ASA Director Brent Webb was a panelist at the 2019 EASA/FAA International Safety Conference, discussing the technology challenges (and solutions) facing the aviation industry.
Webb joined a distinguished panel of:
·Rachel Daeschler – Acting Certification Director, EASA
·Earl Lawrence – Executive Director, Aircraft Certification, FAA
·Francois Duclos – A350 and RPAS Chief Airworthiness Engineer, Airbus, and
·Lionel Wallace – Head of Airworthiness, Lilium
Webb discussed what he sees as the five pillars of digital transformation:
·Big data
·Digital twins
·Internet of things
·Digital certificates
·Blockchain
Webb discussed the ways we can use expanding developing technologies. He explained that by using artificial intelligence and similar technologies, we will be able to capture the tribal knowledge of a retiring workforce to maintain and grow our knowledge base as the older generation retires. Connecting devices through the internet of things can lead to better tracking of everything. For example, we can track tools through RFID and ensure everything is put away (pr at least, not left in an aircraft).
Webb explained that there are high expectations from blockchain. Blockchain is a tool that could solve a number of our problems; but the movement to a decentralized information sharing will take some political will, as well, because society is not used to decentralized information sharing.