Airbus selects Unabiz to research IoT, digitalization of aircraft MRO operations

SINGAPORE. Officials at Airbus in Toulouse, France, and UnaBiz in Singapore have entered into a maintenance, repair, and overall (MRO) research and technology agreement to advance research in digitalization of aircraft maintenance operations through the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

In a data-driven environment, communication between various components must be available on demand and accurate at all times. Beyond the wired network, most components of the infrastructure are mobile and require some form of wireless communication, especially in transmitting small packets of data over a long distance.

Most existing wireless network solutions are based on private networks that require the setup of a dedicated numbers of beacons to serve a single company, limiting the coverage and significantly increasing the cost of ownership and operation.

By working with UnaBiz, Airbus can leverage on Sigfox's low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN), a technology that is low cost in terms of capital investment and operation, ultra-low in power consumption, simple to deploy, and has a global coverage.

Airbus and UnaBiz will dedicate significant resources to this project to ensure the solutions defined can be deployed to facilities and operations globally.

"We are most excited to work with UnaBiz to explore the immense potential of IoT,” says Ivan Ho, managing director of Airbus Singapore. “UnaBiz's unique approach to device-to-cloud communications offers a disruptive IoT solution with potential for global applications."

"MRO has always been a tough aviation function to automate due to the complexity and confidentiality of sensitive data,” says UnaBiz CEO and Founder Henri Bong. “UnaBiz is committed to using its existing deep development expertise to build intelligence in tools, components, and other devices used in specific MRO processes. It is our mission to power cost-effective and energy-efficient connectivity for businesses as it is the only way the IoT revolution can materialize. We want to help Airbus increase operational reliability and efficiency without increasing overall costs through the implementation of IoT solutions on an affordable network."

UnaBiz is an end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) solutions company dedicated to accelerate the adoption of IoT worldwide. As the exclusive network operator of Sigfox's low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) in Singapore and Taiwan, UnaBiz is the first Iot dedicated network operator in Asia to roll out a nationwide IoT network.

UnaBiz aims to shape the future by providing cost-effective and energy-efficient IoT solutions that include wireless infrastructure, devices, and more. This ubiquitous network will allow businesses to connect millions of devices simply, affordably, and globally.

UnaBiz helps businesses collect and analyze data from millions of devices allowing them to maximize the efficiency of their resources and increase productivity, by facilitating detection and control of anomalies, accelerating resolution or even preventing them entirely. Our objective is to help businesses realize the true value and full potential of IoT.

Airbus provides aeronautics, space, and related services. In 2016, it generated revenues of EUR67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000.

Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport, and mission aircraft, as well as Europe's number one space enterprise and the world's second largest space business.

In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

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