Smart Hangar Technology Reduces the Danger of Aircraft Damage

In order to assist MROs, FBOs, and corporate flight departments in lowering the possibility of damaging aircraft during ground movement, a recent company developed a smart hangar technology system.

The Fyve By system offers real-time visual monitoring of aircraft, cargo, tools, and personnel in a maintenance operations area using artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology. The system uses sensors, software, and cameras that are fixed to a hangar’s walls and roof to reconstruct the structure in three dimensions. The replica is streamed to a tablet so that an operator can monitor employees and equipment to minimize risks. Preston LaVangie, co-founder of Fyve By, says the 360-degree backup camera in a vehicle is a good analogy to use. “We provide that [functionality] for an aircraft that’s moving back into a hangar so we don’t nick any walls, vehicles or other airplanes.”

The startup is collaborating with several private MROs and operators to test and develop the technology. It is developing a computer learning feature to recognize possible threats, such as external power sources, batteries, or toolboxes, and to alert operators if they obstruct an aircraft’s flight path.

The other co-founder of Fyve By, Benjamin Youngstrom, claims that the company has already seen instances where its technology could have stopped expensive harm. Youngstrom claims he witnessed a Pilatus PC-12’s wing fold down over the fuselage as a ground crew unintentionally back a Pilatus PC-12 into a wall while the plane was being serviced at Fyve By’s office space at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

“In that scenario, with our system, you would have a tablet mounted to your tractor or tug,” he says. Instead of needing to be warned by coworkers about a potential collision, the operator “would be able to very literally see on their tablet that they’re approaching an obstacle. There’s a marker that shows them distance and how far they are.”

In order to try and refine the technology, the startup is collaborating with a number of private MROs and operators. It is developing a computer learning feature to recognize possible threats, such as external power sources, batteries, or toolboxes, and to alert operators if they obstruct an aircraft’s flight path.

The smart hangar system has the ability to track hazards as well as watch security and more effectively manage aircraft positioning inside the hangar.

“A lot of the solutions for hangar stacking right now are kind of what we would call ‘dumb solutions,’” says Youngstrom. “They are not intelligently enabled,” so it is more like “playing your own game of Tetris within a pre-rendered hangar space. Since our system is capable of identifying not only where aircraft are, but what kind of aircraft they are and what their dimensions are in the space, we can run a multi-dimensional algorithm that’s identifying open opportunity space.”