Collins Aerospace introduced a new aircraft galley product at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg this week aimed at improving predictive maintenance. The connected galley inserts—or appliances used to prepare inflight food and beverage—can automatically transmit data in real-time from the aircraft to an airline’s maintenance operations.

“Collins’ connected galley insert solution will utilize artificial intelligence and big data to accurately analyze collected information to make informed decisions that best suit their operations—without excessive investment or aircraft modification time,” says Alison Davidson, vice president and general manager of cabin products for Collins Aerospace.

Collins says the connected gallery inserts can seamlessly integrate with its existing galley inserts, requiring no modifications and enabling airlines to avoid aircraft downtime. Once installed, the inserts can differentiate between specific component issues and aircraft interface issues, such as faulty water or power supplies. This data can be used to identify unit faults, which Collins says decreases the time maintenance teams spend troubleshooting and reduces the chances of misdiagnosing unit malfunctions.

When the connected galley inserts are implemented across broader fleets, Collins says the data they gather could help airlines predict failures before they happen to better plan maintenance and more accurately assess spare and repair inventory needs.

Another Collins aircraft cabin product with predictive maintenance capabilities won a Crystal Cabin Award earlier this week. Its InteliSense intelligent cabin system, which leverages data to help maintenance technicians and cabin crew, won the Passenger Comfort category. InteliSense combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and sensor technology to collect information from objects within the seat environment, which is then transmitted to a crew’s electronic flight bag.

The OEM has an expanding suite of connectivity and predictive maintenance services. American Airlines is currently installing its aircraft interface device on more than 500 aircraft to help proactively analyze and troubleshoot maintenance issues. Its Ascentia predictive maintenance platform is being used by several airlines for predictive analysis on aircraft components.