At the Paris Air Show, American aerospace company Pratt & Whitney and deep tech Indian start-up, Awiros, launched Percept, an advanced AI-based aircraft engine analysis tool that enables faster and cost-efficient turnaround of leased engine assets.
Percept is a computer vision product that operates on top of the Awiros Video Intelligence Operating System (OS), said the company in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Its cloud-based interface allows users to capture images and videos of aircraft engines on their mobile devices and receive real-time responses on parts availability,” it said. Instead of an inspector having to examine an engine and check part-by-part, Percept automates this inspection, and reduces time taken by nearly 90 per cent, Pratt & Whitney stated.
“We have been working with Awiros, an Indian Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up for the past few years to mature this technology; we are excited to be shifting from technology development to now bringing an operational product to the market,” said O Sung Kwon, Vice-president, Customer Support, Pratt & Whitney.
In 2019 September, Awiros was selected as the winner of an innovation challenge organised by the RTX, the aerospace and defense company. According to the US aerospace company, Awiros’ idea was evaluated through 2020-21 and is expected to be launched commercially later this year. Pratt & Whitney is an RTX offshoot and a global leader in the design, manufacture, and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units.
“Building the Percept tool in collaboration with RTX has been one of the most exciting opportunities in the journey of Awiros as a start-up. We are proud that Percept’s high-fidelity scanning of Pratt & Whitney engines with handheld mobiles phones, without any specialised hardware, is being commercially deployed in the aerospace industry.” said Vikram Gupta, founder and CEO of Hyderabad-based Awiros which was founded in 2015.
Ashmita Sethi, president & country head, India, Pratt & Whitney (UTCIPL) said that India has become a hotbed for agile aerospace innovation given its growing aviation industry and emerging as world’s start-up capital.
“Percept is the result of some of India’s best and brightest minds collaborating with Pratt & Whitney to innovate a solution that delivers significant efficiencies and value to our customers,” she emhasised.
Pratt & Whitney’s new facility in Bengaluru for providing contract engineering services is expected to become functional early next year.
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Published on June 20, 2023
