Innovation Challenges

Challenge Owner(s)	Airbus

---

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

The aircraft cabin is a high-pressure, complex working environment where cabin crew must simultaneously act as safety officers, medical first responders, retail service professionals, and service ambassadors.

Today, many cabin operations still rely heavily on manual observations and paper-based reporting. This creates inefficiencies and information silos between the cabin, the flight deck, and operations control, limiting the ability of cabin crew to operate proactively and consistently. These limitations manifest across several friction points in daily cabin operations, all of which are ultimately driven by a set of fundamental value drivers for airlines.

The first friction point is a contextual awareness gap. Cabin crew often lack access to real-time or relevant information such as passenger history, flight and weather data, connecting flight status, or live inventory levels. As a result, crew members are forced into reactive decision-making, which can affect service quality, safety monitoring, and operational efficiency.

A second friction point relates to the physical and cognitive load placed on cabin crew. Many routine but essential tasks such as counting meals, completing safety or service logs, or searching for passenger information are still performed manually. These activities consume time and attention that could otherwise be dedicated to safety oversight, passenger interaction, and higher-value service delivery.

The third friction point is the lack of a self-reporting cabin environment. Today, the cabin largely depends on human observation to identify issues such as missing safety equipment, broken seat or lighting components, or inventory discrepancies. In practice, the cabin does not actively communicate its status to the crew, making it difficult to detect and address issues early. There is an opportunity to move toward a cabin that can surface its own operational state in a more systematic and timely manner.

The fourth friction point concerns the emotional and operational strain on cabin crew. Beyond the availability of tools, uncertainty, fragmented information, and miscommunication can contribute to stress and fatigue. Over time, this impacts the overall crew experience and, by extension, the passenger experience.

Across these friction points, there are three core value drivers that guide how potential solutions are assessed. These include the optimisation of aircraft turnaround time, improvements in margins and operational efficiency, and the retention and well-being of cabin personnel. All proposed solutions will be evaluated with these value drivers in mind.

By digitalising cabin procedures, crew tools, and onboard equipment, there is an opportunity to transform the cabin from a largely manual workspace into a more connected and responsive environment. Solutions may address one or multiple friction points simultaneously and are not expected to be mutually exclusive. While software and connectivity-based approaches are central, Airbus recognises that certain use cases may require hardware components such as sensors or embedded systems, and such approaches should not be ruled out.

We are seeking partners who can help enable a future cabin ecosystem in which the crew is supported by connected systems and data-driven insights. This would allow cabin crew to focus more effectively on what matters most: ensuring safety, delivering consistent service, and enhancing the overall passenger experience.

---

Technical Requirements / Performance Criteria

Technical Requirements:

1. Offline-First Architecture: Solutions must maintain core functionality during periods of zero connectivity (satellite "black spots") and sync automatically once a connection is re-established.
2. Seamless Interoperability: Software must be designed to integrate via state-of-the-art APIs to connect with existing systems and devices in the cabin operations ecosystem.
3. Bandwidth & Latency Optimization: All tools must be optimized for the specific constraints of in-flight satellite links, ensuring high performance even with low bandwidth.

Performance Requirements:

Performance will be evaluated in line with the core value drivers of the challenge. Solutions are expected to demonstrate clear impact across one or more of the following areas:

• Operational time savings, including measurable reductions in time required to complete mandatory onboard activities and contributions to shorter turnaround times.
• Crew effort and experience, reflected through improvements in Crew Effort Score (CES), ease of task completion, access to information, and overall crew satisfaction.
• Passenger experience and loyalty, including improvements in passenger satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (NPS).
• Revenue impact, including the potential to improve or enable ancillary revenue and onboard retail performance.
• Crew and operational efficiency, across cabin operations and coordination with flight deck and operations teams.
• Weight, fuel, and emissions impact, with solutions expected to minimise additional weight and ideally support efficiency or sustainability gains.
• Safety, security, and regulatory compliance, which remain mandatory and non-negotiable.

