INDUSTRY NEWS
Helicopter final assembly line in India
In a major boost to ‘ Make in India ’, Airbus Helicopters has announced that it is partnering with the Tata Group to establish a Final Assembly Line ( FAL ) for helicopters in the country . The FAL will produce Airbus ’ best-selling H125 helicopter from its civil range for India and export to some of the neighbouring countries .
“ The FAL will be the first instance of the private sector setting up a helicopter manufacturing facility in India , providing a major boost to the Government of India ’ s ‘ AatmaNirbhar Bharat ’ ( self-reliant India ) programme . Under this partnership , Tata Advanced Systems Limited ( TASL ), a subsidiary of Tata Group , will set up the facility along with Airbus Helicopters ,” commented Airbus .
The announcement was made during the two-day visit of French President , Emmanuel Macron , to India as Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2024 .
The FAL in India will undertake integration of the major component assemblies ; avionics and mission systems ; installation of electrical harnesses ; hydraulic circuits ; flight controls ; dynamic components ; fuel system and the engine . It will also cover testing , qualification and delivery of the H125 to customers in India and the region . The FAL will take 24 months to set up and deliveries of the first ‘ Made in India ’ H125s are expected to commence in 2026 . The location of the
Guillaume Faury , CEO of Airbus , and N . Chandrasekaran , Chairman of Tata Sons .
FAL will be jointly decided by Airbus and the Tata Group .
“ This helicopter final assembly line , which we will build together with our trusted partner Tata , is a reaffirmation of Airbus ’ commitment to developing the full spectrum of the aerospace ecosystem in India . This will be the second final assembly line that Airbus is building in India after the ‘ Make in India ’ C295 military aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara , Gujarat ,” said Guillaume Faury , Airbus CEO .
The H125 produced in India is a multimission workhorse for passenger and goods transportation and can also be used
for segments such as emergency medical services ( HEMS ), disaster management , law enforcement , tourism and aerial work missions . Providing last mile connectivity to remote areas , the H125 will significantly contribute to the Government of India ’ s regional connectivity scheme — Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik ( UDAN )— that will further promote the tourism sector in the country . The H125 is the only helicopter to have landed on Mount Everest , demonstrating its agility in operating in high-altitude , extreme
H125 in flight . environments . The latest announcement is part of Airbus ’ efforts to develop a holistic aerospace ecosystem in India , where the company is expanding its industrial footprint with aircraft assembly ; component manufacturing ; engineering and digital design and development ; MRO support ; pilot and maintenance training as well as academic collaboration to foster human capital . n
www
. airbus . com
www . tata . com
AI drives QC machine vision market growth
Machine vision ( MV ) solutions for quality control in manufacturing are becoming more important for manufacturers due to increased regulatory requirements , new manufacturing techniques and crippling labour shortages .
According to a new report from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research , the market is facing a period of significant evolution due to the growing presence of Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) solutions acting as an enabling technology , which will fuel growth in the quality control machine vision market to reach US $ 7.2 billion by 2028 , up from US $ 2.3 billion in 2023 .
“ AI is accelerating and improving the efficiency of the MV market . It increases inspection speeds and enables the movement of quality upstream , and AI systems are more adaptable than traditional software . However , although many AI solutions can easily integrate with existing MV hardware and software , its lack of ‘ explainability ’ can be challenging . Without this functionality , AI could struggle to make traction in high-regulation markets ,” explained James Prestwood , Industrial and Manufacturing Industry Analyst , ABI Research .
“ While some AI vendors are making great strides to support their software with ‘ explainable ’ functionality , such as Neurala , it is not a standard feature on all solutions yet ,” he added . The MV ecosystem comprises a wide range of vendors .
“ For most manufacturers , budget and build complexity will be the defining factor for choosing off-the-shelf solutions and build-your-own with best-of-breed component deployments . Smaller manufacturers will probably find the greatest use for off-the-shelf solutions due to their lower cost and simpler requirements ,” Prestwood concluded . n
Image : Shutterstock . com . www . abiresearch . com
14 | ismr . net | ISMR March 2024