Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is preparing to incorporate a number of new technologies to improve the production processes and increase the performance of its aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellites.

Accordingly, the aerospace giant is focusing on new areas for research and development (R&D) activities, which constitute an important share in its project sources, that are included in the TAI’s Technology Road Map/Acquisition Plan, an Anadolu Agency (AA) report said Friday.

The plan will be carried out through the firm’s stakeholders and includes several titles, namely "Coating Aluminum Parts with Boron-Containing Structures," "Development of Cognitive Pilot Models, "Development of Worst-Case Working Time Analysis Tool for Satellite Platforms" and "Laser (Measurement Instrument) Integrated Assembly Fixture Control System and Software Design."

Projects deemed appropriate to be implemented in these fields will be undertaken within an appropriate model, including R&D support, by the Industry Doctorate Program of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), the Researcher Training Program for Defense Industry and TAI's equity budget.

The "Coating of Aluminum Parts with Boron-Containing Structures Project" is one of the fields of study that the TAI has on its agenda that focuses on the boron surface coating of aircraft material. Surface coatings are applied to reduce corrosion of aluminum parts used on aircraft and to ensure the adhesion of the paint to the surface. Boron compounds are known to have anti-corrosive properties when applied to metal surfaces. Besides, boron compounds have other beneficial properties, such as a fire retardant, electrical insulation or semiconductivity. In aviation, the practice of forming an oxide structure on aluminum with electrochemical methods is widely used.

Under this title, TAI aircraft’s aluminum parts will be coated with boron-containing materials, instead of the traditional chemical surface treatments applied in aviation.

Cognitive pilot models

The TAI is also looking to acquire technology for the "Development of Cognitive Pilot Models."

Currently, the decision models in simulators, embedded training systems and operational analysis tools that are expected to provide realistic movement of enemy or friendly forces are not sufficient, while fully autonomous mission profiles need to act like highly skilled pilots. To solve this issue, it is imperative to build a decision support system that will make the right decision at the right time and at every level. Likewise, it is necessary to develop artificial intelligence (AI) based cognitive pilot models that can process high- to low-level decisions to train pilot behavior with dynamic flight data in an artificial neural network (explainable artificial intelligence).

With this project, the TAI aims to introduce a model that can produce the operation scenario in a simulation in a way that meets the specified success criteria of the company.

Precise duration estimations

Time is important in terms of the reliability, qualification and certification of aircraft and spacecraft to estimate the worst-case execution time of critical software on designated hardware platforms.

Static, measurement-based, statistical probability-based and hybrid methods stand out in determining the upper limit of the worst-case execution time. However, the measurement-based analysis on the target hardware, in particular, causes late detection of performance problems. The fact that these analyzes can be performed statically without the limitation of the target hardware during the development phase makes a significant contribution to the detection of the risks and problems that may arise beforehand.

Due to the increasing software and hardware needs of the period, the durations need to be estimated more precisely in air and space vehicles. The "Developing Worst-Case Runtime Analysis Tool for Satellite Platforms" has been designed as a software solution that can statically analyze the effective and realistic worst-case duration upper limits of real time, complex algorithm and resource-constrained software for satellite platforms for the targeted hardware platforms.

Rapid assembly

Another project that the TAI aims to implement with its stakeholders is the "Design of Laser (Measurement Tool) Integrated Mounting Fixture Control System and Software."

The subassembly of an aircraft is normally carried out with the assembly of large body parts. It involves moving the body parts to the correct position, placing them and bringing them to the relevant assembly index, using standard methods that control each mechanical actuator individually. This requires careful coordination of personnel for extended periods.

However, today's assembly lines, due to increasing customer orders, need to be flexible and efficient to automatically place body parts and bring them to the assembly index. With the integrated mounting fixture control system and software supported by laser measurement, automatic, precise and fast assembly of large body parts will be ensured.