Rolls-Royce selects Praxis for software for Trent 1000 EMU

Praxis High Integrity Systems, the UK 's leading developer of critical software systems, has won a contract for the Engine Monitoring Unit (EMU) software for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine, which will come into service on the next generation of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in mid 2008.

This contract follows the recent delivery of a critical software package for the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 EMU, which will go in into service on the Airbus A380 in early 2007. The Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 will be some of the first commercial airliners to benefit from EMU technology, which analyses engine performance data in-flight and provides reports on the condition of engines to ground-based engineers. This information, which is drawn from measurement of vibration, pressure and temperature parameters, enables rapid predictive maintenance, increased operational flexibility and lower cost of ownership.

EMU data will enable these engines (and future members of the Trent family of engines) to maximise efficiency and reduce maintenance by allowing Rolls-Royce support teams to predict likely operational issues and make decisions quickly to maintain the engine or deal with technical problems as soon as the aircraft lands.

Praxis has played an integral part in the design, build and integration of the EMU. Keith Williams, Managing Director of Praxis, commented: “Our record and experience of designing and implementing critical software for advanced applications within the aerospace industry enabled us to win the initial Trent 900 EMU contract, which we have now successfully delivered. We believe that success assisted us in obtaining the order for the Trent 1000 EMU and we look forward to working with Rolls-Royce on this and to seeing the A380 in service next year, powered by the Trent 900 with Praxis software on board.”