---

Cost Target of the Product/Solution

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

---

Timeframe for Development of the Product/Solution

Phase 1: Proof of Concept development in Q3 2026

Phase 2: Commercial rollout to be determined on a case by case basis, with a target implementation starting from Q4 2026

---

Potential Market / Business Opportunity for the Product/Solution

The solution has broad applicability across the global airline ecosystem and can be rolled out with airlines globally. Airbus is willing to potentially support a further global roll-outs with all its airline partners.

---

Resources that will be Provided to Support Solution Development

Cash contribution
Up to SGD 75,000 depending on the alignment with the solution provider

In-kind contribution

• Access to relevant data and pilot site(s)
• Airbus can serve as a go-to-market partner and has a global reach towards many global airlines
• Mentorship: Guidance on all aspects of building out the POC including design support, service design, expertise on learn startup and building out user stories

Additional contribution via EnterpriseSG
EnterpriseSG is willing to match Airbus’ commitment with up to SGD 50,000 to support the POC/pilot

---

Other Considerations

Airbus is looking for SMEs and startups with solutions that can be implemented in a relatively short time frame, targeting a Technology Readiness Level of 5 or higher.

For Background Intellectual Property, both parties will retain ownership of their respective IP brought into the project. In the event that Foreground Intellectual Property is created, ownership will be determined on a case by case basis, depending on the contributions of each party.

Challenge Owner(s)	AIR Lab

---

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

While speech recognition technologies have advanced significantly in general-purpose and consumer settings, these approaches do not perform reliably in air traffic management environments. ATC communications involve highly domain-specific phraseology, region-specific conventions, and significant accent variability across controllers and pilots. These challenges are compounded by degraded audio quality, background noise, and signal interference inherent to VHF and HF communications. As a result, general-purpose speech-to-text systems are insufficient for ATM use cases, as they are not designed to operate with the precision, robustness, and domain awareness required in safety-critical operations.

There is effectively no margin for error in the interpretation of ATC communications. False positives in command or intent recognition are unacceptable, as incorrect interpretation of clearances, instructions, or requests can have serious operational and safety implications. Any viable solution must therefore prioritise extremely high precision and explicit handling of uncertainty, including the ability to flag low-confidence or ambiguous inputs rather than forcing an interpretation.

Beyond transcription, a key objective is to enable deeper understanding of how controllers perform their tasks in real-world environments. Public data sources are already widely used to analyse air traffic flows, capacity, and trajectories. However, these datasets do not capture the actual commands issued by controllers or the intent behind those commands. Without access to structured voice-derived intent data, it is not possible to fully correlate controller instructions with other monitored variables, including traffic patterns, environmental conditions, and system constraints.

AIR Lab seeks to address this gap by enabling the extraction of structured, machine-readable command and intent data from ATC voice communications. This capability would support analysis of how controller communications manifest across different regions and operational contexts, particularly with respect to accent, pronunciation, and speech characteristics, while maintaining adherence to globally standardised ICAO phraseology and procedures. Linguistic diversity and environmental factors can influence the clarity and interpretation of spoken communications, and a deeper, data-driven understanding of these variations could inform improved familiarisation, training, and system design, as well as the development of AI-based decision-support and agent-based systems grounded in real operational practice.

A key use case is the creation of high-quality training and validation datasets for AI agents, allowing these systems to learn from how human controllers operate in diverse, real-world conditions. Where available, existing public datasets, such as the OpenSky Network, including recorded voice data for parts of the region, may be leveraged to support development, training, and evaluation of proposed solutions.

For the initial proof-of-concept, AIR Lab expects the scope to focus on operational environments where accent variability is high and audio conditions are most challenging, such as regions with strong linguistic variation and elevated background noise, as well as oceanic airspace where HF communications are prevalent. Within this constrained and demanding scope, achieving reliable performance under real-world conditions is the primary objective. An indicative benchmark for early validation would be demonstrated accuracy in excess of 70 percent in these high-variance, degraded environments, recognising that performance expectations may evolve as the solution matures and expands to additional contexts.

