H55 is revolutionizing the aviation industry with HIL

Blog highlights:

• Learn about the developing technologies for cleaner air transport.
• Lead H55 partners share how embracing the unexpected is key to making a change for a greener future.
• Find out about the key benefits of using HIL in aircraft engineering.

Introduction | Revolutionizing the aviation industry

H55 is a Switzerland-based company with the mission of making air transport quiet and clean by providing certified electric propulsion solutions. The core of H55’s branded technology is focused on an integrated power, propulsion, and battery management system which includes battery packs, connectors, motor, motor controller, pilot interface, and power controls. By merging the knowledge and solutions of H55 with Typhoon HIL’s Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) technology for power electronics control testing, the vision of electrical propulsion in aviation becomes one step closer.

Partnership | A great alignment of company missions

H55’s vision is to bring the key players of the industry together and provide the best solutions for making aviation clean. The biggest efforts in minimizing CO2 emissions can be achieved during the thrust of the flight. H55 uses a revolutionary technology, that transforms electromagnetic power into kinetic power – and we expect this electric propulsion to provide more accessible, safer, and sustainable flights. Flying using solar energy and electrical propulsion is one of the most environmentally-friendly solutions on today’s market.

Typhoon HIL’s mission aligns well with the one of H55, which is to engineer and promote environmentally sustainable technologies that scale. Partnering with companies like H55, Typhoon HIL can assist in handling all the extra complexity that is coming from control software and through digital devices in the most efficient way. Also, pre-certification becomes possible through the creation of digital twins. The ultimate vision is to speed up the electrification of all modes of transportation.

Making history | Celebrating the first solar flight around the world

Nikola Celanovic, the co-founder and CEO of Typhoon HIL, and André Borschberg, co-founder and executive chairman of H55, had a chance to meet at the 5th anniversary of Solar Impulse’s flight around the world to discuss breakthroughs in aviation technology. They highlighted to what extent accepting the unexpected is a part of the journey. The common vision of this partnership is to share the technical knowledge to achieve revolutions in clean aviation faster together.

H55 had its first trip around the globe in 2016, crossing over the Pacific Ocean. This type of endeavor needs to be well-planned based on a strategy that will decrease the possibility of any failure. The challenge of the engineers is to find a way to predict any mistake during the flight.

“ Unexpected is the way of life.

Nikola Celanovic
Co-founder and CEO
Typhoon HIL

Every good strategist needs to accept the unexpected and welcome challenges positively.

HIL Benefits | Why use HIL in aircraft engineering?

Professor Philippe Barrade from The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO) leads the research group that is the main academic partner of H55. Prof. Barrade highlights how Typhoon HIL solutions are used for solving technical and commercial problems and can be used as a communication tool between equipment manufacturers, product integrators, solution development partners, and final customers. In his view, digital twins provide a way to assist the understanding of implemented technologies by visualizing how it works in a model-based simulated environment that is cost-efficient to set up and safe to run.

“ Everything can be tested without any risk! It is only a simulation. For us this is a unique occasion to test our development methods in a highly interesting project.

Prof. Philippe Barrade
Head of the Power Electronics and Drives research group
HES-SO

The purpose of using a simulated real-time HIL environment is to analyze the constraints on the electronics in a safe setting, so the right components can be chosen, integrated, and the control software for them tested and verified. The HIL development environment not only models the behavior of the electronics in their early stages but can also model aircraft flight simulation, which allows the test of the software control of the fully integrated aircraft system.

Mission | Supporting a greener future

The first solar flight around the world was supported by the Solar Impulse Foundation. This Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life on Earth by fast-tracking the implementation of clean and profitable solutions to encourage decision-makers to adopt more ambitious environmental targets and policies.

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