Mattis Tsang, co-founder and managing director of Aerosim (Photo: Affa Chan)
Cover Mattis Tsang, co-founder and managing director of Aerosim (Photo: Affa Chan)

Mattis Tsang co-founded Aerosim to train pilots using simulation and artificial intelligence

Global air traffic is expected to recover strongly, as more countries open their borders to foreign travellers. And as it does so, one startup is there to support the aviation industry with the best talents. 

Hong Kong-based aviation education startup Aerosim’s goal is to make air travel safer. It develops flight simulators and autonomous learning solutions to educate students on flight safety and pilot procedures. 

According to the company’s managing director Mattis Tsang, combining simulation experience with a learning app can reduce physical training hours by 30 to 50 percent. This, in turn, not only lowers overall training costs but the barriers to entry into the aviation sector as well.

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Driven by his own passion and experiences as a pilot and educator in aviation, Tsang co-founded Aerosim in 2014. During his time as a university lecturer, he found that the existing method of teaching students about aviation could be improved to include more hands-on experience.

“Aviation knowledge can be very abstract with theory and imagination,” says Tsang. “I realised then that with available technology, I can put together a flight simulation for students to learn in a more effective and practical way.”

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Photo: Affa Chan
Above Photo: Affa Chan

Today, Aerosim’s flight simulators are built with in-house developed hardware and software to lower their costs. They are also aligned with professional training standards to provide as realistic and precise an experience as possible. The devices also use AI-powered software to evaluate a pilot’s level of situation awareness and unintentional blindness.

Aerosim has also developed an award-winning digital aviation learning management platform to encourage self-learning outside of the classroom. The platform uses augmented reality and gamification to make learning materials more visually appealing and fun to interact with for students.

“The technology that we are building evolves and enhances pilot performance by helping them better understand their actual capability and behaviour,” says Tsang.

Taking Aerosim global is Tsang’s next goal. He says that the company is looking to scale its range of products and services overseas, and take its flight training programme to Australia and the US.

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Being based at the Hong Kong Science Park, Aerosim has had access to the hub’s resources, network of mentors and advisors, and programmes to help it constantly innovate. Tsang says this has provided Aerosim with “the right amount of support that’s needed”, which, to startups, can mean the difference between success and failure.

In Tsang’s eyes, innovation holds different meanings to different generations, but what is consistent is the ability to strive for sustainable, effective and positive change. 

“This century is marked by technology and innovation. It’s clear that the opportunities are endless and transformation is in place.”


Innovation Starts Here is a year-long celebration of Hong Kong innovation initiated by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), to mark its 20th anniversary in 2022. The campaign showcases how HKSTP harnesses the innate spirit of natural ingenuity that lives inside Hong Kong, redefining I&T in the city and the world.

Credits

Photography  

Affa Chan

Videography  

Capsule 48

Grooming  

Karen Yiu

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