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, have begun to share data, knowledge and processes in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence to accelerate time-to-market and enhance safety.

Xwing and Daedalean are working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation and Safety Agency (EASA) to certify their software. No machine learning (ML) based safety-critical applications have made their way into the cockpit of civil aviation so far andndash; this requires a paradigm shift in how software and hardware have traditionally been assessed and certified as safe. 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.

“In this emerging industry, it's as crucial to collaborate with fellow pioneers as it is to partner with regulators around the world,” says Luuk van Dijk, co-founder and CEO of Daedalean, “With this shared undertaking, we will be able to demonstrate that increasing safety is driving innovation and that a collaborative approach to harmonize regulations and standards ensures that best practices are universally adopted.”

Both Xwing and Daedalean have published industry-leading and award-winning papers that outline their approaches to certification, for example, Xwing's Formal and Practical Elements for the Certification of Machine Learning Systems and Daedalean's Concepts of Design Assurance for Neural Networks series. The partnership will enable regulators to benefit from the companies' well-aligned approaches and drive progress toward the establishment of an acceptable means of compliance.

“At Xwing, we balance our commitment to a strong safety culture with our push for technical innovation,“ says Maxime Gariel, President and CTO of Xwing, “Our collaboration with Daedalean underscores this philosophy and the importance we place on sharing data, knowledge, and processes to inform a credible path forward toward certification for the industry as a whole as we work closely with regulators.”

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 andndash; industry, regulators, and the public andndash; can make significant progress on the path to certifying AI systems.