---

Technical Requirements / Performance Criteria

Technical requirements:

1. Accent-Robust Speech Recognition
   1. Ability to handle diverse regional accents and ICAO-standard phraseology
   2. Adaptable or trainable models for ATM-specific vocabulary
2. Noise & Signal Degradation Handling
   1. Robust performance under noisy, low-quality VHF/HF audio conditions
   2. Capability to process recorded or streamed audio inputs
3. Command & Intent Extraction
   1. Translate recognised speech into structured intents (e.g. clearances, requests, instructions)
   2. Map intents to predefined ATM actions or data fields
4. System Integration Readiness
   1. API-based integration with RCP tools and digital ATM systems
   2. Modular architecture suitable for phased deployment
5. The solution must account for differing audio characteristics across communication channels. Performance criteria will be channel-dependent, with higher accuracy and confidence thresholds expected for VHF, and robust degradation handling required for HF.s
   1. HF communications typically involve lower audio quality, higher background noise, and signal distortion.
   2. VHF communications generally provide higher audio quality and more stable signal conditions.
6. Recognition Accuracy
   1. High accuracy across accented speech and domain-specific phraseology
7. Latency (Phase-Dependent)
   1. Phase 1: Near-real-time or batch processing acceptable
   2. Phase 2: Low-latency processing suitable for operational environments
8. Explainability & Confidence Scoring
   1. Confidence levels provided for recognised commands
   2. Ability to flag ambiguity or low-confidence interpretations
9. Operational Reliability
10. Graceful degradation in degraded audio or incomplete inputs

Performance requirements:

Performance criteria will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Generally, solutions will be evaluated based on a combination of their impact on operational efficiency and safety.

---

Cost Target of the Product/Solution

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

---

Timeframe for Development of the Product/Solution

AIR Lab expects solutions to be developed and assessed through a phased proof-of-concept approach focused on feasibility validation rather than production readiness.

Phase 1: Prototype Development and Technical Feasibility (2-3 months)
This phase focuses on requirements clarification and the development of an initial functional prototype addressing the core problem statement. Activities may include early model development, data exploration, and limited integration to demonstrate technical feasibility in a controlled environment. Deliverable: Initial functional prototype demonstrating feasibility of core concepts

Phase 2: POC Validation and Refinement (2–3 months)
This phase focuses on validating the prototype within representative scenarios and refining the solution based on evaluation findings. Activities include performance assessment against agreed technical benchmarks and documentation of limitations, risks, and recommendations for future development. Deliverable: POC-validated prototype with documented evaluation outcomes

Timelines may vary depending on solution maturity and scope.

---

Potential Market / Business Opportunity for the Product/Solution

Within AIR Lab, the proof of concept is intended to validate the feasibility of integrating speech-based inputs into the Regional Collaboration Platform (RCP) within representative air traffic management operational environments. The RCP serves as a collaborative sandbox for experimenting with digital air traffic management capabilities, and this proof of concept would assess whether air traffic voice communications can be transformed into structured, actionable data to support future digital workflows, decision support functions, and automation use cases within collaborative ATM environments.

From a broader industry perspective, the global air traffic management sector represents a growing technology market driven by increasing air traffic demand, system modernisation, and the progressive adoption of digital and AI enabled capabilities. Industry research estimates the global ATM market to be valued at approximately USD 9 billion today, with projections exceeding USD 15 billion by 2030 as ANSPs and system integrators continue to invest in digital transformation initiatives. In parallel, the wider digital aviation market, encompassing software driven solutions, analytics, and intelligent interfaces, is projected to reach approximately USD 65 billion by the end of the decade.

Given the global and multilingual nature of aviation operations, a robust and accent agnostic capability validated through this proof of concept could, over time, be extended beyond AIR Lab to support ANSPs, ATM system integrators, and aviation technology providers worldwide. AIR Lab therefore sees this proof of concept as an important early step in enabling scalable solutions with longer term regional and global applicability.

---

Resources that will be Provided to Support Solution Development

In-kind contribution

• Test scenarios, simulated data, and operational context
• Involvement of end-users (ATC's, technical experts and domain experts will be involved).
• Access to potential sandbox environment

Additional contribution via EnterpriseSG
EnterpriseSG is willing to match AIR Lab’s’ commitment with up to SGD 30,000 to support the POC/pilot

---

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

AIR Lab is seeking solutions with an appropriate level of technology at a TRL level of between 4-6. All submissions will be evaluated based on maturity, feasibility, and readiness for pilot validation within a regulated, safety-critical environment.

