Transense Technologies and Unison, a GE Aerospace company, showcased torque-sensing technology at the Farnborough International Airshow that helped power the first hybrid-electric flight above 30,000 ft and the first hybrid-electric transatlantic crossing.
Transense supplied the underlying sensing technology, called SAWsense, which uses surface acoustic wave sensing to measure torque. Unison took that foundation and handled the engineering, qualification, and integration work needed to get it into an actual flight demonstration.
Getting sensing technology from the lab into an actual flight application is often the hardest part of commercializing it, but this demonstration shows that it's possible.
Ryan Maughan, Transense's managing director, called the milestone significant for both propulsion development and the broader role of torque sensing in future aircraft. Unison engineering leader Josh Friedman pointed to the pairing of Transense's sensing tech with Unison's aerospace application experience as the reason the demonstration came together.
The companies frame the work as part of a longer push toward hybrid-electric propulsion systems aimed at better efficiency, lower emissions, and longer range.
