As the sun rises over the Swiss Alps, the two companies stand side by side - PRODYNA, the innovative full-service provider, and Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, the Swiss aircraft manufacturer. Over the past three years, they have fostered a strong bond beyond ordinary vendor-customer relations. Their collaboration has led to various projects that push the limits of technology and set new industry standards, including the development of AI Solutions, such as a cutting-edge Customer Portal and an AI Chatbot.

Pilatus is a renowned aviation pioneer located in Stans, Switzerland. Founded in 1939, the company is the only Swiss entity that designs, builds, and sells aircraft globally. Its portfolio features a range of iconic planes, including the versatile PC-12, the luxurious PC-24, and the advanced PC-21. Pilatus is not just an aircraft manufacturer; it's a legacy of precision engineering and aviation excellence, committed to ongoing product improvement to enhance its customers' safety, comfort, and productivity.

Pilatus consistently seeks innovative solutions to enhance its product offerings and customer experiences, reinforcing its position as a market leader in its niche segment. With a methodical approach to facilitating new technologies and procedures, the company pushes the boundaries of avionics and their digital landscape. Together with PRODYNA, Pilatus is poised to continue driving innovation and setting new benchmarks in the aviation industry.

The Meeting of Minds

When PRODYNA and Pilatus initially met, it was more than just a business deal - it was a meeting of minds. Both companies shared a common vision: to push boundaries, embrace innovation, and enhance customer experiences. As Pilatus aimed to embrace the new era of data, AI, and cloud computing, PRODYNA became a trusted partner.

The opportunity for both companies to collaborate in an open, agile, and innovative alliance allowed PRODYNA and Pilatus to soar to new heights and achieve tremendous success together. 

The partnership goes beyond individual projects; it's about nurturing innovative ideas and exploring new horizons. Both companies are committed to creating solutions that will shape the future.

The Data & AI Solutions

Microservice Architecture and AI-Driven Customer Portal

The MyPilatus2.0 team is working to create a modern customer portal that reflects Pilatus's high-end values. PRODYNA and Pilatus have continuously developed the portal for over two years. This portal integrates seamlessly with existing IT infrastructure and provides a state-of-the-art user experience. Additionally, it incorporates intelligent features to improve customer interactions. 

The project aims to develop a unified customer portal platform based on trainers, mechanics, aircraft owners, and pilots' daily routines.

The portal offers comprehensive aircraft management features and real-world AI capabilities to improve the user experience and raise customer portals' standards. 

Digital Aircraft Services

 The Digital Aircraft Services initiative is revolutionizing the way Pilatus and its customers approach data. By collecting, standardizing, and transforming raw data directly from aircraft, a data-driven culture is fostered across the organization and the Pilatus ecosystem. This effort aims to create a future where every aircraft is accompanied by its virtual shadow, a Digital Twin, representing each unique aircraft in service. The processed aircraft data, adhering to predefined business rules, is seamlessly transferred to the target applications, providing actionable insights.

 By leveraging the Digital Twin and its Predictive Services, Pilatus can reduce costs, increase efficiency and reliability, and deliver new digital business services to customers. These insights are accessible to System Engineers, Customer Support, and Data Scientists across the organization in various dashboards, tools, and in My Pilatus, enabling streamlined data-driven decisions.

 It is an effort spanning multiple departments, leading to unprecedented successes and increasing reliability and efficiency, showcasing the success of the Digital Transformation within Pilatus. The dedicated agile teams of developers, engineers, data experts, and data scientists, along with the strong leadership in the business unit and product management, are at the heart of this transformation, working tirelessly to achieve these ambitious goals.

 Pilatus AI Chatbot: The Intranet Chatbot (Prototype)

The project's primary goals to create an AI chatbot that provides a secure space for employees to ask queries and obtain accurate information, utilizing the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. 

PRODYNA achieved this by using Azure App Services and the OpenAI API. A custom web crawler specific to Pilatus was also developed to extract content from the intranet and feed it to the AI.  

This prototype is being evaluated and will be developed as a Pilatus Companion for employees shortly. 

And many more

The Pilatus Design System for Software Products aims to create a unified design system that strongly focuses on the end users and helps teams build high-quality digital experiences for all kinds of software development products. Pilatus and PROYNA uses Figma for collaborative design and Storybook for component documentation, ensuring that Pilatus software products are visually appealing but also user-friendly and intuitive. This user-centric approach is at the heart of the design system, putting users at the center of Pilatus' software products.

 The PC-24 OD app displays operational documents related to the PC-24 aircraft. It provides pilots and operators with easy access to critical information. One of the main challenges and mandatory requirements for this project was to be as close as possible to the printed version of the documents.

The Testimony

Matthias Hammerstein, Innovation Manager, shares his thoughts: 

"PRODYNA is our trusted partner, and our relationship generates true business value. We particularly appreciate their proactive nature and willingness to understand us as Pilatus deeply."

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The Future

As the sun sets over the Swiss landscape, the alliance between PRODYNA and Pilatus continues to reach new heights. Their shared dedication to excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction pushes their partnership forward. Whether optimizing aircraft performance or enhancing passenger experiences, this collaboration is more than just business—it's alegacy in the making.