AI in the co-pilot seat

Leveraging the latest in artificial intelligence, the DARWIN project is developing solutions that aim to reduce pilot workload, increase safety and efficiency and, ultimately, pave the way toward more automated operations in aviation.

With demand on the rise and a pilot shortage looming, aviation must find ways to do more with less.

According to the DARWIN project, a good place to start is in the cockpit.

"As aviation becomes more complex, so too is the pilot's workload," says Jolana Dvorska, Sr. Technical Manager at Honeywell Aerospace, the project's coordinating partner. "But with AI-powered digital assistants and adaptive automation, we have an opportunity not only to reduce this workload, but also to help make flights safer and more efficient."

The SESAR-supported project is developing cockpit technologies that look to enable safe and seamless human-machine collaboration, ultimately paving the way toward higher automation. This ambitious initiative, led by Honeywell Aerospace, brings together organizations such, DLR (German Aerospace Center), Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, and EUROCONTROL, combining expertise from industry and research to deliver innovative solutions for the future of aviation.

An innovative human-AI teaming platform

At the heart of the project is a trustworthy, reusable human-AI teaming platform, developed by Honeywell.

"The human-AI teaming concept will open the door to advanced levels of automation by allocating and reallocating tasks between the pilot and the digital co-pilot with assistants," explains Pavel Kolčárek, avionics architect at Honeywell Aerospace. "However, to ensure that the human pilot remains in the loop, all automation will be done using a rule-based, transparent and explainable decision-making process."

According to Kolčárek, a digital co-pilot with assistants could be used to provide real-time aircraft parameters and assist with selecting an optimal diversion airport. "The solution could also be used for initial cross-checks, monitoring select actions and notifying the pilot if they are not properly completed," he adds.

This is just a partial list of the types of tasks that could eventually be automated. As the digital co-pilot is modular in design, it can easily be extended to bring even more automation to the flight deck.

Developed by Honeywell, the platform adheres to EASA guidance for Level 1 and 2 AI applications and can be seamlessly integrated into the SESAR ATM environment.

Automatically monitoring a pilot's state and task load

The project is also developing tools to monitor the pilot's state (i.e., drowsiness, incapacitation), along with their task load. The task load monitor will calculate the current and future task load along the planned flight route based on upcoming duties in the cockpit and the expected flight situation.

The pilot state monitoring tool was developed by Honeywell, while the task load monitor was developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).

The digital co-pilot will use the data gathered by these monitoring tools to respond adaptively, thus adding an additional layer of safety to the cockpit.

The project aims to develop all of its technologies to the same level of safety offered by current operations.

The automated cockpit takes to the skies

The DARWIN project isn't just developing the automated cockpit of the future, it's also demonstrating its feasibility. In fact, a prototype digital co-pilot that integrates all the project's technologies was recently installed onboard a project partner Pipistrel's Panthera aircraft for a series of validation exercises.

Conducted in Pipistrel facility around Gorizia Airport in northeastern Italy, the exercises, which involved four flights and four test pilots, were designed to assess how the project's solutions performed under realistic operational conditions.

The trials began with standard flight patterns, followed by a series of emergency simulations in which either the pilot or a passenger experienced health-related issues during flight. Simulated emergencies included pilot drowsiness, with the system providing multiple levels of alerts and adaptive task delegation from human to machine. In cases of pilot incapacitation, the system initiated emergency auto-land procedures.

The team also simulated both minor and severe medical issues affecting a passenger, with the system detecting the situation and relieving the pilot of tasks such as suggesting a diversion or contacting air traffic control.

The successful tests created a stepping stone towards project further project validations.

Human-AI teaming concept is one step closer to becoming a reality

The project's work and advanced AI solutions have been featured at high-profile events, including the Eurocontrol Fly AI Forum, Airspace World, Aerospace Tech Week and EASA AI Days. It's also been chosen by EASA as a key use case in identifying and examining human factor challenges related to artificial intelligence.

"The DARWIN project has laid the groundwork for making an airborne Human-AI Teaming operational concept a reality," concludes Jolana Dvorská. "In doing so, we are helping to further increase flight deck automation and decrease pilot workload, while building a modular and extendable solution."

The project continues its work on integrating DARWIN technologies into the air-ground ATM infrastructure, with final integrated validation exercises scheduled for Q1 2026.

You can learn more about DARWIN at the project website www.darwinai.eu. The project partners are Honeywell, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Pipistrel and Eurocontrol.