blockchain can be a transparent and secure solution with information if the network is kept private and provided access to the public to verify the information without changing it. In addition, cryptocurrency can be extremely useful for any transaction, such as booking tickets, onboard sales and other related airline purchases. A blockchain system can be built to facilitate the operations of airlines and airports which, in turn, will solve several data management problems along with security. The present dissertation showed through an integrative literature review that blockchain can be the pillar that will support the entire airline and customer relationship ecosystem, as it involves very advanced technology to manage and transact data at various levels

The impact of privacy and cybersecurity on e-record: The PNR Directive Adoption and the impact of GDPR

Digital transformation means radically change how we manage interaction with everything, including goods, persons and data flows. Cyberspace is by nature borderless and open to everybody, and any sensitive personal info passing through it should be appropriately managed to ensure the protection of the users' identity and other personal records. The Passenger Name Record (EU Directive 2016/681) impacts for travellers, e-wallets for online shoppers, medical e-records for patients, etc., which may contain personal information provided by the users and collected by the service providers during the on-line transaction. While such records need to be shared for the smooth operation of the provided service, evidence shows that such sharing does not always respect the privacy of the data subjects. This paper address this challenge by proposing a comprehensive solution to safeguard and protect such on-line info and to preserve and protect the users’ privacy (GDPR) in order to improve the cybersecurity aspects at EU level with a focus on transports and blockchain

DIGITALIZATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT IN AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE COMPOSITE REPAIR PROCESS

The digital transformation poses a major challenge to the aviation industry with its diverse fields of operations and its mostly historically evolved organizational structure. But there is a lot of potential in the individual organizations for increasing efficiency and reducing obstacles for interoperability by establishing different digitalization concepts. In the past, research has been conducted on various technologies such as assistance systems, automation or inspection and image processing methodologies in the field of composite repair. However, digitalizing individual process steps using a new technology does not necessarily mean that it will also result in a more efficient overall process. For more efficient processes and the implementation of the vision of a digital twin, the digitalization and consideration of the respective holistic process is necessary. Data consistency, which should run like a thread through all process stages is a key factor and requires a corresponding data management concept. The repair process for fiber-reinforced composite structures, see Figure 1, is the basis for the development of a vision for a digital transformation in this work. The reason for this is, that the tasks in this process are usually carried out manually. The resulting media disruptions during the technical execution as well as during the final documentation limit the usability of information. This leads to an additional effort for information interpretation during the process execution and inhibits the potential for a data-based learning and improvement process. In the first part of this paper, the individual process steps are presented according to the current state of the art. This is followed by a process modification doing research regarding suitable technology concepts, which could be used to allow the complete digitalization of the process flow. Based on this, a corresponding data management system for the modified process will is designed, that enables an interaction between the process itself and the digital twin

Maintaining Privacy in a Blockchain-based Platform: Application to Aviation Industry MRO Documentation

MRO-Dokumentationen (MRO, deutsch: Wartung, Reparatur und Instandsetzung) der Luftfahrtindustrie sind notwendig, um die Flugtauglichkeit von Flugzeugersatzteilen zu zertifizieren und den Handel mit Teilen auf dem Sekundärmarkt zu ermöglichen. Da Dokumente wettbewerbsrelevante Daten enthalten können, werden diese vertraulich behandelt. Dennoch besteht die Verpflichtung, die Validität von Dokumentationshistorien gegenüber Behörden und Handelspartnern nachzuweisen. Die Dokumentationspraxis ist durch analoge Erfassung sowie unterschiedliche Prozesse und Systeme geprägt. Dieser Umstand erhöht die Fehleranfälligkeit und Manipulierbarkeit von Dokumenten. Eine standardisierte Datenerfassung sowie der Einsatz eines einheitlichen Systems könnten zur Optimierung der Prozesse beitragen. Öffentliche Blockchains und der Einsatz von Smart-Contract-Systemen gewährleisten die Datenintegrität, ohne dass sich die Netzwerkteilnehmer gegenseitig vertrauen müssen. Durch automatische Überprüfung von Verträgen oder Dateneingaben können Fehler leicht identifiziert werden. Anreizsysteme erschweren zudem die Manipulation gespeicherter Daten und erhöhen deren Persistenz im System. Die Transparenz öffentlicher Netzwerke behindert die Adaption der Blockchain-Technologie zur Verbesserung der MRO-Dokumentationsprozesse. Ein Zielkonflikt entsteht aus der Unvereinbarkeit von Privatsphäre-Anforderungen einerseits und den Spezifikationen öffentlicher Blockchain-Netzwerke andererseits. Private oder konsortiale Blockchain-Anwendungen stellen einen Kompromiss dar, lösen das Problem aber nicht. Dieser Artikel folgt einem Design Science Research (DSR) Ansatz und stellt die Infrastruktur einer Blockchain-basierten Plattform für die MRO-Branche vor, die eine Lösung des beschriebenen Zielkonfliktes für den Anwendungsfall adressiert und damit die Grundlage für eine standardisierte Dokumentationspraxis bildet. Berücksichtigte Anforderungen und Designprinzipien sowie die abgeleiteten technischen Spezifikationen erläutern allgemein, wie Daten in Blockchain-basierten Plattformen vertraulich geteilt und validiert werden können.Aviation industry MRO (MRO: maintenance, repair and overhaul) documentation is necessary to certify aircraft spare parts’ airworthiness and allow parts to be traded on the secondary market. Since the documents may contain competitively sensitive data, they are treated confidentially. Nevertheless, there is an obligation to demonstrate the validity of documentation histories to authorities and trading partners. Documentation practice is characterized by analog recording and varying processes and systems. This circumstance increases the susceptibility to errors and manipulation of documents. Standardized data capture and a unified system could help optimize processes. Public blockchains and smart contract systems ensure data integrity without needing network participants to trust each other. Errors can be easily identified through automatic verification of contracts or data entries. Incentive systems also make it challenging to manipulate stored data and increase its persistence in the system. The transparency of public networks hinders the adaptation of blockchain technology to improve MRO documentation processes. A trade-off arises from the incompatibility of privacy requirements on the one hand and the specifications of public blockchain networks on the other. Private or consortium blockchain applications represent a compromise but do not solve the problem. This article follows a DSR approach and presents the infrastructure of a blockchain-based platform for the MRO industry that addresses a solution to the described trade-off for the use case and thus forms the basis for a standardized documentation practice. Considered requirements and design principles, as well as the derived technical specifications, explain in general terms how data can be confidentially shared and validated in blockchain-based platforms

