Xwing, Daedalean Collaborate “to Advance AI in Aviation”
Xwing, a supplier of modular autonomy technology for aviation, and Daedalean AG, a developer of safety-critical and certifiable Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for situational awareness and flight control, recently announced a formal collaboration to share data, knowledge and processes in the field of machine learning and AI, to accelerate time-to-market while enhancing safety, reports a press release. The partners are working closely with the FAA and EASA to certify their software.
The release explains, “No machine learning (ML) based safety-critical applications have made their way into the cockpit of civil aviation so far – this requires a paradigm shift in how software and hardware have traditionally been assessed and certified as safe.”
It continues, “Aviation regulators have been working on how machine learning fits into their design assurance processes and how to adjust the respective standards. Both companies believe that forming a consensus on their assurance approaches and sharing information is the best way to advance the development of certification standards that will allow an increase in safety more effectively than if they worked separately.”
Luuk van Dijk, co-Founder and CEO of Daedalean, commented, “With this shared undertaking, we will be able to demonstrate that increasing safety is driving innovation and that a collaborative approach to harmonise regulations and standards ensures that best practices are universally adopted.”

Xwing unveils autonomous flight system for regional planes (Credit: Xwing)
Both Xwing and Daedalean have published award-winning papers that outline their approaches to certification. For example, Xwing’s Formal and Practical Elements for the Certification of Machine Learning Systems as well as Daedalean’s Concepts of Design Assurance for Neural Networks series. The collaboration will help drive progress towards the establishment of an acceptable means of compliance.
Maxime Gariel, President and CTO of Xwing, remarked, “The collaboration underscores a philosophy of sharing data, knowledge and processes toward certification for the industry as a whole as we work closely with regulators.”
The release continues, “While Daedalean and Xwing have independently developed frameworks for the certification of AI-based systems, both companies agree that higher levels of safety can be achieved on a shorter timeline by sharing knowledge and relevant flight data, so that all stakeholders, both industry and regulators as well as the public, can make significant progress on the path to certifying AI systems.

Daedalean AI for Flight Control and Situational Awareness (Credit: Daedalean)
Background
Founded in 2016, Xwing is based in Northern California with offices in San Francisco and Concord. It is an industry’s supplier of modular autonomy technology for aviation with adaptable systems designed to integrate with a wide range of aircraft, providing the ability to safely operate ground-supervised, uncrewed aircraft in any airspace.
Daedalean was founded in 2016 and has offices in both the EU and U.S. The team of over 150 people, including 15 PhDs and 19 pilots, possess expertise in machine learning, aviation-grade software and computing hardware engineering, flight testing, safety assessment, and certification.
The company in collaboration with Avidyne, is working to certify and bring to the market the first certified product for General Aviation: Pilot EyeTM, a visual traffic detection source capable of detecting non-cooperative traffic.
For more information
(Top image: Credit — Xwing/Daedalean)