Jet engine builder GE Aviation has a new “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) concerning “digital collaboration,” outlining how the two aviation-focused manufacturers plan to work together (“explore and collaborate”) on digital solutions and applications for customer and product support monitoring and diagnostics, “intelligent aircraft,” and Brilliant Manufacturing (the last referring to a GE software for predicting and reacting to changes in supply-chain conditions, manufacturing resources, etc.)
GE Aviation designs and manufactures commercial, military, and business and general aviation jet and turboprop engines and components, as well as avionics, electrical power and mechanical systems for aircraft. COMAC is China’s state-owned manufacturer of twin-engine, single-aisle and widebody passenger aircraft.
More, GE stated the partnership would bring together data scientists, software developers, and architects “to refine some of the ten billion data points produced by the aviation sector annually into solutions that can achieve greater fleet intelligence and operational insights.”
In the past year, GE Aviation has opened collaboration centers in Shanghai, Dubai, Austin, and Paris, connecting data, developers, and Predix, a cloud-based operating system for industry.
No terms or schedules relating to the MOU were released, but according to GE Aviation the two companies will set up a “joint team to launch pilot projects” based on an “outcome-based workshop” and exchanges to verify technical trends for collaboration.
"This agreement with COMAC will enable our teams of software architects and aviation domain experts to jointly develop digital solutions at GE's Shanghai digital collaboration center," stated Jim Daily, chief digital officer for GE Aviation. He added that the partnership would create digital solutions that will advance COMAC's operations in terms of manufacturing, flight analytics, and fleet operations support.
