DESIGN S O FTWA R E
GENERATIVE DESIGN
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
118 MARCH 2020
There are many positive aspects of VR, but all of these
experts also concede that more needs to be done before
the technology becomes more user-friendly and then
becomes mainstream. For Hyper – funded by EIT Digital
– developing a better haptic element to the VR process
will be really important.
“The one piece that stands out for us, and one that
can be a deal-breaker in this environment, is the haptic
sense of the space that has been prototyped,” Buckley
continues. “This is not a simple problem to solve, but
it is the next important step in early prototyping. We
need to not only look at a design, but also to try to use
it and feel it in VR. This is a new challenge, but its cost
benefits bring an opportunity to reconcile the value of
comfort and the premium experience at the earliest
design stage.”
Paris-based ESI Group is another expert in this field
and its manufacturing marketing manager, Eric Kam,
believes that beyond the technical aspects of VR
integration, human mindset changes are also needed.
“Business process integration is a non-technical
obstacle to overcome, which will benefit from the
advances in VR for validation of interior designs,” he says.
Generative design is a
CAD engineering software
function in which a designer
collaborates with AI algorithms
to generate and evaluate
hundreds of potential
designs for a product idea.
Airbus is using generative
design to tackle complex
engineering, architectural
and systems challenges, with
an initial application being
the reimagining of structural
aircraft components to reduce
weight while exceeding
performance and safety
standards.
In 2015, Airbus’s first
investigation into generative
design was the ‘bionic
partition’, a proof-of-concept
for a next-generation version
of the wall and jumpseat
support structure that divides
the passenger compartment
from the galley.
The initial design indicated
a potential 45% weight saving
over the existing production
part, with the same strength.
Airbus estimated the design
would save nearly half a million
metric tons of CO2 emissions
per year if rolled out across its
backlog of A320s.
Originally the intention
was to fabricate the new
partition using metal additive
manufacturing, but the
generative design technology
used – an Autodesk system –
has continued to mature and
is now capable of optimising
for multiple advanced
manufacturing techniques
during the design phase.
For Airbus, this meant it
could use generative design
to create a plastic, 3D-printed
mould for the partition, and
then cast the part in an alloy
already qualified for flight.
Bionic partition 2.0 is as strong
and light as its predecessor,
but can be fabricated at scale
for a lower cost.
Airbus is in the process of
applying generative design to
rethink other structural aircraft
components, including the
leading edge of the vertical
tail plane of the A320.
BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) WORKED WITH
NEUTRAL DIGITAL TO CREATE A VR
EXPERIENCE OF ITS A350-1000 CLUB
SUITE, AS WELL AS ALL THE IMAGERY
AND VISUALS IN THE SUPPORTING
PR CAMPAIGNS. THE TECHNOLOGY
ENABLED BA STAFF AND THE PUBLIC
TO GET A DETAILED AND INTERACTIVE
INSIGHT INTO WHAT CLUB SUITE
WOULD LOOK AND FEEL LIKE
BEFORE IT ACTUALLY TOOK
TO THE SKIES
British Airways
share more details
about the thinking
behind the Club
Suite on p80
“We need to not only
look at a design, but
also to try to use it
and feel it in VR”
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com