Finally, any background intellectual property developed prior to this collaboration will be retained by the originating party. In the event that new foreground intellectual property is created through this engagement, ownership and usage rights will be discussed and agreed on a case-by-case basis.

Challenge Owner(s)	Ariane Group

---

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Next-generation satellite missions are increasingly exploring Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) to enable low-latency communications, high-resolution earth observation, and faster de-orbiting at end of life. However, operating in VLEO comes with higher atmospheric drag, which drives demand for efficient, continuous orbit-maintenance propulsion.

Ariane Group develops orbital propulsion solutions and is advancing a 1 kW-class Radio Frequency Ion Thruster (RIT) concept suited for VLEO and LEO applications (operating in a power range between 500W and 1kW). A critical enabling subsystem is the Power Processing and Control Unit (PPU)—the “brain” of the propulsion system—which converts spacecraft bus power into the tightly regulated high-voltage, RF and auxiliary supplies needed to start, control, and operate the thruster safely and efficiently.

Today, high-reliability PPUs used for more radiation-intensive, deep-space missions can be costly, specialised, and difficult to scale to constellation-level volumes. For VLEO missions with lower cumulative radiation exposure and potentially shorter design lifetimes, there is an opportunity to rethink the PPU architecture and manufacturing approach to achieve substantially lower unit cost and faster manufacturability, while still meeting mission-critical performance and environmental constraints.

This challenge seeks solution providers that can design (and potentially manufacture) a scalable, cost-competitive PPU leveraging commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components where feasible, while ensuring the robustness required for space operation.

---

Technical Requirements / Performance Criteria

Technical requirements:

1. Thruster-specific: A PPU that is able to feed and control RIT thruster operating in a power range between 500W and 1kW. High voltage is used to accelerate ions (between 1 and 2 kV) and a Radio Frequency system to ionize the propellant, therefore requiring a Radio Frequency Generator module to be included in the PPU.
2. Durability and Radiation Tolerance: To be able to operate the electric thruster (RIT) in space for at least 3 years. To withstand typical launch loads and space conditions (LEO or VLEO missions of limited duration, thus a total radiation dose < 10 krad)
3. Temperature range: Withstand operating temperatures from approximately −50°C to +200°C
4. Structural requirements: The PPU has to withstand typical launch loads (vibration and shocks)
5. Input voltage: Accept 28V unregulated input (with ±8V variation)
6. Volume constraints: Maintain a compact form factor suitable for small satellite integration
7. Efficiency: Achieve power conversion efficiency of approximately 90%

Please note that more specific requirements will be made available to shortlisted solution providers at a later stage of the challenge.

Performance requirements:

Performance criteria will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The team is open to pragmatic trade-offs made in the design to balance performance and cost. The general criteria that will be used to evaluate solutions are:

1. Cost effectiveness: Competitive unit pricing is a key performance consideration
2. Manufacturability: Ability to produce the units at scale for constellation applications
3. Reliability: Appropriate reliability figures for (V)LEO missions

---

Cost Target of the Product/Solution

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Solution providers should note that cost-performance trade-offs will be explored during the collaboration.

---

Timeframe for Development of the Product/Solution

Indicative timeframe for development are (starting from Q3 onwards):

Phase 1: Up to PDR, 6 months (unit design, breadboarding of the most critical modules)

Phase 2: From PDR up to CDR, 9 months (manufacturing of the first EQM)

Phase 3: Space qualification to be determined on a case by case basis.

---

Potential Market / Business Opportunity for the Product/Solution

The market for (V)LEO satellite constellations is experiencing rapid growth. VLEO represents an emerging frontier with significant potential and therefore the market opportunity is significant.

The initial application is intended for Ariane Group’s RIT-based propulsion system, however, the capabilities developed may be transferable to adjacent electric propulsion programs with similar power classes. Ariane group is open for solution providers to also work with other parties in the industry.

