It is also interesting because Rolls Royce is a world-leader, and could be used as an example of an exporter that does gain from a weaker pound. It does face problems (its business model involved selling engines at a loss and making money on the subsequent service contracts, which is not efficient anymore, and it is having to change shape rapidly), but think about how the government could support it in maintaing its global position.
How AI is leading the way on transport tech
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Rolls-Royce technology chief Paul Stein on why the firm’s electrifying ideas could herald a zero-carbon future
September 27 2019, 12:01am
For Rolls-Royce, the world’s second largest manufacturer of aero engines and a company with a distinguished history of pioneering R&D, technology strategy is all about the play-off between optimising existing products and simultaneously leading the charge on developing the low carbon power systems of the future.
“The most pressing issue is how to get the right balance between new technology-led opportunities and existing product evolution,” says the firm’s chief technology officer, Paul Stein. “People will still be buying gas turbines [conventional aero engines] for the next 40 or 50 years, so we have to make sure we keep those products competitive for the long term. But we also have to free up as many resources as we can for driving productivity and for investing in the new.”
Stein explains how technologies such as digitisation and AI are already paying big dividends in design and operational efficiency. After a flight, for example, data from Rolls-Royce’s engines is analysed not only to help schedule maintenance requirements but also to establish the best possible operational parameters. “We pull huge amounts of data from our engines and an artificial intelligence agent crawls all over it to extract behavioural information,” he says. “Did that particular flight use a bit more fuel or a bit less and, if so, why?”
AI is also used to improve the analysis of engineering X-rays and scans, determining the health of engine parts just as doctors use similar systems to help diagnose their patients. “It’s the same technology,” Stein explains. “AI visual processing engines can look at a CT scan of a turbine blade, for example, and make a decision on whether it is good or bad.”
But the most significant technological change on the horizon is the shift towards electric power plants, not just in the aviation field where Rolls-Royce is best known but also in its marine and railway power businesses. Stein is enthusiastic about the possibilities. “Electrification is exciting and fast-moving – and it’s already making an impact. One of our most successful examples is our hybrid electric-train power pack. It’s a Toyota Prius for suburban railways – it’s brilliant because it means that trains can recover energy as they are coasting into the station and also that, when they are sitting waiting, the engine is not running and they are not creating any local pollutants.”
Electric power for airliners is also coming, he says, but is a more complex challenge and will take time. “We are not going to be flying battery-powered A380s but for aircraft carrying up to, say, 90 people there will be hybrid electric technology. For the big stuff – A320 and upwards – the technology becomes even more complex; long term, we don’t really see the impact of electrification there before 2035.” The challenge for this, and other radical technologies that are still some way from commercial viability, is not so much whether to invest but when, he says. “What I worry about is getting the pace right. We want to hit the market at just the right time.”
Quantum computing is another case in point. It offers a dramatic change in potential computer power but for Rolls-Royce it’s a question of picking the right moment and the right applications. “We are keeping a watching brief. There are some applications that fascinate us – materials discovery, for example. If quantum could be applied to that it could be quite interesting.”
When it comes to the skills that Rolls-Royce will require to deliver on its plans for the future, Stein reckons that competing for electrical and electronic expertise is going to be crucial. “Electrical skills are becoming a battleground across Europe – skills in power electronics, battery technology and electrical machine design.” Digital skills are also increasingly important, he adds, but the risk of shortages is offset by the fact that expertise can be more readily bought in. “It’s a bit easier to outsource digital than to do so for some traditional skills because you can create an ecosystem of smaller companies that provides talent to supplement your own.”
How I work: Paul Stein, CTO, Rolls-Royce
My days tend to be quite disparate. I spend some of my time on technical reviews, finding out how our various teams have been doing with their existing developments, and also listening to their analyses of new technologies.
I spend time as an executive team member; all of us on the executive team wear two hats: our functional hats and the hat that is about how we can all make Rolls-Royce an even greater company. That second hat is about people. As senior leaders we devote a good deal of our time to our people. It sounds trite but it’s true – we really are a people business.
I talk a lot to governments around the world – in the UK, Germany, Singapore and the US – as they have a big role to play in creating the right environment for new technology.
And recently I have been talking more to the media, to get the message across about how Rolls-Royce can be part of the solution to this changing world that we find ourselves in.
CV
1978 – Graduates in electrical & electronic engineering, Kings College London
1996 – Managing director, Roke Manor Research
2006 – Director-general, research and technology, Ministry of Defence
2010 – Joins Rolls-Royce as chief scientific officer
2016 – Director, research and technology, Rolls-Royce
2017 – Chief technology officer, Rolls-Royce. Appointed to executive leadership team
The view from IBM by Andy Stanford-Clark
The combination of sophisticated computer modelling with the power of artificial intelligence to crunch real-world data has already kicked off a revolution in high-tech engineering, according to Andy Stanford-Clark, chief technology officer of IBM UK & Ireland. “You can build a software model of a physical system and feed it with data from Internet of Things sensors so you can go through all the ‘What ifs?’ in the model before you go into the physical system.”
This is known as a Digital Twin; it enables companies like Rolls-Royce to build and test incredibly accurate computer facsimiles of aircraft engines in the same way the likes of Airbus build flight simulators to help train pilots on their planes before they graduate to flying the real thing. “Digital Twin modelling is going to have a huge impact across a whole range of industries.”
When it comes to deciding when to invest in up-and-coming new technologies where the business case is not so clear-cut, FOMO plays a part in decision-making, he adds. Take quantum computing. “In the future, a quantum computer might be able to quickly solve a problem that would become extremely large or time-consuming to do on a conventional computer.” So its potential to tackle intractably complex problems is almost mind-boggling, even though it is a long way off being commercially practical, yet. “Even though it’s early, now is the time to explore quantum. Those who delay until the technology is perfected risk falling behind on the shorter term benefits we are already starting to discover, today.”
No comments:
Post a Comment