– Vadim Vyacheslavovich, what is the essence of the reform in the region’s cluster policy?
As you know, two high-tech clusters are already operating in the Ulyanovsk region, aviation and nuclear. We are combining them into one, innovative one, its core will be Technocampus 2.0. It will house engineering centers, pilot production and advanced educational institutions.
This will give new impetus to economic development. Such complex technological projects, designed for long-term effects, are the basis of our innovative future.
– How will these changes affect the aviation cluster participants?
We look forward to maintaining and growing positive dynamics aviation industry Ulyanovsk region. Recently, new hi-tech companies have entered the region, integrated into the cooperation chains of the aviation industry. The volume of shipped innovative products increased by 2.9 times, and labor productivity by 65%. Exports of aviation cluster organizations in 2013-2016 exceeded 21 billion rubles.
The innovation cluster allows you to connect opportunities industrial production with the latest technologies. For example, a major success in the development of the aviation cluster in the Ulyanovsk region is the creation of the Aerocomposite plant, which is unique and fundamentally new for our country. It has already begun production of a composite wing for the new generation MC-21 aircraft, which will improve its aerodynamic qualities, reduce weight characteristics and improve service life characteristics. Russian developers were the first in the world to manufacture an aircraft wing entirely from composite materials. No one in the industry has ever done this before.
Another significant participant aviation cluster - "Promtekh-Ulyanovsk". The company is working to reduce the weight of cable and pipeline networks aircraft. And this is a significant factor in the competitiveness of products.
– The work of the Ulyanovsk delegation at MAKS-2017 has become very fruitful...
Yes, at the international aviation and space show, Governor Sergei Morozov concluded a number of important agreements that will undoubtedly accelerate the development of the regional aviation industry. Among the key agreements is an agreement with the Irkut Corporation on intentions to create a customization center for MS-21 and Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft in the port special economic zone. This will entail the opening of new enterprises and will accelerate the development of the aviation cluster in the Ulyanovsk region.
I would also note the agreement with the United Aircraft Corporation on the formation of an industrial park on the basis of Aviastar-SP JSC. The plant is currently undergoing major modernization, investments in which have already exceeded 5.5 billion rubles. The production space released during the optimization process will be used more efficiently: it will become an industrial park that will attract investment in the creation of new high-tech production facilities.
Flight safety and efficiency of modern aircraft remain central issues in the aviation industry, so new technologies being developed are primarily aimed at solving these problems. The technological innovations listed below are promising areas for innovative development of the aviation industry.
Touch screens
We use touchscreens every day in smartphones and tablets, but as early as 2014, touchscreens may appear in the cockpit of modern aircraft. The Garmin G5000 integrated instrument panel with touch controllers will be launched on business jets such as the Bombardier Learjet 75, Cessna Citation Sovereign X, Latitude and Longitude.
Rockwell Collins will introduce touchscreen flight displays on Beechcraft King Air aircraft later this year as part of its ProLine Fusion avionics suite. Honeywell intends to launch resistive touch screens in 2018 as part of the Epic 2 avionics suite, which will be installed on Embraer E-Jet E2 regional aircraft.
Winglet War
First noticed on business jets, wingtips (winglets), designed to reduce aerodynamic drag, appeared on many aircraft of various airlines around the world in order to save fuel costs. The new generation of shark fin winglets are installed as standard on Airbus A320 aircraft, providing up to 4% reduction in fuel consumption compared to traditional wingtips.
The next step will be the introduction of Split Scimitar winglets developed by Aviation Partners on Boeing 737NG aircraft in 2014. These winglets should provide a reduction in consumption by another 2.2% compared to that achieved at given time savings of 4–5%. The "dual feather" wingtips proposed for Boeing's 737MAX airliners offer similar fuel savings.
Combined vision systems
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The air transportation market is growing rapidly, so designers regularly publish concepts for the flying transport of the future.
Aerospace giant Airbus has tested an unmanned flying taxi created as part of the Vahana project. The aircraft, called Alpha One, took off for the first time. The lift height was low - only 16 feet (4.9 m) - and Alpha One was in the air for only 53 seconds, after which it landed. Nevertheless, the aircraft performed all operations independently, in autonomous mode. The next day, the Vahana project team conducted another test takeoff of Alpha One, and it was also successful.
Airbus has reportedly launched this project to "democratize private flying" using all latest technologies, including machine vision and electric traction. Based on this concept, the Vahana team developed the Alpha One, an electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for one passenger. The company's ultimate goal is to create a network of autonomous passenger drones, similar to the fleet of self-driving cars for ride-hailing services that Waymo is set to launch this year, but Airbus's project is even more ambitious.
However, before this happens, Airbus needs to continue to develop its technology and perform more flight tests, after which it can move on to testing horizontal flights.
Lockheed Martin & Aerion
A real battle is breaking out among developers of various manned aircraft over who will be the first to produce a supersonic aircraft that will become widespread. And recently one of largest producers Lockheed Martin has joined this race with its new supersonic business jet project.
Lockheed Martin is collaborating with Aerion on a new project, and the new aircraft will be called AS2. The main innovation in the production of the aircraft will be the design of three engines: two are located under the wings of the aircraft, the third is in the tail. This arrangement will have a positive effect on both the speed and aerodynamics of the future airliner. It is worth noting that Lockheed Martin engineers presented such a design back in 2014, but only now has it found a worthy application. In addition, the aircraft’s interior will be made to all standards corresponding to the premium segment, and, according to the creators, the flight from Los Angeles to Sydney will take only two hours.
Collaboration with Aerion was not accidental. The fact is that this company is one of the market leaders in the design of aerodynamic bodies, which is very important for any aircraft.
The founder of the American company SpaceX, Elon Musk, proposed using promising reusable BFR launch vehicles for passenger flights on planet Earth. According to Musk's Twitter account, thanks to such rockets, the flight duration between any two points on the planet will not exceed one hour. Today, many aircraft developers are working to significantly reduce flight time. The creation of “quiet” supersonic aircraft is being considered as the main way to speed up air travel. passenger aircraft. The first such aircraft should appear in the early 2020s and will reduce travel time across regular routes on average twice.
According to a presentation published on the SpaceX YouTube channel, BFR rockets with passenger modules could be launched from offshore platforms. Passengers would be transported there by high-speed ships. After launch and entry into orbit, the detachable stages of the BFR rocket would return to the ground, and the passenger module would fly to a target outside the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 27 thousand kilometers per hour.
Toyota decided to invest 350 thousand dollars in a project to create a flying car. According to NHK, this will help complete development vehicle by 2019. The public premiere of the car could take place as early as 2020 at the Tokyo Olympics. According to preliminary data, the flying car will be called Skydrive. Several Toyota employees have been working on this project on a voluntary basis since 2012. The single-seater machine will receive four rotors, which will work in a similar way to modern quadcopters.
The maximum speed of Skydrive will be 100 kilometers per hour. The machine will be capable of taking off at a height of up to 10 meters. The car will also be able to travel on public roads.
Earlier it was reported that Toyota plans to create a car based on air cushion. It was assumed that this solution would reduce friction and, accordingly, increase the efficiency of the motor and improve control.
On this moment Several companies are developing flying cars. So, this year such a vehicle was presented by the Slovak company AeroMobil. The development of the machine took 25 years. At the moment, the new product is already available for pre-order. Prices range from 1.2 to 1.5 million euros.
The AeroMobil automatically enters flight mode within three minutes. The power reserve in the ground version is 700 kilometers, and in the air version - 750. The maximum speed of the car is 160 kilometers per hour. Moreover, in air mode this figure reaches 360 kilometers per hour. The vehicle can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour in 10 seconds. The weight of the car is 960 kilograms.
Boom
British billionaire Richard Branson supported American company Boom in its development of a passenger supersonic airliner. The company presented a prototype yesterday of this aircraft, called the XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator.
Financial and technical support for the project is provided by Branson's company Virgin Galactic. The first test flight of the airliner is scheduled for the end of next year, tests will take place in Southern California.
The prototype shown is a 1:3 scaled-down copy of the production model. The plane is made of composite materials, it has only 40 standard first class passenger seats, which are arranged one in a row.
It is expected that the new supersonic passenger plane will be able to cover the distance between London and New York in 3.5 hours, the road from San Francisco to Tokyo will take four hours, and from Los Angeles to Sydney it will be possible to fly in six hours.
“I have long been passionate about aerospace innovation and the development of high-speed commercial flight. Virgin Galactic is an innovator in space and it was an easy decision for them to work with Boom,” says Richard Branson.
