Grant: Alliance Grants

The MACrO project envisions developing methodologies and tools to design future aircraft control architectures in an optimal, effective, and human-centric manner for future safer aircraft with a reduced environmental impact. This project is part of Bombardier's Ecojet research program, which will introduce a Blended Wing Body aircraft configuration and new technologies to reduce business jet emissions by up to 50%. In addition, the rapid evolution of aircraft digital controls, monitoring, health, maintenance and prognostics scheme development combined with modern design and modelling techniques enable increased aircraft automation to reduce crew operation (RCO) workload and potentially enable single pilot operation (SPO). As business aircraft operation is a more demanding environment for pilots, it requires more ad-hoc operations, less support (no airline dispatcher helping), more variability, and more flexible route planning. In the context of the EcoJet project, additional aspects, such as using advanced flight control systems to optimize flying routes to reduce environmental impact, will contribute to the complexity. To address the complex system integration challenges, the team from Concordia University will perform research on three objectives: (1) improve model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approaches to support architecture trade-off studies, safety analysis, and optimization; (2) develop a pilot model allowing the building of a viable RCO/SPO system architecture concept and assess workload and required skill sets; (3) develop a reconfigurable test-bench to validate the pilot and control models. A diverse, experienced and proven team has been established to provide a high-quality training environment for highly qualified personnel. Industry experts from the Aircraft System Architecture Design and Integration group and the Flight Deck Design and Human Factors group will collaborate with the academic experts and students. This project will contribute to Canada's economic strategy to invest in the long-term future of the aerospace industry, Canada's climate change action plan, and society by developing safer aircraft with extended minimum crew requirements.