Introduction | Meet the Heroes of the Story
In this Industry Spotlight, we take a closer look at H55’s vision for providing certified electric propulsion solutions and what role their industry-academia collaborations play in this technology’s development. H55 drew attention when it made history by successfully completing the first circumnavigation of the globe without a drop of fuel in its Solar Impulse solar-powered aircraft and set a world record as the first to fly non-stop for 5 days and 5 nights over The Pacific Ocean. From interviews with the co-founder and the senior power electronics engineer of H55, we learned about the key benefits they see in using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing solutions in aircraft engineering.
We also had the pleasure to talk to a close academic collaborator of H55, Dr. Philippe Barrade, professor and head of the Industrial Electronics and Drives research group at HES-SO, The University of Applied Sciences in western Switzerland. He spoke with us about the flight simulator his group created for training pilots, technicians, and students. We learned how the industry-academia collaboration between HES-SO, H55, and Typhoon HIL plays a key role in student education and in the technology transfer from academia to the industry. Watch the videos below or follow the links to read the full interviews.
Part #1 | Revolutionizing the aviation industry using HIL
André Borschberg, the co-founder and executive chairman of H55, and Nikola Celanovic, the co-founder and CEO of Typhoon HIL, had the chance to meet at the 5th anniversary of Solar Impulse’s flight around the world. In a friendly discussion, they highlighted the importance of using HIL solutions and pointed out the importance of electric propulsion as a revolutionary technology for the electrification of aviation. Watch the video above or follow the link below to read the full interview.
Part #2 | Prepare for the Unexpected
André Borschberg shared with us that H55’s vision is to bring the entities around and provide the best solutions to promote environmentally sustainable technologies. Typhoon HIL can assist in handling all the extra complexity that is coming from control software and through digital devices in the most efficient way, as well as help smooth out the unexpected parts of the journey. HIL solutions provide simulation in a real-time environment and the analysis of the constraints on the electronics in a safe setting, so the right components can be chosen and integrated, and the control software for them tested and verified. Watch the video above or follow the link below to read the full interview.
Part #3 | Electric propulsion system control validation testing with HIL
David Costes, a senior power electronics engineer at H55, explained to us the main parts of H55’s technology that needs to be tested using real-time simulation. Real-time testing can take all imaginable test scenarios into account with the real controller directly connected in a closed loop with the rest of the system simulated as a digital twin. This type of pre-validation assures that, once the control is used in the real aircraft, high security of its proper functioning and crew safety will be guaranteed. Watch the video above or follow the link below to read the full interview.
Part #4 | HES-SO is educating next generation aviation experts with HIL
Dr. Philippe Barrade, professor and head of the Industrial Electronics and Drives research group at HES-SO, The University of Applies Sciences in western Switzerland talk to us about the HES-SO, H55, and Typhoon HIL industry-academia collaboration and points out the #4 main benefits of HIL solutions as a development with no risk. We witnessed a real flight simulator that can be used for training pilots, technicians, and students. Watch the video above or follow the link below to read the full interview.
- Benefit #1 | HIL facilitates technology transfer to the industry
- Benefit #2 | Learning with HIL makes students employable and university programs attractive
- Benefit #3 | HIL is an educational tool for future pilots and engineers
- Benefit #4 | HIL saves time and money in the product development phase
Credits
Author | Eleni Apostolidou, Debora Santo
Visuals | Karl Mickei
Editor | Debora Santo