Outdoor operations of multiple quadrotors in windy environment

Coordinated multiple small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAVs) offer several advantages over a single sUAV platform. These advantages include improved task efficiency, reduced task completion time, improved fault tolerance, and higher task flexibility. However, their deployment in an outdoor environment is challenging due to the presence of wind gusts. The coordinated motion of a multi-sUAV system in the presence of wind disturbances is a challenging problem when considering collision avoidance (safety), scalability, and communication connectivity. Performing wind-agnostic motion planning for sUAVs may produce a sizeable cross-track error if the wind on the planned route leads to actuator saturation. In a multi-sUAV system, each sUAV has to locally counter the wind disturbance while maintaining the safety of the system. Such continuous manipulation of the control effort for multiple sUAVs under uncertain environmental conditions is computationally taxing and can lead to reduced efficiency and safety concerns. Additionally, modern day sUAV systems are susceptible to cyberattacks due to their use of commercial wireless communication infrastructure. This dissertation aims to address these multi-faceted challenges related to the operation of outdoor rotor-based multi-sUAV systems. A comprehensive review of four representative techniques to measure and estimate wind speed and direction using rotor-based sUAVs is discussed. After developing a clear understanding of the role wind gusts play in quadrotor motion, two decentralized motion planners for a multi-quadrotor system are implemented and experimentally evaluated in the presence of wind disturbances. The first planner is rooted in the reinforcement learning (RL) technique of state-action-reward-state-action (SARSA) to provide generalized path plans in the presence of wind disturbances. While this planner provides feasible trajectories for the quadrotors, it does not provide guarantees of collision avoidance. The second planner implements a receding horizon (RH) mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model that is integrated with control barrier functions (CBFs) to guarantee collision-free transit of the multiple quadrotors in the presence of wind disturbances. Finally, a novel communication protocol using Ethereum blockchain-based smart contracts is presented to address the challenge of secure wireless communication. The U.S. sUAV market is expected to be worth $92 Billion by 2030. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) noted in its seminal economic report that UAVs would be responsible for creating 100,000 jobs by 2025 in the U.S. The rapid proliferation of drone technology in various applications has led to an increasing need for professionals skilled in sUAV piloting, designing, fabricating, repairing, and programming. Engineering educators have recognized this demand for certified sUAV professionals. This dissertation aims to address this growing sUAV-market need by evaluating two active learning-based instructional approaches designed for undergraduate sUAV education. The two approaches leverages the interactive-constructive-active-passive (ICAP) framework of engagement and explores the use of Competition based Learning (CBL) and Project based Learning (PBL). The CBL approach is implemented through a drone building and piloting competition that featured 97 students from undergraduate and graduate programs at NJIT. The competition focused on 1) drone assembly, testing, and validation using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, 2) simulation of drone flight missions, and 3) manual and semi-autonomous drone piloting were implemented. The effective student learning experience from this competition served as the basis of a new undergraduate course on drone science fundamentals at NJIT. This undergraduate course focused on the three foundational pillars of drone careers: 1) drone programming using Python, 2) designing and fabricating drones using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and rapid prototyping, and 3) the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 Commercial small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs) pilot test. Multiple assessment methods are applied to examine the students’ gains in sUAV skills and knowledge and student attitudes towards an active learning-based approach for sUAV education. The use of active learning techniques to address these challenges lead to meaningful student engagement and positive gains in the learning outcomes as indicated by quantitative and qualitative assessments

Big Data Security (Volume 3)

After a short description of the key concepts of big data the book explores on the secrecy and security threats posed especially by cloud based data storage. It delivers conceptual frameworks and models along with case studies of recent technology