In Conversation: How Fyve By Is Using A.I To Protect Aircraft From Damage On The Ground

Benjamin Youngstrom is the CEO and Co-Founder of Fyve By, a company that seeks to reduce the number of aircraft incidents by providing precise real-time visual locations of planes, cargo, tools, and people. Simple Flying recently spoke with the innovator to find out more about how his firm is solving challenges on the ground.

A committed AvGeek, he met the company’s co-founder, Preston LaVangie, at Georgia Southern University, where Youngstrom was studying business and LaVangie was studying mechanical engineering.

Youngstrom explains that the name Fyve By is based on the radio check call “five by five.” The idea was to start building robotic ground service equipment. As the pair built it, they started to notice several informational holes that its competition was failing to see.

The more they worked on solving these problems, the more they realized there was a better way to approach the issue. Thus, they concluded that they could implement camera vision technology in hangars and solve the hangar rash problem for fixed-base operators (FBOs) and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) firms. Then, they can use the data collected in the hangar to expand its technology across the ramp.

Sumit Singh: How does Fyve By protect aircraft from damage?

Benjamin Youngstrom: We have a multipoint approach. First, we are providing ground crews with a comprehensive, real-time, 360° bird’s eye view of the hangar space. Think 360 backup camera in luxury vehicles but applied to the entire hangar space.

Next, we are using this view to train a computer model to identify the aircraft and objects in the hangar. Identifying aircraft will allow us to provide intelligent hangar stacking, optimize aircraft movement for safety and efficiency, and even provide virtual guidelines to help ground crews avoid damage.

From here, we can expand to the ramp, providing drivers with alerts when they are too close to vehicles, equipment, and aircraft. The insights from our technology have the capacity to even enable features like automatic breaking when it predicts the potential for a collision!

SS: Which markets do you primarily work in?

BY: Our beachhead is the FBO/MRO space. We are looking to help these companies reduce their risks and optimize their space utilization. It’s a great starting point because we can provide some pretty monumental value. First and foremost, insurance companies love when FBOs invest in safety.

This means insurance companies are spending less repairing damage, which is often rewarded by insurance providers. Then there is space optimization. Using our smart stacking technology we believe FBOs could extract a minimum of $100,000 more per hangar per year. The value keeps growing from there!

SS: Which technologies do you work with?

BY: We are combining advanced vision equipment and computer learning technology. First, providing a clear and full understanding of the operating space, and then offering to-the-second analytics that increases efficiency and operational value. There is certainly more to it, but we could be here all day digging into the technology!

SS: Please tell us about the benefits of joining ATDC.

BY: The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and the T-Mobile 5G accelerator have been incredibly valuable. The community of minds it has provided us with has been critical for our growth by connecting us with advisors, introducing us to developers, and helping us build a culture and community of growth. We are lucky to be in a state that has such a strong aviation community and history.

SS: What is the priority for Fyve By this year?

BY: Our priority is growth, without a doubt. We are rolling out our Sky View platform across the FBO/MRO market. We are about to raise funds and start hiring more developers. 2023 promises to be a big year for us as we begin bringing on customers, offering new features, and marching forward on our mission of freeing the aviation industry from ground movement damage.

SS: What is the ultimate goal for Fyve By?

BY: This is only the beginning for us. We will be rolling out updates and new capabilities throughout the year. From here, we are working on the best way to expand our capabilities to the ramp and then to the entire airport. We are confident that with our technology, we can end ground movement damage across the industry, whether general aviation, corporate, or commercial.

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SS: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight to our readers?

BY: EVTOL technology is coming whether we like it or not, and one question no one seems to ask is: where will this new equipment be stored? The hangar market is already in disarray because of the lack of availability, and introducing thousands of car-sized airplanes to the mix isn’t going to help relieve that. As the world prepares to provide power, maintenance, and other services to these vehicles, we are ready to help operators, owners, and FBOs manage the storage of this type of aircraft.

What are your thoughts about Fyve By’s initiatives? Let us know what you think in the comment section.