Aerospace & Defense Technology - February 2022 - 23

Aerospace Manufacturing
" The goal is to have the drone performing
multiple precise orbits around
the aircraft, at just the right speed,
while at the same time ensuring that
the scanner is properly oriented towards
the aircraft, " explains Chakravarthy.
" The trick is not getting so close as to
cause a collision, but not so far away as
to distort the readings. "
Chakravarthy's advanced students
will develop the mechanical robot
that carries the scanner under the
plane along the plant floor. It will be
equipped with its own G&C system-
conceptually similar to that of the
drone-that will autonomously track
the reference trajectory while ensuring
collision avoidance.
Expanding the Capability of DroneIntegrated
Metrology
The current STTR award includes
options for even further advancements.
Of great importance to Lockheed Martin
is identifying any delamination
within the composite skin of the F-35.
Since separation of the layers and voids
cannot always be seen or measured
from the surface, a non-destructive testing
method is necessary. This is where
highly sensitive IR cameras can be used
to inspect beneath the composite surface
of the craft to effectively visualize
and identify any anomalies.
" The IR flash lamps act as an excitation
source to transfer heat through
the material, " says Desmond Lamont,
Global Business Development Manager
for Teledyne FLIR. " Since voids and
gaps don't transfer heat as efficiently as
a solid does, the heat will build and the
camera identifies these hot spots and
points out the adjacent fault areas. "
Cutting the Cord
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While there were a number of challenges
the team encountered, the issue
of removing the wiring tether from the
scanner was considered one of the most
significant. A wireless approach is much
safer and more capable of dodging personnel
and physical infrastructure on
the factory floor. The Airgility team
will solve this problem by utilizing AI
drones that only transmit crucial data,
thus greatly reducing bandwidth.
" Since the intelligent drone knows
what anomalies to look for, it only
sends that info and ignores the expected
results, " points out Raheja. " Therefore,
you don't need to transmit a lot of
data continuously. "
The ultimate result of this collaboration
is a reliable, highly accurate (plus
or minus 0.025 mm) inspection platform
for large body craft that removes
human error and safety risk from the
manufacturing environment.
This article was written by Dr. David
Rizzo for Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD).
For more information, visit http://info.
hotims.com/82318-503.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, February 2022
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - February 2022

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