Ariane Group’s preferred procurement approach is to purchase completed PPU units from the solution provider, though they are open to alternative arrangements such as licensing agreements or joint venture structures.

Ariane Group is committed to supporting the commercial rollout of successful solutions across its global customer base.

---

Resources that will be Provided to Support Solution Development

Cash contribution
To be determined after identifying a strong match and scoping the proposed work. Ariane Group recognises the significant amount of work involved and is accustomed to the cash contributions required to bring such a project to space. Cash contributions will be milestone based and for the first phase will likely fall in the range of S$X20,000 to S$X30,000.

In-kind contribution

• Mentorship and technical support throughout the development process
• Access to thruster interface requirements and specifications
• Coupling tests with the actual RIT thruster once prototypes are available
• Collaboration with Ariane Group’s electric propulsion engineering team
• Access to relevant technical documentation for interface definitions

Additional contribution via EnterpriseSG
With demand drivers committing to a paid pilot of at least S$30,000, EnterpriseSG will provide a matching POC grant support of S$30,000 for eligible startups. For demand drivers committing more than S$30,000, EnterpriseSG will match the commitment amount up to S$50,000.

---

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Ariane Group is looking for SMEs and startups with solutions that can be implemented in a relatively short time frame, targeting a Technology Readiness Level of 4 and higher.

For Background Intellectual Property, both parties will retain ownership of their respective IP brought into the project. In the event that Foreground Intellectual Property (FIP) is created, Ariane Group is open to the FIP being retained by the solution provider. The specific IP arrangement will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may also depend on the nature of the commercial relationship that develops (e.g., direct procurement, joint venture, or licensing).

Challenge Owner(s)	Bombardier

---

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

During major aircraft maintenance and interior refurbishment events, entire cabins including seats and interior components are removed from the aircraft. These events typically occur every eight to ten years for business aircraft and up to twelve years for commercial aircraft, and can require several hundred labor hours per aircraft as refurbishment is carried out front to back. As global fleet volumes continue to grow, the frequency and scale of these refurbishment cycles are increasing, while sustainability and waste reduction are becoming more important considerations.

Aircraft cabin interior components such as seats, seat upholstery, carpets, sidewall coverings, headliners, decorative panels, and other interior fittings are commonly replaced during these cycles. Many of these components are primarily made of materials such as wood, leather, composites, plastics, foams, and fabrics. Although these materials often retain residual value and functional life, they are frequently discarded due to limitations in assessment, traceability, and processing capabilities.

Today, assessment of part condition and repairability is largely manual and subjective, resulting in inconsistent refurbishment outcomes and low reuse rates. Material composition is often poorly documented, and mixed material assemblies require specialised dismantling processes that are difficult to scale. As a result, refurbishment lead times remain long, quality is inconsistent, and large volumes of potentially recoverable materials are sent to landfill. This drives higher waste management costs and leads to missed sustainability targets.

Traceability presents an additional challenge. Interior materials must meet strict aerospace qualification requirements, including flammability testing. While these tests are conducted in batches during original material qualification, there is often no robust end to end traceability linking refurbished or reused materials to the specific tests that were performed. In some cases, materials are sent back to their original manufacturing facilities for reprocessing or validation, adding further cost, complexity, and delays.

These challenges are not unique to a single aircraft platform or operator. They apply broadly across business aviation and commercial aircraft fleets, where interior refurbishment volumes are increasing and regulatory, environmental, and customer expectations around sustainability continue to rise.

Bombardier is therefore seeking solution providers that can come up with ideas for an integrated and scalable systematic assessment, sorting, refurbishment, reuse, and recycling of end of life aircraft cabin interior components.

The solution should support circular economy practices by improving material recovery, increasing refurbishment and reuse rates, and reducing waste sent to landfill. This includes the ability to accurately identify material composition, efficiently handle mixed material assemblies, and support decision making on whether components should be refurbished, reused, or recycled.

In addition, the solution should improve traceability across refurbishment cycles, including visibility into material qualification and flammability testing history where applicable, while being deployable within existing MRO and refurbishment environments. The objective is to enable consistent, repeatable, and sustainable interior refurbishment processes that can be applied across Bombardier aircraft platforms and extended to other business and commercial aircraft.

