GE Aviation To Use Blockchain In Fixing Aircraft Parts
GE Aviation is responsible for supplying jet engines to around 60 percent of the world’s airline industry. Interestingly, it has announced its development of a blockchain-powered supply chain track-and-trace system, which has been made possible through the help of Microsoft Azure.
Building a Blockchain System
According to the official report, the GE Aviation Digital Group is hoping to share the tech across a variety of partners in the industry. The ledger’s use case is deemed to be capable of monitoring and collating data, one that is completely tied to the manufacturing and overall life cycle of aircraft parts deemed to be critical. The usage, in particular, can also scarcely be more pertinent considering all the recent efforts of Boeing.
In an interview, the CTO of the group named David Havera said that their vision is to have the ability to trace parts as they are being manufactured, as well as the engine when it shipment starts. From there, they want to see just how exactly the engine performs so they can determine when the right time to repair and bring it back into the field.
It holds true that GE Aviation is known for selling aircraft engines to commercial airlines, including the military. But as far as the business unit called GE Aviation Digital Group is concerned, it is capable of employing more than 700 staff across the world. Even more so, it can sell software externally to the entire industry. Apart from blockchain, the group is also fond of touching base with other solutions, such as data science, IoT, and 3D printing.
The ‘TRUEngine’ In a Glimpse
Havara revealed that the group has a group of partners they have been working for more than two years already. These partners, in particular, include the likes of MTU Maintenance. They reportedly help the group in developing the blockchain, which is basically a permission fork of Ethereum.
Although nothing official has been set yet, Havara said that they are dubbing their blockchain system “TRUEngine.” Through it, the group will be able to structure data that is essential to this ecosystem in a single format. More importantly, it could pave the way for users to access it with ease. Part of the overall process will include the likes of recording how many cycles an aircraft has flown, with the data cycling back and forth.