18.02.2019 12:00
Team Move_EZ earns the second phase of Airbus #flyyourideas Competition
Four Politecnico students have designed an innovative aircraft seat capable of use as wheelchair
Politecnico di Milano takes part in the Airbus #flyyourideas 2019 Competition with Team Move_EZ, consisting of Daniela Agachi, Mario Capo, Tommaso Cinelli and Vittorio Di Pietrantonio. Four students attending first year in the laurea programme in Aeronautical Engineering with a great idea to implement.
How did you decide to form a team together?
Last October, during the first lessons, we were feeling the need to tackle a different challenge. As the team was made up of friends, more than just university mates, we discussed at length the possibility of taking up the challenge as a team.
"This possibility later turned into reality thanks to the #FlyYourIdeas competition, to which we responded enthusiastically by submitting a design stemming from a problem especially dear to our team’s heart".
The design is called SWAN, and develops within the scope of the Internet of Things. Their proposal was a revolutionary aircraft seat that can be used as wheelchair as well, from boarding at the airport of departure until luggage collection at the airport of destination, manageable through a smartphone.
How did you organise work on the design within the team?
The strength of our team lies in diversity: we are all skilled in different areas, and this helps us develop all the facets of the design.
"Vittorio is responsible for social media and the IoT interface of the system; Mario deals with the graphic design and app development part; Daniela with the technical and computer-aided design aspect; and Tommaso with the prototyping and business potential part".
The competition is an opportunity offered by Airbus to students all over the world to implement their designs, conceived with the aim of tackling concrete challenges of the aerospace industry alongside a leading company in the sector. Ideas that might change the future of the aerospace industry and create a safer, clearer and more connected world. There are six innovation areas: Electrification, Data Services, Cyber Security, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Hybrid Reality.
What pushed you to take part in Fly Your Ideas?
For us FYI represents a chance to make the most of the skills we have acquired during these years at the Politecnico: the real teaching for us was to gain the ability to tackle any kind of problems and find the easiest and most elegant solution to them.
"Being aerospace engineering students does not only mean gaining the ability to design a new model of supersonic aircraft: it rather means to take as one’s cue real needs in the aeronautical industry which, as in our case, might seem hidden, and find therein an opportunity for improvement".
Is attending Politecnico a value added?
Our laurea programme helps us develop the design, thanks also to the support of professors in our department, always particularly willing to lend their assistance; especially that of Professor Paolo Astori, who enthusiastically accepted our request to support us as academic mentor for this competition.
The Move_EZ team has passed the second phase of the competition and has now three months to bring the design to fruition together with an Airbus mentor and expert. Only a maximum of six designs judged the best will be able to move onto the third phase, which envisages an overall prize of EUR 45.000 to be divided between the winners and thereby take the idea forward in the aerospace industry.
What are your plans should you win the competition?
"Transforming our idea into reality undoubtedly requires an initial investment to develop the technical, electronic and IT aspects. We are currently working with the means at our disposal to create a prototype in scale of the idea and prove its feasibility. However, a prize money like the one set aside for the top competitor would lend great impetus to the concrete full-scale implementation of our design and would enable us to prove its practicable implementation; not to mention the worldwide visibility that would ensue from that".
Whichever the outcome of the competition, we are thinking of continuing to invest resources and time to develop our idea and ensure that one day it might really help passengers with reduced mobility.
You can follow all the updates on the design on the official social channels of the Move_EZ team:
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter as well as on the social wall of the official competition website