The AIRMES project focusses on optimising end-to-end maintenance activities within an operator’s environment. It will develop and validate an innovative, state-of-the-art, integrated maintenance service architecture that will be a key step in achieving the goal of no technically-induced aircraft operational disruptions in European air traffic. The AIRMES consortium is led by an airline / MRO that has a clear vision, and is keen to exploit radically new and challenging ways to achieve their objectives. They are supported by expertise in systems health monitoring, semantics, knowledge based engineering, architecture, diagnostics, prognostics, maintenance planning and optimisation, and mobile tools for remote support of maintenance activities. Truly a unique consortium. The service architecture will be structured around an operationally focused collaborative environment IT platform, integrating multiple functionalities and it will accelerate the shift in European aviation, from scheduled maintenance to condition-based maintenance. By blending this knowledge based environment with mobile tools for remote support, using augmented reality technologies and two way communication solutions, the resulting service architecture will provide contextualised, updated and integrated information to all members of the maintenance value chain. The impact of this project on European Air Traffic will be significant. In Europe, 5.8% of all flights are delayed due to direct aircraft technical causes and consequential delays on subsequent flights; the cost of this disruption is estimated at 2.8 B€. By reducing operational disruptions, reducing the average delay time and improving aircraft utilisation, through a grant value of 4.6 M€, the impact of this 48 month, 12 partner AIRMES project will be significant and assessed to around 1B€ per year.

XR5.0 will build, demonstrate, and validate a novel Person-Centric and AI-based XR paradigm that will be tailored to the requirements and nature of I5.0 applications. In this direction, the project will specify structuring principles and blueprints for using XR in I5.0 applications with emphasis on the development of innovative “XR-made-in-Europe” technology that blends with human-centric manufacturing technologies and adheres to European values. The XR5.0 applications will consider the characteristics and context of the worker based on the integration of human-centred digital twins (DTs) that comprise the “digital image” of the worker. At the same time, XR5.0 will design and implement a unique blending of XR technology and advanced AI paradigms, including AI technologies that foster the interplay between humans and AI such as explainable AI (XAI), Active Learning (AL), Generative AI (GenAI), and neurosymbolic learning. The XR5.0 technologies will be coupled with a cloud-based XR training platform for Operator 5.0 applications, which will enable ergonomic and personalized training of industrial workers on popular processes. The XR5.0 paradigm will empower the development of six (6) novel high-TRL pilot applications spanning the areas of AI-based product design, remote and intelligent maintenance of assets, workers’ training, support in product assembly, as well as guidance and instructions for troubleshooting. These applications will be demonstrated in realistic manufacturing environments. Moreover, they will be integrated to the EU XR platform to be developed as part of the call. Most importantly, XR5.0 will build a vibrant community of interested stakeholders around the project’s outcomes. This community will provide a basis for the sustainability and wider uptake of the project’s results towards maximising the impact of the project’s use cases. In this direction, all XR5.0 technologies will be high TRL>=7-8 and ready for immediate commercialisation.