Textron Innovations Inc.

Design and control of electromechanical or hydraulic actuators for moving aircraft components like wing tips, control surfaces, or landing gear, often focusing on efficiency, redundancy, or specific operational profiles.

Mechanisms and algorithms designed to enhance the stability, precision, and safety of drone flight, including damping systems, rotor dynamics, fault-tolerant control, and transition between flight modes.

Integration of electric motors, power generation, and distribution systems for propelling aircraft, including components for coupling motors to propellers and managing electrical power.

Innovations in aircraft airframe design, material usage, and aerodynamic surfaces to improve performance characteristics such as weight, rigidity, short take-off/landing capabilities, or stall resistance.

Systems and methods for ensuring robust and reliable aircraft control, often involving multiple control computers, adaptive control laws, or sophisticated pilot input interfaces, especially in the presence of failures or environmental disturbances.

Technologies for detecting operational parameters, monitoring component health, and diagnosing malfunctions in aircraft using various sensors and data analysis, often employing AI/ML.

Integration of electric machines, energy storage, and power transfer systems with gas turbine engines to enable hybrid operation, electric starting, or auxiliary power generation, improving efficiency or operational flexibility.

Innovations in aircraft cabin design, including reconfigurable spaces, passenger amenities, integrated displays, and automated control of cabin devices based on flight status.

Systems and methods for monitoring, controlling, and optimizing the movement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other aircraft, including real-time connectivity, flight planning, and route modification.

Drone propulsion and power architectures combining multiple energy sources, such as internal combustion engines, electric motors, batteries, and generators, to extend flight duration, range, or payload capacity.

Designs for gear systems, particularly epicyclic configurations, to achieve high gear ratios for efficient power transfer between engine shafts and components like fans, often integrating with electric machines.

Designs and components for efficiently supplying, collecting, and managing lubricants (oil, grease) within gearboxes and transmissions to reduce friction, dissipate heat, and extend component operational life.

Techniques and structures within heat exchangers designed to enhance heat transfer efficiency by controlling and optimizing fluid flow, including baffle arrangements, jet impingement, and condensate management.

Novel designs or control strategies for clutches, including one-way, centrifugal, or disconnect types, to manage torque transmission in powertrains and other mechanical systems.

Solutions for the automated deployment, retrieval, and payload handling of drones, often involving integration with other vehicles or specialized ground infrastructure for specific applications like package delivery.

Methods and components for optimizing the performance, efficiency, and control of electric motors, inverters, and power converters within electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle drivetrains.

Software, algorithms, and associated hardware for monitoring, controlling, and optimizing battery performance, safety, and lifespan, including charge/discharge cycles, thermal regulation, and system integration.

Systems designed to regulate the flow, pressure, and distribution of non-fuel gases and fluids within aircraft, such as cabin air, oxygen supply, or pneumatic actuation systems.

Novel configurations and materials for gears and drivetrain components, including specialized profiles, self-aligning features, damping elements, and complex gear train arrangements like planetary, cycloidal, or strain wave gearing.

Systems for coordinating multiple drones, managing their operations within an airspace, including real-time connectivity, traffic management, and task allocation for cooperative missions.

Assemblies and components designed for reliable and efficient transfer of rotational or axial forces between mechanical parts, accommodating misalignment or specific motion profiles.

Technologies for storing, managing pressure, and safely distributing hydrogen fuel within an aircraft, including tank integration, pressure control, and leak detection.

Addresses the design and arrangement of electric motors, transmissions, and associated power electronics (like inverters) to form integrated drive units for hybrid or electric vehicles, including specific components like busbars and electric brakes.

Design and integration of bearings within larger mechanical systems or devices, focusing on mounting structures, housing, endplay management, and overall assembly for specific applications.

Technologies for efficiently delivering power to electric vehicles, encompassing fast charging, wireless charging, and smart grid integration, alongside vehicle-side control and management of the charging process.

Focuses on the structural integrity, housing, mounting, and physical integration of battery cells into robust and protected packs within electric vehicles, including manufacturing considerations.

Methods and components for converting power into mechanical motion to drive pump mechanisms, encompassing electric motors, hydraulic actuators, and specialized motion converters like ball screws or solenoids.

Methods and tooling for forming structural components from fibrous materials impregnated with resin, involving processes like prepreg handling, resin infusion, and co-bonding during curing.

Bearings that utilize a pressurized gas or liquid film to create a non-contact support surface, reducing friction and wear, often incorporating specific flow restriction or airfoil designs.

Methods and systems for managing the interaction, communication, and collaborative tasks among multiple autonomous entities, or between autonomous entities and a central control system or users.

Transmissions designed to provide a continuous range of gear ratios between fixed limits, often employing ball-planetary, toroidal, or belt-pulley mechanisms, and including their control systems for stable operation in various directions.

Combustor and fuel supply system designs that enable operation with multiple fuel types (e.g., conventional, ammonia, hydrogen) or optimize fuel-air mixing for improved efficiency, reduced emissions, or specific power cycles.

Process and equipment for producing solid-state battery cells, including solid electrolyte synthesis (sulfide/oxide/polymer), thin-film deposition, lamination, sintering, dry-electrode fabrication, and stacking under controlled atmosphere.

Systems designed to manage the temperature of multiple components in electric or hybrid vehicles, such as batteries, electric motors, power electronics, and the passenger cabin, often using shared or interconnected cooling/heating circuits.

Improvements to the internal components and configurations of rolling element bearings, such as cage designs, separator materials, raceway geometry, or adjustable elements, to enhance performance or lifespan.

Support systems for gas turbine engines, including specialized pumps, cleaning methods for engine components, mobile power generation units, and specific structural components like joints and fasteners.

Systems and methods for using drones equipped with various sensors (optical, chemical, LiDAR) to collect data for monitoring environmental conditions, inspecting infrastructure, or assessing agricultural assets.

Mechanisms that convert rotational input (typically from an electric motor) into precise linear output motion, often employing screw-nut assemblies, ball screws, or cam-follower systems for various applications.

Slurry compositions and coating processes for battery electrodes, including binder/active-material slurries, surface coating layers, and electrode-to-foil adhesion for cathode and anode.

Actuators, control, and components for converting electrical energy into braking force, often involving motors, spindles, and friction elements, particularly for vehicle applications.

Processes and apparatus for disassembling spent batteries and recovering valuable materials (e.g., metals, electrolytes, plastics) through mechanical, chemical, or electrochemical methods for reuse or sustainable disposal.

Techniques for building three-dimensional metal objects layer-by-layer using metal powders, including powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and directed energy deposition. This theme encompasses process mechanics, equipment design, and operational control for AM systems.

Development of novel materials or material compositions to enhance bearing performance, such as wear resistance, friction reduction, or load capacity, often involving composites, ceramics, or specialized coatings.

Mechanical assemblies designed to enable controlled rotational movement between components, often incorporating locking features, speed reduction, or eccentric adjustments for precise positioning.