Freiburg, August 29, 2022

"Create the virtual cockpit of tomorrow"
The Start-up Challenge

In cooperation with The Drivery (co-working space provider) and Applied Data Incubator (support for start-ups), LITEF organised a Start-Up-Challenge for the first time. The Freiburg-based technology company was the main sponsor and initiator of the challenge, in which a virtual cockpit of the future was to be developed. 

The weareVR Kick-Off Event with a Mission
In the aerospace industry, innovations are implemented cautiously and rather evolutionarily, as very high demands are placed on safety and the associated approval procedures. Conventional cockpits are therefore characterised by switches and small displays, with a maximum of screens and HUD (augmented reality). This is to be changed with the help of the Hackathon, which took place on 29 July 2022 under the motto "Create the virtual cockpit of tomorrow". Following a public call, young multinational teams (nine nations and four continents) came together, all with one goal: To break down the physical cockpit and completely change it to a virtualised one. The full potential of virtually integrated technology is to be harnessed.

LITEF expertise as part of the innovation
After the kick-off, the actual project phase took place in the teams, within which nine nations and four continents were represented. Ideas were developed and put into practice. For this purpose, there were co-working spaces that could be used by the project teams. Michael Dost, Head of Information Systems at LITEF, reports: "Being at the forefront is a good step in my opinion. Certainly, fully autonomous flying will make cockpits obsolete in aviation in the future. We asked ourselves whether an intermediate step is possible until then, such as virtualising the physical cockpit. That's why we decided to generate and collect ideas through this competition and see ourselves as part of the innovation with our expertise."

Awarding and further development of the projects
On 19 August 2022, a pitch of all the ideas took place, followed by the award ceremony. The jury consisted of three external persons as well as Lutz Kampmann, Dr. Uwe Herberth and Dr. Andrea Dahlhoff. The three best ideas were awarded prize money. The winning teams continue to work on their ideas and are supported by LITEF with the expertise of colleagues, so that perhaps a demonstrator can soon be completed and used.