Welcome to Hangar of the Future!
​
Who we are:
The Aerospace and MRO Technology Innovation (AMT-I) Center and its Hangar of the Future research arm is a multi-disciplinary, collaborative project laboratory established in 2009 in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University.
​
What we do:
Student design teams work with research faculty and industry partners in aviation, aerospace and commercial space, addressing the challenge of humans incorporating a blend of physical and digital/product data tools in high-consequence operations. We practice rapid design, test and integration of Industry 4.0, Digital Thread technology systems and data science principles. Signature projects include mid-level innovation and process adaptations incorporating:
​
​
​
​
​
​
Projects are focused on their ability to serve humans in aerospace manufacturing, air vehicle lifecycle servicing, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) support operations, and in training and education of the future workforce! In Fall of 2022 we began incorporating commercial space operations support because of our AET student cross-over skills this industry is finding very valuable! We also want to save the whales, but one thing at a time.
How we do it:
Design teams use Industry 4.0 tools and frameworks, the Digital Thread and Industry Internet of Things (IIoT) concepts to engineer and test novel, adaptive approaches for delivering intuitive, amplified operational data or technical work instructions. Things like 3D digital product data, safety/process visualization and other operational intelligence...on-demand...to the point-of-maintenance, assembly or launch.
Project goals are to enable task airworthiness/spaceworthiness, safety, quality and reliability assurance in technical operations. Projects incorporate UI/UX design profiles, human factors, hazard analysis/FMEA, Technology Readiness Assessments, and system cost/ROI estimates. Projects are scaled and tested on the School’s laboratory aircraft, live hangar and ramp spaces. We used two thesauruses to write these paragraphs.
​
​
​
​
​​Key performance outcomes:
Projects must demonstrate industry-standard usability at the point-of-operation. Data tools must not only work in the lab. They must scale and function in the real environment, and be usable by the front line technician. Key performance means project solutions work on-demand: on the line, under the wing, on the flight deck, upside down in the electronics bay, or chasing a wire bundle through bulkheads. Key ROI/RORI metrics include:
-
Decreased time-on-task (labor hours)
-
Increased 'positive wrench time' (labor rate value)
-
Increased task accuracy and first-time fix rates
​
We use Technology Readiness Level (TRL) criteria used by Aerospace and other high-reliability industries to assess project maturity and mission readiness.
​
Check out our Signature R&D Projects section!
