The Rolls-Royce IntelligentEngine – Driven by data

A digital revolution will drive Rolls-Royce’s pioneering IntelligentEngine vision which was launched yesterday at the Singapore Airshow.

With more people flying than ever before and an increasing demand for more efficient travel, Rolls-Royce has defined a vision for the future of aircraft power that will help deliver travellers more reliably and more efficiently than ever before.

The IntelligentEngine vision is based on a belief that the worlds of product and service have become so closely connected that they are now inseparable, thanks to rapid advancements in digital capability.

By the end of this year Rolls-Royce will be set to receive more than 70 trillion data points from its in-service fleet each year. Harnessing the power of this data is central to delivering the IntelligentEngine and developing an engine which is connected, contextually aware and comprehending.

Rolls-Royce launched the R2 Data Labs in December 2017 to tackle challenges just like these. It is an acceleration hub for data innovation and brings together expertise from across the business, building on 30 years of data-led services and business model innovation.

Decades ago, the Rolls-Royce service model was based around the simple repair and fix of broken engines. Then, as data became increasingly available, it was able to introduce the industry-changing TotalCare® service which drew on Engine Health Monitoring data to help manage and schedule engine repair. Now Rolls-Royce is looking to deliver another revolution in customer service by building on today’s advancements in the digital world.

Using advanced data analytics, industrial Artificial Intelligence and machine learning techniques R2 Data Labs develops data applications that unlock design, manufacturing and operational efficiencies within Rolls-Royce, and creates new service propositions for customers.

At the heart of R2 Data Labs are Data Innovation Cells; mixed discipline teams of data experts who work in collaboration with teams from across Rolls-Royce’s operations. These cells apply cutting edge DevOps principles to rapidly explore data, unlock and test new ideas, and turn those ideas into new innovation and services.

Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, Director, Customer and Services – Civil Aerospace, said: “Digital information is the lifeblood of the IntelligentEngine. By working collaboratively with our customers and other third parties to harness the power of the data available to us we will be able to deliver another revolution in customer service.

“In R2 Data Labs we have something that sets us apart from our competitors, allowing us to stay at the forefront of digital technology and respond to meet the fast changing needs of our customers. We are pioneering the power that matters.”

R2 Data Labs works with a variety of best-in-class partners to provide IT infrastructure and to power its analytics ecosystem – from established players in the field such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Microsoft, to start-ups and academia. R2 Data Labs has data innovation capability hubs in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Singapore, India and New Zealand.

Rolls-Royce will set out further details of the IntelligentEngine vision over the coming year. Updates will be available via a dedicated webpage: www.rolls-royce.com/intelligentengine

For high-res images please see here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rolls-royceplc

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

  1. Rolls-Royce pioneers cutting-edge technologies that deliver the cleanest, safest and most competitive solutions to meet our planet’s vital power needs.
  2. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
  3. Annual underlying revenue was £13.8 billion in 2016, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. The firm and announced order book stood at £82.7 billion at the end of June 2017.
  4. In 2016, Rolls-Royce invested £1.3 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 31 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
  5. Rolls-Royce employs almost 50,000 people in 50 countries. More than 16,500 of these are engineers.
  6. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills. In 2016 we recruited 274 graduates and 327 apprentices through our worldwide training programmes.

Contacts

How can we help you?

Contact a member of our press team