Evolution civil aviation in the last few years has received a serious boost in both technological and economically. The number of people traveling by air is growing rapidly every year, and therefore designers regularly publish very interesting concepts for the flying transport of the future, from airplanes on autopilot to personal air taxis. Currently, most of these projects are still in the stages of research, testing and developing a strategy for economic implementation. This is not surprising: the slightest mistake during design can cause the death of many people, and therefore excessive haste is highly undesirable. The Wendover Productions channel collected in one video the most interesting and promising projects of aircraft of the future and tried to answer the question of whether airlines will be able to bring this or that idea to life in the foreseeable future:
When it comes to innovation, the main criterion for a successful project is its practicality and efficiency. The ideal passenger aircraft of our time has medium dimensions and is at the same time capable of serving the maximum number of passengers. Its scope is transatlantic flights over short and medium distances, since the Boeing 787 now copes well with long-distance flights. For a long time, it has been “universal” passenger airliner there was a twin-engine small-capacity Boeing 757, the peak of whose popularity occurred during the period when such aircraft were officially allowed to make transatlantic flights. Despite the fact that it is still quite good at what it does, the 1983 design has a number of shortcomings that more modern aircraft do not have, in particular the presence of a composite frame and wing design features. Production of the 757 model was stopped in 2004.
Electric planes as a way to make flights cheaper
As a result of this decision, airlines have a window between the small 737 and the overly large 787, which can carry 230-280 passengers and fly over distances of up to 7,400 km. The company is currently working on a new model, the Boeing 797, whose design will include modern engines and a sectional body design that will allow it to operate at its maximum efficiency. After completion of testing, it is he who can take on the role of transport for an ever-increasing number of passengers around the world.
In the field of regional flights, there are much more ambitious projects that over time could completely change the pricing system for air travel: electric planes. Currently, there are many restrictions for their implementation as full-fledged transatlantic transport, from power limitations of electric motors to low battery capacity. But for local flights they are perfect. The main obstacle for them is not even technical, but economic limitations: traveling by train or car will cost several times cheaper (especially for Europe, where suburban train in a few hours he can cross the entire country from edge to edge). In order for electric aircraft to seriously compete with other types of transport, aircraft designers have to look for innovative ways to reduce the cost of flight. For example, the Zunum Aero project is distinguished by a significant reduction in the cost and consumption of jet fuel due to the hybrid design of their aircraft. Its testing should begin by 2020 and, according to the official website, the price of flights will not exceed $100 at current exchange rates. The company says it has found a way to cut fuel costs for small aircraft by 40% to 80% - a significant saving.
Near future
Of course, these planes will not solve all problems. The emergence of new products will inevitably provoke new difficulties, for the solution of which aircraft of the next generation will be created - and so on, until finally the industry either turns into something more perfect and devoid of the shortcomings of our time, or gives way to new technologies (all of us, of course , we can’t wait until scientists finally invent working teleports). But the fact remains: sooner or later, new mid-range jets and electric runabouts will enter production, and this may be what will make air travel cheaper and much more accessible.
The airport is the first thing travelers encounter when arriving in a new country or city. To impress air harbors, being the face of the country, often have futuristic architecture, large interior spaces, technology and convenience for passengers. Russia is no exception to this. And although we have beautiful and convenient airports with modern architectural solutions, and our airports receive various international prizes, we have room to strive. Modern technologies allow passengers to easily navigate airports with several terminals, speed up and simplify the process of checking in for a flight and checking in baggage. This is especially important for our country on the eve of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Journalist Marisa Canon spoke about the most advanced airports in the world and high technologies in the Russian edition of the magazine "Business Traveller".
Biometrics
Passengers sometimes have to take out and show their documents five times. It is not surprising that airports are trying to make the document verification procedure as fast as possible and are introducing high-tech biometric devices at checkpoints. In general, attempts to implement control without contact between passengers and staff have been made since 2003, but this year has become a real breakthrough. In March, British Airways launched a facial scanning system that allows passengers to avoid having to pull out documents at the airport at all. This technology is currently available in the Heathrow Airport domestic terminal, exit to international routes only in plans for now.
