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Research project

BrightSky

1 September 2021 - 31 August 2025

Schiphol area is a vital international air transport hub, largely concentrating the Dutch aviation sector and employing around 60,000 people. To maintain these jobs and aviation expertise, it is crucial that the aviation sector continues to strengthen its international competitive position. The BrightSky project contributes to this by stimulating technical innovations and cooperation between parties in the aviation sector. BrightSky focuses on three aspects: social innovation, digitalization and sustainability.

Sustainability and digitalization

The presence of all kinds of companies and authorities makes international airports like Schiphol a testing ground for technological innovations. This creates unique locations where manufacturing industry, training and knowledge institutions, governments and end users work together on current and future challenges, such as sustainability and digitalization.

Innovating with BrightSky

In the BrightSky project, a large number of partners are working together on technical innovations in the areas of:

  • Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)
  • security and ground handling
  • airport systems

Role of AUAS

The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) is involved as a research partner in the following areas: aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) projects, and the airport operations and systems projects. The AUAS conducts research on:

  • the development of automated aircraft inspection and repair methodologies
  • the development of (data driven) technologies related to Predictive and Condition-based Maintenance
  • the development of a maintenance synthetic training device (MSTD) with virtual reality, for the training of technicians
  • the development of a transition path towards autonomous airside operations
  • the development of novel airport security technologies

Education

This project involves collaboration with students, for example through AUAS graduation internships. Together with the professor, the lecturer-researchers and the industry experts, they are building a solid knowledge base for sustainable innovation in the aviation industry. Further, this project also regularly involves AUAS-supervised Master internships supported by the Erasmus Exchange programme as well as collaboration with PhD students from Delft University of Technology.

Team

  • Konstantinos Stamoulis
  • Maria Papanikou
  • Catya Zuniga Alcaraz
  • Daniel Friesen
  • Christiaan Schoemaker
  • Maria Zilidou
  • Fatemeh Hosseinpour
  • Sudip Kundu
  • Utku Kale 
  • Erlangga Sunaryo 
  • Sersinho Gardt 

Partners

In BrightSky, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences is working together with KLM Engineering & Maintenance, Epcor, JetSupport, Netherlands Aerospace Centre, TNO, Delft University of Technology, SAM XL, Stage Gate 11, S[&]T, Royal Schiphol Group, Vanderlande, T-Hive, DT-Solutions and the ROC in Amsterdam.

Visit brightsky.nl for more information
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Aviation Engineering research group

The BrightSky project is part of the Aviation Engineering research group. The aviation industry must become smarter and more sustainable. The Aviation Engineering research group at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences is ensuring the sector has all the knowledge and insights it needs to transition to, and develop, more-efficient and more-environmentally friendly engineering and operational practices.