MEMKO, in collaboration with RMIT University (RMIT) and Swinburne University of Technology, are announcing our participation in the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Future Digital Manufacturing.
This strategic partnership brings together industry and academia, making use of the Non-Intrusive Flight Test Instrumentation (NIFTI) system to improve aircraft performance and significantly reduce maintenance costs.
The heart of this collaboration is the revolutionary “NIFTI-SMART” project – Secure Multi-sensor Analytics and Real-time Twin for Aerospace Reliability and Testing. This four-year initiative is designed to transform aerospace reliability and testing through:
MEMKO is an engineering and technology company based in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2007 with its origins in Aerospace, MEMKO’s services now span across multiple industries with a focus on Aerospace and Defence engineering using smart enterprise digital tools across the product life cycle management covering design, systems engineering, digital modelling, simulation, digital manufacturing and virtual twins. MEMKO is committed to building the workforce of the future, supporting many research and university clients with a combination of industry and market knowledge. MEMKO also delivers training courses for continued education in aviation and aerospace, micro credentials for upskilling in digital manufacturing and official Dassault Systèmes software certification.
These objectives are underpinned by rigorous cybersecurity protocols, ensuring that all in-flight data is securely transmitted and analysed, safeguarding against unauthorised access and data breaches.
MEMKO’s NIFTI technology comprises a network of small, wireless, time-synchronised, adhesively mounted data acquisition nodes. These nodes collect acceleration data and external sensor inputs such as strain, temperature or pressure, enabling high-fidelity flight data acquisition without the need for traditional, costly instrumentation systems.
The flexibility of NIFTI allows for the collection of real flight data for academic research purposes, where traditional test instrumentation would be prohibitive. The NIFTI-SMART project will explore how this data can be used to support continuous diagnostics and predictive insights for aircraft structural health monitoring (SHM).
To achieve this, the project will develop real-time data streaming, advanced signal processing, AI-driven predictive analytical models, and a real-time digital twin of the aircraft structure. The digital twin will visualise strain distributions, stress points, and other structural health metrics overlaid on a 3D model of the aircraft, enabling intuitive interpretation of complex data sets.
The project recently commenced with a visit to the RMIT Aviation Academy at Point Cook, where MEMKO and RMIT teams discussed flight testing plans using the NIFTI Sensor Nodes on RMIT’s Cessna 172 aircraft.
This collaboration marks a significant milestone in aerospace innovation, promising to set new standards in testing aircraft safety and reliability. Together, MEMKO, RMIT and Swinburne University are excited to lead the way in delivering the future of aerospace technology.
“The NIFTI-SMART collaboration represents a significant step forward in aircraft structural health monitoring, leveraging real-time data streaming, AI-driven predictive analytics, and digital twin technology to enhance safety, optimise maintenance, and drive innovation in the aerospace and defence sectors”.
“RMIT is excited to contribute to the NIFTI-SMART project, which highlights our commitment to pioneering research that drives real-world solutions. This collaboration strengthens our role in shaping the future of aerospace technology and advancing industry standards”.