New technologies can change our world drastically, and that can affect aviation too. But how can we make the best use of that technology in aerospace? What are the opportunities and what are the risks?
The Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) plays an important role in gathering reliable information and turning knowledge into value. NLR does this through nine strategic programs. For the series โThe Aviation of the Future,โ Innovation Origins speaks with all programme leaders.
For the ninth and final episode, we spoke with Harmen van der Ven (programme leader Emerging Technologies) about innovation in aviation.
What exactly is the Emerging Technologies knowledge programme?
โThis programme is the nursery for new technology at NLR. We keep a close eye on innovations. If something is relevant for aerospace, we will experiment with it further. Sometimes it will involve completely new technology and sometimes it will be new applications of existing techniques. This programme is about curiosity, experimentation and creativity โ the cornerstones of innovation.โ
About the programme leader
Harmen van de Ven is a senior scientist and the programme leader for the Emerging Technologies programme. He was trained as a mathematician and has been working at NLR for thirty years now.
โIโm an extremely inquisitive person,โ he says with a smile, โwhich you need to be for this role.โ โI meet all kinds of different people, both inside and outside NLR. Itโs brilliant to listen to all their new and innovative ideas and learn from them.โ
What are the key emerging technologies at the moment?
โThere are two major themes taking up our time right now: weโre doing various projects that involve artificial intelligence, of course, and weโre also looking closely at quantum technology. Those are technological areas that are a hype, to some extent โ everyoneโs talking about them. But that makes it all the more important for an institute such as NLR to know all the ins and outs. That lets us explain properly to interested parties just what the value of a particular technology is. Thatโs our role in society.โ
โAt the moment, for instance, weโre tackling a quantum technology project for the Defence Department. There are various applications that could be interesting for them. A quantum camera could let you look around a corner, for example. And a quantum radar would let you see everything, even F-35s that are supposed to be invisible to radar. On top of that, other quantum tech could be used to let you measure easily where you are, without relying on GPS. In the future, that could mean that the military is no longer dependent on satellites. Devices like those donโt exist yet, but itโs important to do research into the possibilities.โ
โAdditionally, weโre also involved with less familiar technological ideas. Weโre doing research into materials such as graphene, which is extremely thin, very strong and able to conduct electricity. That makes it suitable for various applications, including some in aerospace.โ
โWe also keep an eye on developments that could lead to interesting innovations in the longer term. It would be wonderful if we could transport electricity wirelessly through the air. Thatโs already being done โ take the idea of recharging an electric car using a coil embedded in the road. There are experiments being done at the minute with longer distances. Whether that will ever be possible for an aircraft flying at an altitude of ten kilometres is a different question, though. No matter how experimental they are, these studies can yield important information about new energy carriers.โ
This programme is about curiosity, experimentation and creativity โ the cornerstones of innovation
Harmen van der Ven
Focusing on innovation
โEvery year, the Emerging Technologies programme puts together a list of innovations that we want to keep an eye on and that we want to get down to work with. Weโre looking for a structured way of going about innovation. The list helps us to do that. It lets us set up and define projects with targets in mind. On the other hand, innovation isnโt always controllable, of course. Weโre looking for the right balance between ad hoc developments and a structured approach.โ
โThatโs why I think itโs very important that we give our staff even more scope and inspiration within NLR to work on innovation. In addition to their daily activities, staff should get the time and resources to bring their ideas to fruition.โ
โAs well as the internal innovation culture, itโs crucial that this should be made clear to the parties we work with. We canโt do research into developments like quantum technology on our own โ itโs such a big theme. That makes it important to collaborate with other centres of expertise such as TNO and the universities.โ
The linking factor
โThe Emerging Technologies programme collaborates a lot within NLR with the other programmes. We carry out the first experiments with new technologies โ I see it as a kind of nursery โ and then the other programmes get down to work with specific applications. Doing it like that also generates collaborative ventures with industry, for instance. We create the social impact together. Without that nursery, thereโd be no concrete results.โ
What are the next steps for the programme?
โThe current strategy period runs until 2025. By then, Iโd like to have set up a properly demarcated process for innovation at NLR. This programme is letting us define guidelines for deciding what innovations weโd like to study further and how to approach them. To do that, itโs important that we design this process together with the staff and that everyone is squarely behind it. On top of that, we also have contacts with companies, centres of expertise and the authorities about exploring the tech and shaping the whole innovative process. Itโs interesting for aerospace innovation, as well as for other sectors, of course. That will let us achieve the best results together.โ