Episode 89: DARWIN® Safety Software

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2026

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SwRI’s DARWIN® reliability and safety software analyzes aircraft components for fracture risk, improving safety in our skies. The visualization tool provides insight into potential structural problems before a malfunction occurs. DARWIN takes aircraft data and converts it into a picture of fracture risk, analyzing when a break could occur and pinpointing potential fracture “hotspots.” The software has supported aviation safety for decades and now, it is flying into new frontiers. Listen now as SwRI engineer and DARWIN developer Jonathan Moody discusses the catastrophic engine failure that led to the software’s development, how it works to keep aircraft and passengers safe and DARWIN’s rise outside of aviation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	An SWRI software solution has been a trusted aircraft safety tool for decades.
0:06.8	Developed after a deadly mid-flight engine failure,
0:10.0	the award-winning design assessment of reliability with inspection or Darwin software is used globally in aviation.
0:19.5	Now, Darwin is flying into new frontiers. That's next on this
0:24.3	episode of Technology Today. We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of
0:33.6	innovative research every day. Now, let's understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast, presented by Southwest Research Institute.
0:42.7	From deep sea to deep space, we develop solutions to benefit humankind.
0:47.4	Transcript and photos for this episode and all episodes are available at podcast.swri.org.
0:53.8	Share the podcast and hit that subscribe button on your
0:56.6	favorite podcast platform. Hello and welcome to technology today. I'm Lisa Benia. The design
1:02.8	assessment of reliability with inspection or Darwin software has been recognized with an R&D 100 award
1:10.7	and is known for a flawless safety record.
1:14.0	Darwin assesses aircraft safety risk before there's a critical malfunction,
1:19.6	determining the probability of a fracture and pinpointing problem areas.
1:24.7	SWRI engineer and Darwin developer Jonathan Moody is here today to tell us about
1:29.8	upgrading the software for aviation and beyond. Thank you for joining us, Jonathan.
1:35.2	Yes, it was a pleasure to be here. I really appreciate this.
1:38.3	So, Jonathan, since the Darwin program initiated in 1995, Darwin has expanded into a really a global aviation safety solution.
1:49.3	So let's start with the software's origin story. Tell us about the catastrophic event and the
1:56.0	investigation that followed that created a need for the Darwin software.
2:02.3	Yes, absolutely.
2:03.5	Well, you know, ideally in safety critical industries, you know, we want to identify risk early
	...

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