Impact of Artificial Intelligence in the Aviation and Space Sector

Abstract

The turn of this century has seen every industry increasingly automated by artificial intelligence (AI), putting manual work that would take hours to complete, into the hands of mere algorithms. The aerospace industry is not much different. This chapter focuses on applications of AI in airports, space, and general aviation. AI for the airport manifests in the form of systems for passenger identification and baggage screening, and the use of chatbots to answer customer queries. The applications of AI in the space sector vary from remote sensing and space exploration robotics to dynamic guidance of rockets and payloads, all of which could potentially make a manned human exploration redundant. Meanwhile, AI in the general aviation sector can be applied in the autonomous control of aircraft for stability, safety in aircraft maintenance and repair operations, and finally improvement of fuel efficiency through the application of AI that carefully monitors and controls fuel injection based on the estimated maximum efficiency at instantaneous ambient conditions.