Aeronautics is digitalised from aircraft design through to production and operation. This continuous availability of all data is known as the digital thread. The Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics is researching how practically usable knowledge can be derived from these extensive data. The Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics is researching how these extensive data can be used to derive practical knowledge in order to design even more powerful, efficient and safe aviation products. With the digital thread, wide areas of aeronautics are considered in design processes, so that synergies can be used to a greater extent than before. Thus, the focus is on systems that are composed of many coupled subsystems (System of Systems Engineering, SoSE). The combination of the subsystems is referred to as system architecture.
The DLR Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics was established in November 2017 at the Center for Applied Aeronautical Research (ZAL) in Hamburg-Finkenwerder.