Rolls-Royce launched its vision for the IntelligentEngine at the Singapore Airshow. At the heart of this vision is the company’s belief that the worlds of product and service are so closely connected that they are now inseparable. The company sees this as an opportunity to improve the way it provides power to its customers.
This trend was first identified by Rolls-Royce when it introduced TotalCare service in the 1990s. Since then, advances in digital capability have accelerated this change and further blurred the boundary between the two.
The IntelligentEngine vision is intended to enable Rolls-Royce to find new ways of pioneering power, whether that is through its engines installed today, or its future UltraFan engine design, or hybrid-electric concepts of the future.
In addition to designing, testing and maintaining engines in the digital realm, the company statets that in future engines will be “increasingly connected, contextually aware and comprehending”, helping to deliver greater reliability and efficiency:
- Connected means with other engines, as well as its support ecosystem and customers, allowing the regular, two-way flow of information between the parties.
- Contextually aware includes of its operating context, constraints and the needs of the customer, so it can respond to the environment around it without human intervention.
- Comprehending encompasses learning from its own experiences and from its network of peers to adjust its behaviour and achieve the best performance.
Dominic Horwood, Director, Customer and Services – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said: “We are determined to pioneer the power that matters for our customers and our IntelligentEngine vision will allow us to do this.”
Innovation through data
Rolls-Royce’s R2 Data Labs, an acceleration hub for data innovation launched in December 2017, will play a key role in achieving the aims of the IntelligentEngine. Using data analytics, industrial artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, R2 Data Labs develops data applications to unlock design, manufacturing and operational efficiencies within Rolls-Royce, and creates new service propositions for customers.
Rolls-Royce will set out further details of the IntelligentEngine vision over the coming year.
