HELICOPTERS Airbus Amber

Building smart automation together

EASA VTOL Symposium 2024 Caroline CANIVET

Thierry VANDENDORPE
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Aviation safety, our chief priority for today and tomorrow

Vortex
alerting HUMS
Bird strike
windshield
Fenestron

85%
Accidents
operational
causes

Recorder
Autopilot
Panic Button
Crashworthy
Assisted Take
Fuel Tanks
Off Electronic “Flight Perfo”
Flight Bag application

Already lots of safety improvements Next levers are about

in the past years ways of piloting & automation
369 © Copyright Airbus Helicopters 2024 / Building smart automation together HUMS = Health and Usage Monitoring System
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Rotorcraft Automation today and tomorrow

Flight Control
Autopilot assistance
External Environment
Continuous Pilot
Vehicle Management monitoring
Degraded modes
Mission Management Failure management

TODAY, the crew workload is still high TOMORROW, we’ll progress towards
an enhanced human/machine teaming

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Automation as transverse topic

Technical
Domains
Platforms Missions
Flight Control Systems
Avionics

Usage Missions Systems

Vehicle
Phases Human Factors Stakeholders
OEM & suppliers
Flight Preparation
Operators
Mission
Training organizations
Post-flight analysis
General public & Society
Maintenance
Regulation Authorities

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New challenges : a changing environment

New missions Simplify and secure Increased Safety

and increasing mission complexity pilot qualification expectations
in an evolving context

372 © Copyright Airbus Helicopters 2024 / Building smart automation together

Automation Benefits Accidents Nb
reduction

Environment
awareness
Human
Flight envelope
errors
protection
reduction

SAFETY
Crew
assistance Simplified
Piloting

Crew Reduced
More capable maintenance
aircraft workload Reduced
reduction training

MISSIONS VALUE to
New
collaborative
missions Less piloting CUSTOMER Reduced
operating
needs costs
Higher mission
performance Higher
Optimisation availability
of aircraft

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Focus on Training Opportunities

To reduce trainings To reduce high risk To create room To standardize

footprint on manual skills training operations for new contents operations for all H/C
(safety, mission, …)
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Success Criteria
End to End right level of Automation
solutions operator really uses
Simplify Availability
rather than complexify

Fleet concept
Secure ensuring operators acceptance
complex decisions making

SMART AUTOMATION

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HELICOPTERS Airbus Helicopters Automation Roadmap Airbus Amber

5
Automatic Approaches
LEGEND :
Full
Automation IN SERVICE IN 2024
CIVIL INNOVATION
Automatic Take Off MILITARY INNOVATION
4 CityAirbus
Vortex Alerting Rig N Fly VSR700
High
Automation

Avoid Loss of Control H160 PC1

Lakota UAS version

H160 Helionix
3
Conditional Vision Based Landing
Recovery Button Automation
Obstacle Alerting

Advanced Navigation Intuitive piloting

2 DeckFinder

Partial Obstacle Avoidance

H125 RSAS Automation

Image detection
(EAGLE)
1 3D Terrain reconstruction
Enhanced Vision System ATC Assistance
Pilot FlightLab PioneerLab
Assistance

376
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The regulations and standards challenge
Concept of Operations
(definition of technical and operational assumptions, gap analysis, specification of
regulatory needs…)

Product Certification Flight Crew Air Traffic

(e.g. obsolete instruments,
Licensing / Training Air Operations Management

+
new hazards, new task (e.g. controlled airspace for
sharing assumptions, modified
HQ, new KoO, Min Crew,
(e.g. base training
international standards + (e.g. new type of operation,
Min Crew, required IDE) autonomy flight, conspicuity /
DAA for non cooperative
OSD…) adaptation)
traffic…)

Rulemaking & Standards development

Success Criteria:
❏ On-time & adapted to autonomy development stages
❏ Product agnostic
❏ Internationally harmonized

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The progressive regulatory path towards increasing automation
Today

Non-deterministic
Inputs from Industry

Certification specifications
Modernized certification criteria
and collaboration Special conditions
5
with the Regulators certification objectives
based on Conops
is key for the Full

Initial Airworthiness of Vehicle & supporting systems

development of the Automation
regulations 4
necessary to reach Assisted WG-63/S-18 Advanced
full autonomy. FHA/SSA High
takeoff Detect & Avoid Systems Automation Digital
CRI 3 Flight Rules
Still in early stages
with uncertainties on Advanced CNS
e-conspicuity Conditional Full IFR (to the ground)
both the regulatory system @U-
items and timelines ADS-L for e- Automation
space Redefined

Public acceptance
conspicuity Minimum crew Simplified VTOL
2
Advanced Air
ETSO/Standards

ATPL/CPL
Mobility New IFR
Partial
equipments Non-cooperative
UAS & eVTOL Simplified VTOL
Automation automatic
developments to Type Rating
deconfliction rules &
serve as a catalyst 1 procedures in IFR Remote
Minimum crew
Pilot opportunities low airspace e- Flight Instruction
Assistance conspicuity Training credits
mandate (OSD)

Air Operations requirements Airspace requirements Licencing & Training of personnel

Regulatory Milestones
CRI: Certification Review Item, WG-63 & S-18 are EUROCAE & SAE standardization working groups, ADS-L: Automatic Dependent Surveillance Light, CNS : Communication Navigation Surveillance, OSD = Operational Suitability Data,
ATPL = Air Transport Pilot License, CPL = Commercial Pilot License.

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Take Away Full Benefit

With standardized fleet

Progressive
Implementation of
solutions in Ops & Training

Develop
& certify
Automation
Solutions

Rotorcraft smart automation Stepwise approach with Right balance between:

designed as safety enhancer Tailored regulatory framework - Safety & Operational Benefits
- Business sustainability
to secure effective implementation
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