The industry has explored generic recycling services, manual sorting operations, and isolated refurbishment pilots to address these challenges. However, these approaches have fallen short due to the lack of aerospace specific material identification tools, insufficient accuracy and repeatability in manual condition assessment, inefficient dismantling workflows, and poor integration with digital traceability and sustainability reporting requirements. As a result, these efforts have not achieved the consistency, traceability, or scale required for modern MRO, teardown, or refurbishment operations.

Generic waste collection and recycling processes without aerospace specific material handling are not of interest. Fully manual and labor intensive assessment methods that do not scale across fleets are also out of scope, as are onsite solutions requiring complex or heavy industrial machinery that cannot be realistically deployed on MRO shop floors.

---

Technical Requirements / Performance Criteria

Technical requirements:

• Deployable in typical aerospace MRO/teardown/refurbishment environments
• Compatible with standard cabin material across multiple aircraft types
• Portable or modular systems preferred; minimal specialised hardware
• Digital traceability for 3R routing and sustainability reporting
• Condition assessment (wear, cracks, deformation, surface damage)
• ≥85–90% accuracy in determining repairability, reuse, or recycle potential
• Material classification (metal, composite, plastic, foam, fabric, mixed components)
• Automated recommendation engine for Reuse vs. Refurbish vs. Recycle
• Digital logging of part condition, material composition, and lifecycle status
• Output reports aligned with sustainability and ESG frameworks
• Standardised repairability criteria
• Guidance for reupholstery, surface restoration, coating removal, or part re-certification
• Configurable workflows for different cabin components
• Methods to dismantle mixed-material components safely and efficiently
• Sorting into appropriate recycling streams (alloys, composites, polymers, textiles)
• Material recovery rate target: ≥60% by mass (stretch: ≥75%)
• Aerospace interior material regulations (e.g., fire safety FAR 25.853), noting fire retardants may also be utilised
• Environmental and waste-management standards (ISO 14001 or equivalent)
• Data security and traceability requirements for aerospace operations

Note that the above technical requirements are not all a must-have. Bombardier is willing to experiment with new solutions depending on the selected solution provider.

Performance requirements:

ROI will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The solution should demonstrate a positive ROI or earn back time within a one year time window.

---

Cost Target of the Product/Solution

Cost targets will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

---

Timeframe for Development of the Product/Solution

Phase 1: Proof of Concept development in Q3 2026
Phase 2: Commercial rollout to be determined on a case by case basis, with a target implementation starting from Q4 2026

---

Potential Market / Business Opportunity for the Product/Solution

The solution has broad applicability across the global aerospace ecosystem:

• MRO centres
• Cabin refurbishment shops
• Aircraft dismantling and end-of-life service providers
• OEMs and Tier-1 interior suppliers
• Airlines pursuing circular-economy sustainability targets

Bombardier is willing to support further roll-out within Bombardier both in the EU and US. Additionally, Bombardier is open for the solution provider to further roll-out the solution in the wider market.

---

Resources that will be Provided to Support Solution Development

Cash contribution
Up to SGD 30,000 to support Proof of Concept development

In-kind contribution

• Access to decommissioned cabin parts, material samples, and test environments (under NDA if applicable)
• Access to relevant data and pilot site(s), including historical failure data
• Mentorship: Guidance from aerospace engineering, sustainability, and material-recycling experts

Additional contribution via EnterpriseSG
With a minimum paid pilot commitment of SGD 30,000 from Bombardier, EnterpriseSG provides matching POC grant support of SGD 30,000. For commitments above SGD 30,000, EnterpriseSG matches up to SGD 50,000.

---

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Bombardier is looking for SMEs and startups with solutions that can be implemented in a relatively short time frame, targeting a Technology Readiness Level of 5 and higher.

For Background Intellectual Property, both parties will retain ownership of their respective IP brought into the project. In the event that Foreground Intellectual Property is created, ownership will be determined on a case by case basis, depending on the contributions of each party.span>

Challenge Owner(s)	Rolls-Royce Singapore

---

Challenge Owner(s)	Rolls-Royce Singapore

---