Airbus has collaborated with its subsidiary Testia to develop a drone-based maintenance tool for inspecting aircraft inside the hanger.
The new Advanced Inspection Drone is capable of accelerating and facilitating visual checks to reduce aircraft downtime and increase the quality of inspections.
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It has been primarily developed to inspect the upper parts of the aircraft fuselage.
The tool features a smart, automatic drone with an integral visual camera, a laser-based obstacle detection sensor, flight planner software, and an aircraft inspection software analysis tool.
Airbus said in a statement: “Following a predefined inspection path, the automated drone captures all the required images with its on-board camera.
“High-quality pictures are then transferred to a PC database for detailed analysis using a software system.
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By GlobalData“This allows the operator to localise and measure visual damage on the aircraft’s surface by comparing it with the aircraft’s digital mock-up. The software automatically generates an inspection report.”
Airbus has developed the Advanced Inspection Drone as part of its Hangar of the Future (HoF) effort. It is the company’s maintenance project initiated in Singapore two years ago.
HoF is a combination of new technologies and Internet of Things-connected equipment, including ‘collaborative robots’ (cobots), drones, scanners, cameras and non-destructive sensors, technical documentation, and in-service data collected by Airbus’ open data Skywise platform.
Airbus plans to commercially launch the drone by the fourth quarter of this year following approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency.
The digital and automated maintenance tool is set to be available for MROs and airlines worldwide.