FACE SCANNING SYSTEM ALLOWS PASSENGERS NOT TO HAVE DOCUMENTS AT THE AIRPORT
A similar system has been in place since the beginning of the year in Amsterdam Schiphol. The KLM passenger only needs to scan their document at the kiosk self-registration. Upon boarding, he passes through special turnstiles with cameras that compare the photo with the original passport data. New biometric technologies are now being introduced at 22 airports around the world. But Emirates airline and Dubai Airport were one step ahead of everyone, where they are already deploying an automatic border control system in the arrival area. If the experiment is successful, smart immigration gates will be launched in the departure area as well. IN full force The system should be operational by the end of 2018.
Information beacons
Transmitters are installed throughout the airport that track the passenger’s movement and send information about the necessary check-in counters, boarding gates, restaurants, shops, etc. via Bluetooth to his smartphone. The system will also create the optimal route to your destination and calculate the time to the gate. This technology is especially relevant for airports with several terminals, where transit time is very important for transit passengers. IN international airport Doha has 700 radio beacons installed that literally track every step of a passenger. The application not only plots the route to the selected point, but also informs about the status of the flight, baggage claim, waiting time in line for passport control etc. In May of this year, London Gatwick Airport equipped the application with augmented reality technology. The passenger just needs to turn on the camera on his mobile phone, and the direction of travel will be shown in 3D mode. Airport representatives specifically note that access to travelers’ personal data through radio beacons is impossible without their consent.
Robot assistants
Last year, KLM introduced a robot named Spencer that can scan boarding passes and plot routes to the correct gate.
At Seoul Incheon Airport, robots created by LG clean rooms, move luggage, and work as tour guides. These know-hows were launched as part of Korea's preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics. LG engineers promise that robot waiters will appear soon.
Perhaps the most robotic airport is Tokyo's Haneda. JAL's humanoid automated machines tell passengers in three languages not only their boarding gate number, but also the weather at their destination. Hitachi robots, moving on roller skates, work as airport guides, Panasonic robots do cleaning, deliver water for passengers, tell the numbers of buses leading to the airport, and can even communicate in Japanese, Chinese or English.
Everything on your own
Amsterdam Schiphol can be called a pioneer of progress. For the first time, luggage was checked in automatically here. It works simply: the passenger places the suitcase in a special device that resembles a pipe, scans boarding pass and receives a luggage tag that needs to be glued to the handle. The system itself weighs and sends the suitcase to its destination. No queues, everything is simple and fast. There is only one minus - you can’t persuade a robot to close its eyes to a slight advantage...
BAGGAGE SCANNERS WORK LIKE A COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHER
In August this year, FAST technology was introduced at the new terminal of Changi Airport (Singapore), with which travelers can check in at a time convenient for them and automatically undergo absolutely all additional procedures. The system consists of self-check-in kiosks, machines for immigration processing, baggage drop-off and boarding. Thus, passengers check in their luggage themselves, go through passport control themselves, board the plane themselves, and do not have any contact with the staff at all! Baggage scanners work similar to a CT scanner rather than an X-ray. Therefore, there is no need to take out and turn on laptops and tablets - everything is visible through the cases. This significantly shortens the inspection procedure. When passing through smart immigration control terminals, you need to scan your boarding pass. Cameras record the passenger's face during check-in and, when checking in luggage, they compare it with the photo in the passport. The boarding gate is also automated: the traveler is met at the gate not by an airport employee, but by a robot.
Entertainment and relaxation
Innovation at airports isn't just about pre-flight procedures. Modern air hubs are more reminiscent of shopping and entertainment centers than just transshipment points. They have shops and boutiques, gourmet restaurants, spas, swimming pools and other opportunities to spend time beneficial for the soul and body. Ahead of the rest is Singapore Changi Airport, recognized this year as the best in the world. He earned this title not only for automatic pre-flight procedures, but also for the beauty and comfortable wait for flights (even the seats in the departure halls are equipped with sockets and USB connectors). Changi has a butterfly garden, a rooftop swimming pool, hotels, spas, fitness centers and even a free cinema, not to mention shops and areas with free internet. The new terminal has 2000 sq. m of green space, many living trees equipped with an automatic irrigation system. At the end of 2018, another terminal will open in Changi - Jewel. On an area of 22 thousand square meters. m, in addition to cafes, restaurants, boutiques and a hotel, the most picturesque gardens will be laid out, and the central element will be a 40-meter artificial Rain Vortex waterfall with rainwater.
