Airbus wanted to explore the possibility of building a smart phone app utilising the camera as a measuring device to enable rapid turn around of maintenance activities, this was before Apple's AR kit or the measure app!
An Aircraft's landing gear has an Oleo shock absorber - this is essentially a cylinder full of gas between the wheels and the aircraft body. The gas compresses and acts as a shock absorber during landing.
Maintenance engineers need to periodically measure the height of the oleo to ensure the pressure is correct and determine whether additional gas needs to be added.
Currently the oleo is measured using a ruler and then the height is looked up on a spring curve graph printed on the landing gear itself.
The big idea was to explore if it was possible to build an app that would essentially enable engineers to point the phone at the oleo (the Aircraft's landing gear shock absorber) and give instant feedback. The app would then be able to automatically perform a measurement and calculate whether it was within the acceptable tolerance. No need to get in to the space with a ruler and manually lookup information
In order to tackle this challenge we broke the problem up into smaller feasibility mini projects. First there was no point continuing the project if the phones cameras at the time did not have the resolution to measure accurately.
Essentially if there was a known length in the image we could use this as a datum on which to determine the measurement. We needed to prove that there was enough resolution in the image to get an accurate enough measurement. Therefore we conducted an initial feasibility study taking into consideration the inner workings of the camera, a variable position of the user, the angle of the phone, the resolution and automatic scaling applied to the image. At what point would the measurement fail? Would the user have to put the phone right up next to the oleo? Or could they remain a comfortable distance away? What happens if the phone wobbles or the user holds the phone at an angle?
We wrote up our findings and explained the logic and calculations behind them. Essentially, yes it was feasible to get an accurate enough measurement within a comfortable distance.
We are not huge fans of large documents but we managed to cram in the essentials in 16 pages. With enough evidence to support the next phase.
So it was theoretically possible π.
We had proved mathematically that it was possible to measure items using the camera on iPhone 7 from a reasonable user friendly distance.
The next challenge was to determine if a smart phone had enough power to run visual recognition and select the object to be measured in real time.
We launched another mini project of only a few days (no point spending months if this part fails!) to prove if we could get some basic edge detection working.
The results were very promising so we went ahead with the full project to build the app.
New lconβs deliverables have exceeded our expectations.
We would like to thank the New Icon team for the work accomplished. OnePRESS will be the first wireless safety critical opportunity that will use a mobile application to go to an In-Service Evaluation with Airbus airline customers. As such, there was no precedent for the Landing Gear Design Office to start from. Newicon quickly understood that their expertise could complement our capability to compile design documentation and adapted their process to suit our needs. New lconβs deliverables have exceeded our expectations. "
Newicon understood our needs, ensuring solutions were current and future-proofed
Ethicall have worked with Newicon for approximately 10 years. During this time Newicon have worked with us on various projects, but predominantly they have helped us design and build a bespoke telephone fundraising software system which encompasses all the nuanced and niche elements of our business. They really took the time to understand what we needed as a fundraising call centre and then constantly revisited this with us to ensure it was still fit for purpose and future proof. The engineers working on the project have always been mindful of building in stages with regular testing and approval from users β they are also able to communicate in non-technical speak β which is always useful for those of us not from a technical background. Newiconβs recent introduction of project managers has enhanced their services further. "
Newicon consistently exceeds expectations, driving innovation as a seamless extension of our business.
Newiconβs ability to over deliver against our expectations and to help drive our innovation has made them an extension of our own business. The team are excellent to work with, and their passion for our business competes with our own. I would recommend Newicon for both your development and design needs. "
Youβve understood the project quicker and got further with the design in 3 weeks than our previous company did in a year.
Iβm very impressed with how youβve interpreted the brief and interviews!
You have captured the use case and functionality really well. "
You've done an amazing job of taking our concept and actualising it into something much more real!
This process has cemented our concepts into requirements, plans and something much easier to step forward with, both internally and as something we can tell the story to others. We've been particularly impressed with how you've taken a fairly niche topic and run with detailed concepts and clearly understood what we are aiming for! "
We're miles ahead of where I expected us to be at this stage, and we've all really appreciated the effort you've put in.
Everyone is really, really happy and pleased with what you've put together, blown away! We love the simplicity of the prototype. "
The project is well thought through, smartly taking into account every little request we had. Which is amazing, I love that!
I've been using the prototype to pitch the idea with potential clients and the feedback has been really good so far. "
We really love the overall look of this
It's a very clean simple interface which still clearly conveys a lot of really important information, so thank you! "
Very happy with the end results and designs for the new features
New Icons redesigns brought the app layout up to date which was amazing to implement over the last year alongside integrating new products into the app. Meeting face-to-face meant that New Icon could properly understand the requirements and turn them into fully functional designs that added to the overall user experience. Very happy with the end results and designs for the new features. "
Newicon is an exemplar of innovation and freethinking.
Newicon's ideas have pioneered mobile software development within my department. Their solutions are innovative and effective producing results above original expectations. "
Newicon took the time to fully understand our requirements, and the clickable prototype really helped shape our thinking.
It has been a pleasure collaborating with Newicon on this project. Their commitment, attention to detail and passion for their work has enabled us to produce a quality app and seek further investment. Newicon took the time to fully understand our requirements, and the clickable prototype really helped shape our thinking and produced an intuitive UX, whilst also de-risking the development phase. "
Newicon achieved a 35% increase in business. Newicon really understood what we wanted to achieve.
Very commercially aware and versatile software agency - and a great team to boot!
Newicon give us creative input and state of the art technology
Newicon have helped steer our business in directions we had not even considered. "
Newicon are a great company, they are passionate and always provide a second to none service.
From the design stages through to the technical implementation they understand our requirements as a company. We would highly recommend Newicon to anyone who is looking for a friendly, efficient and professional web and software design company. "
If you need bespoke technology, I highly recommend Newicon.
By working with us to build our platform, they helped lay the foundation for our success. Not only did they develop the software; their process also included UX design and prototyping, ensuring that our final product was user-friendly, secure and powerful. If you need bespoke technology to get your start-up into business, I highly recommend Newicon to deliver it for you. "
Send us a message for more information about how we can help you