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The Future of Aircraft Maintenance
Using Drones for Commercial Aircraft Inspection
Gavin Goudie Blue Bear Systems Research & MRO Drone Ltd
▪ MRO Drone - a joint venture between Blue Bear and Output42
▪ Respective knowledge in drone design, image processing, automation and mobile web and
desktop applications for Global Airlines and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)
organisations
▪ Our vision is to produce innovative, integrated hardware and software tools to allow
Airlines and MRO organisations to conduct engineering inspections safely and efficiently
Company Background
▪ Serviceability issues caused by▪ Lightning strikes
▪ Hailstone impact
▪ FOD (Foreign Object Damage)
▪ Operational Damage (air bridge, supply vehicles etc.)
▪ Requiring inspection at base or remote locations▪ Often hard to reach - Inspection will likely involve use of gantries, mobile work platforms and staging
▪ On site expertise not always available
▪ Repair will be difficult away from a MRO facility
▪ Aircraft will be offline (1/2 day or longer)
▪ Data Collation & Dissemination ▪ The more data you have the harder it can be to share or use effectively
Aircraft Inspection Requirements & Challenges
▪ Provides the capability of automated aircraft damage inspection and integrated
reporting systems
▪ Facilitates a new method of aircraft inspection for both scheduled and unscheduled
maintenance purposes
▪ The data captured is more easily collated and disseminated within an airline via
reporting systems
Aircraft Inspection Using Drone Technology – Why?
▪ Aircraft on Ground downtime is the predominant cost factor for an operator
Reducing ‘AOG’
Drone Inspection System
Traditional Inspection Methods
RAPID - Remote Automated Plane Inspection & Dissemination
Hi Speed Datalink Inspection Sensors
Rotor Protection
Automated Flight Control System
Navigation System – Indoor & Outdoor Capability
▪ Drone technology has a huge potential now and in the future for aircraft inspection applications
▪ Provides significantly faster inspection and assessment of damage
▪ Reduces ‘AOG’ time by up to 90%
▪ Augments the role of the aircraft engineer
▪ Introduces measurable efficiencies across the industry
▪ Automated damage detection and reporting is possible and will benefit from the development of
novel sensor technologies
▪ It is another tool in the engineers toolbox – not a replacement!
Drone Inspection Benefits
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