Message posted on
15 May 2025 by HIVE
On May 15, 2025, an experimental Living Lab, the “Hangar of the Future,” was opened at the Business Park Aviolanda location within Hive Aerospace Collective. Here, various HIVE partners, such as the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the Netherlands Aerospace Center, and Fokker Services Group, are working on innovations in MRO that can be practically implemented in working methods and processes. The goal is to be able to repair and maintain both civil and military aircraft and helicopters within HIVE in a smarter, faster, easier, and less labor-intensive (i.e., more automated) manner.
The first project launched in the Living Lab is “Smart Assisted Towing.” Currently, three people are needed to move an aircraft or helicopter. Ultimately, this should be reduced to one person. This requires a collaborative system of cameras, sensors, software, and a remote-controlled nose wheel tractor. There are no real aircraft in the Hangar of the Future. Towing is simulated using a frame on wheels and augmented reality. The advantage of this is that you can easily switch between different types of aircraft without them having to be physically present.
Roy Haanen, Commander of the 980 Squadron at Woensdrecht Air Base, which is responsible for maintenance, explains what a real hangar of the future might look like: “In the past, the rotor blade of a helicopter was checked for damage using a hammer and the mechanic’s ears. That work can now be partially taken over by a robot aptly named Woodpecker. This allows us to automate intensive manual tapping, allowing the maintenance technician to focus on repairing the blade. Another example is a Digital Twin. This is a digital copy of the hangar, which new aircraft technicians can use to do part of their training on the computer. This means that the maintenance process does not have to be disrupted.”
In the Living Lab, HIVE partners in various configurations will soon be launching even more special projects designed to accelerate innovation in civil-military MRO. Together, we are working on the future of aerospace!
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