Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), in collaboration with Voxshell Ltd, has successfully secured funding from the Digital Twin Accelerator Programme, run by Digital Catapult.

The programme focuses on developing a generative AI toolset for novel aircraft configuration optimisation. Voxshell’s automated meshing and simulation pipeline serves as the foundation that makes this possible, enabling the rapid, reliable generation of high-fidelity data required to train robust AI digital twins. CAeS will embrace Voxshell’s workflow in the design of the Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) hydrogen-powered cargo UAV, with the ambition to reduce iterative design cycles by up to 70%. This joint effort would showcase the vision of Digital Catapult and demonstrate how AI can empower the traditional industry to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

CAeS’s role in the project is a technology adopter, who will specify the design requirements and constraints, verify the Voxshell workflow’s applicability in the real-world industrial practice, and validate the AI surrogate model accuracy against the in-house design data pool.

Dr Katrina Thompson, Director of the UK Digital Twin Centre, said: “By combining cyber-physical systems with real-time data platforms and immersive interaction technologies, digital twins can provide industry unprecedented visibility into complex operations and new opportunities for optimisation. Through the Digital Twin Adoption Accelerator, we’re helping UK businesses unlock the true potential of these technologies, driving innovation and creating measurable impact across critical sectors.”