The multinational epic programme, including Airbus' defense and space, explores multiple exciting innovations to strengthen Europe's defensive capabilities and technological sovereignty.
Imagine Tony Stark jumping through the sky in his iconic Iron Man suit. Each command was answered with a seamless blend of future technology.
Imagine the cockpit of a fighter tomorrow.
This is a high-tech arena where pilots use adaptive human-machine interfaces and immersive displays. Digital assistants provide timely updates, and helmet-mounted systems project critical and mission information into critical vision. Gesture control allows him to allow updates from ground control and ordering tasks to unmanned platforms. Additionally, the vibrations of the control stick give the pilot an intuitive sense of engine speed and flight conditions. This fusion of technology creates a smooth and responsive experience that reflects the magic of Stark's suit.
This is more than just a fantasy flight. Your journey to the cockpit of the future begins with modest steps and several different means. One is through the hands and eyes of Airbus defense and space test flight pilots. Today, one of them, Joseramon Asensimirales, is located in Prototyping Gravo, the future aviation capacity at Airbus' facility in Getafe, Madrid. Test pilots are testing goggle-based solutions that recognize pilot gestures interacting with different systems in fighter cockpit environments.
Jose Ramon Asensi Mirales, Airbus Defense and Space Test Flight Pilot, Airbus Facility in Getafe, Madrid.
Indigenous research and development for European technological sovereignty.
Today's tests are part of the expanded pilot interface and dialogue for the Fighter Cockpit (EPIIC) project supported by the European Defense Fund (EDF). Airbus is an important participant. The purpose of this project is to provide pilots with the tools they need to optimize their work in the cockpit during military aviation operations by providing future European defence capabilities.
Tuned by Thales, Epiic explores technologies such as virtual assistants, adaptive hew-machine interfaces, large area displays and helmet mounted displays, and cockpit interactions. These innovations are in the early stages of technology preparation and are platform dependent. Ready for the next generation of European fighters.
Airbus leads the pillars of EPIIC's innovative interaction modality. “This ranges from the use of voice commands and voice integration to gesture-based interactions and eye tracking. All new features need to promote and empower pilots.”
Increase situational awareness for faster responses
The test pilot explains that the goal of today's testing is to “examine the development of systems that recognize gestures such as hand movements without the use of traditional buttons and switches.”
But, as he says, these interactions do not replace the traditional use of control sticks and throttles that control military fighter jets. “Behind it is philosophy: Hotas,” he says. “The cockpit design reflects the way pilots get and stick to as much throttle as possible so that they don't interfere with the flight. They are looking at how acceptable it is for an aircraft to talk to the aircraft's systems, for example.
“Innovative interactions in the cockpit can optimize responses and pilot situational awareness. This can lead to better decisions. But we need to be smarter about how we apply these technologies.”
Marcos Barquero, Test Pilot, Airbus Defense and Space
Within the Epic Program, Airbus is working with Spain's Leonardo, Indra and Technobit to lead the pillars of innovative interaction.
Innovate your defenses with AI
EPIIC is a consortium of 27 European companies and academic partners. It is an innovation ecosystem for the strategically autonomous European defense sector. “This is to help European troops be sensitive and technically superior in the increasingly complex theatres of operations,” emphasizes Project Manager Calleja.
Belenkaleja, project manager for three EDF programs at Airbus Defense and Space.
Building greater European technology autonomy means reducing reliance on third-party technologies such as legacy avionics. To this end, Airbus partners with artificial intelligence solutions provider Multiverse Computing through an open innovation approach. The collaboration combines Airbus' expertise in pilot interfaces with multiverse expertise in building quantum machine learning algorithms and efficient large-scale language models. “This helps to develop more efficient pilot gesture recognition algorithms that use less energy and power compared to traditional strategies and reduce processing unit demands,” Calleja says.
Airbus is partnering with the Spain-based SME Multiverse. It develops cutting-edge gesture recognition algorithms inspired by the principles of quantum computing.
FCA on the horizon
The Airbus team is already working on the second phase of the project. By the end of 2026, the most promising results of EPIIC will be considered for demonstrations and testing. This includes potential validation in a simulated, realistic production environment.
As the epic team looks to the future, the line between science fiction and reality is blurred. Futuristic technology that powers Tony Stark's Iron Man suits – you can find your way into the cockpit of next-generation fighter jets, including virtual assistants, adaptive interfaces, and gesture control. Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Developed by France, Germany and Spain. These technologies help to build a powerful and autonomous European defense. In Stark's own words, “It's not a suit, it's something you do with it.”
In the systems of the FCAS system, the new generation of fighters will work with unmanned remote carriers connected to other systems via the data cloud.
This publication was jointly funded by the European Union under grant agreement 101103592. Its content is the sole responsibility of the Epic (Fighter Cockpit Enhanced Pilot Interface and Interaction) Consortium and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
