COLOSSUS EU Project – Collaborative SoS Exploration of Aviation Products, Services and Business Models: Overview and Approach

Abstract

The COLOSSUS EU Project is developing a System of Systems design framework and methodology which for the first time will enable the combined optimization of aircraft, fleet, operations and business models. To develop and test the framework two contrasting use cases are considered 1) Sustainable Intermodal Mobility (denoted “ADAM”) and 2) Aerial Wildfire-Fighting (denoted “EVE”) The two-use cases pose diverse and unique requirements on the framework and thereby aim to rekindle the research approach. This paper provides an overview of the COLOSSUS EU project including its objectives, approach, developed tools and the enabling framework. The project takes a holistic view on aviation product design considering the overall System of Systems to derive insights into the vehicle design and their operations and business models. The multi-level approach employed spans the Subsystem (e.g. propulsion system), Constituent System (e.g. aircraft), System of Systems (e.g. fleet, ConOps), and Business Model levels (Stakeholder Models, Value Functions). Agent-Based Simulations are used to model and evaluate the System of Systems, interlinking with the other levels. Business Models, Life Cycle Costing, and Life Cycle Analysis methods are used to enable a holistic assessment of the SoS considering various stakeholder interests. The project also uses Reinforcement Learning approaches to explore the SoS operational design space. The developed methods and tools will be openly published in order to foster exploitation for System of Systems approaches in research and industry. This research paper will highlight the framework development, and will present exemplary results and insights from the coupled framework bringing together Aviation Products – Operations – Digitalization and Business Models.