28Feb

Safety – Drone-Based Inspections

Use Case: Drone-Based Safety Inspections for Airports

At the Smart Airport of the future, we will use drone based robotic systems, equipped with multiple optical and laser sensors (high-resolution cameras and 3D scanners) to perform automatic aircraft inspections.

These high-definition imaging, 3D scanning, and optical/LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) components can detect paint chips, rivet rash, stress cracks, dents, and other visible damage. Drone based inspections will reduce inspection time/cost, deliver more comprehensive/accurate  documentation, and provide traceability for sub-sequent maintenance activities.

The automated inspection subsystem will include:

  • High definition optical and laser imaging with resolutions significantly below 1mm
  • Metallurgical systems to perform eddy current analytics
  • High accuracy positioning technology directly referenced to the aircraft datum
  • Control software that allows quick deployment
  • Automated aircraft and area inspection profiles
  • A data platform to collect reliable, repeatable and consistent data sets
  • A user interface that is intuitive and requires minimal training