Zodiac Aerospace - Airbus Development Team
Sleeping modules concept for aircrafts commercial passengers
Goal
Independently conceptualize, design and evaluate concepts to use aircrafts’ unexploited space in cargo area, mainly by integrating sleeping bunks for commercial passengers.
The scope of the work was not only to propose and develop new concepts but also to proceed to any studies aiming at evaluating potential difficulties which could arise while developing such concepts. I considered:
-
User test to determine acceptable ergonomics given the constrained space available
-
Safety and certification requirements
-
Weight/load balance evaluation and fuel consumption
-
Mechanical assessment of the modification of the aircraft structure
-
Required modifications of the cargo haul (rerouting air-conditioning, power supply, smoke sensors, etc)
-
Sleeping bunks layout optimization
-
Staircase integration (localization, form factor, footprint reduction strategies)
-
Business model evaluation (variable assumptions in terms of capacity, load factor, etc)
-
Additional services required
Role & contribution
Independently handled the project.
-
Concept and design development
-
Mechanical design (CAD modeling, aircraft integration study)
-
Business model development
-
Documentation and patent writing
-
Product pitching to the team and to clients such as AirFrance (French national airline) and Airbus
Outcome & notable achievement
-
Conceptualized and designed an innovative concept using an assembly of standard containers to build a reconfigurable/removable sleeping bunks area (to adapt to the fluctuating demand of such service and to address airlines fear of such new concept).
-
Applied for two patents
-
Successfully presented the concept to AirFrance and Airbus and advocated for its viability and feasibility: both companies raised teams and funds to pursue the project internally in collaboration with Zodiac Aerospace.
In April 2018, at the Aircraft Interiors Exposition, Airbus unveiled a mock-up of the concept using a layout I applied a patent for (see pictures below).
Sources:
Learnings
-
System modeling in CAD - parametric model to compare multiple configurations
-
Design for weight & safety sensitive industry
Project management and design methodologies:
-
Perspective on the importance of translating business opportunities into the technical considerations of a project
-
Business model development and viability assessment
-
Patent writing
One of the layout proposed and patented (yellow volumes correspond to available space - can be used for storage or left free):
Airbus mock-up unveiled at the Aircraft Interiors Exposition in April 2018:
Top view:
Airbus mock-up unveiled at the Aircraft Interiors Exposition in April 2018:
Overview of the concept proposed: use of modified standard LD36 cargo containers to transform the cargo area into a sleeping area for commercial passengers:
Cut view of the aircraft showing the bunk area accessible from the main deck of the aircraft:
Overview of an innovation designed to reduce staircase equivalent footprint: integrating a slightly heightened lavatory above the stair enables to use efficiently this free space:
Evaluation of the consequence of the stair integration on the layout of the main deck: airlines revenues relying tightly on the cabin seats density:
Renderings of the concept:
