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Air-Cobot
Air-Cobot (Aircraft Inspection enhanced by smaRt & Collaborative rOBOT) is a French research and development project of a wheeled collaborative mobile robot able to inspect aircraft during maintenance operations. This multi-partner project involves research laboratories and industry. Research around this prototype was developed in three domains: autonomous navigation, human-robot collaboration and nondestructive testing.
Air-Cobot is presented as the first wheeled robot able to perform visual inspections of aircraft. Inspection robots using other types of sensors have been considered before, such as the European project Robair. Since the launch of the project, other solutions based on image processing began to be developed, such as EasyJet with a drone, the swarm of drones from Toulouse company Donecle and the Aircam project of the aerospace manufacturer Airbus.
Since the beginning of the project in 2013, the Air-Cobot robot is dedicated to inspect the lower parts of an aircraft. In the continuation of the project, there is the prospect of coupling with a drone to inspect an aircraft's upper parts. In October 2016, Airbus Group launched its research project on the hangar of the future in Singapore. The robots from the Air-Cobot and Aircam projects are included in it.
Launched in January 2013, the project is part of the Interministerial Fund program of Aerospace Valley, a business cluster in southwestern France. With a budget of over one million euros, Air-Cobot aims to develop an innovative collaborative mobile robot, autonomous in its movements and able to perform the inspection of an aircraft with nondestructive testing sensors during preflight or during maintenance operations in a hangar. Testing has been performed at the premises of Airbus and Air France Industries.
The project leader is Akka Technologies. There are two academic partners; Akka Technologies and four other companies make up the five commercial partners.
Project finance is provided by banque publique d'investissement, the Aquitaine Regional Council, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departemental Council, the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Council and by the European Union.
Aircraft are inspected during maintenance operations either outdoors on an airport between flights, or in a hangar for longer-duration inspections. These inspections are conducted mainly by human operators, visually and sometimes using tools to assess defects. The project aims to improve inspections of aircraft and traceability. A database dedicated to each aircraft type, containing images and three-dimensional scans, will be updated after each maintenance. This allows for example to assess the propagation of a crack.
The human operator's eyes fatigue over time while an automatic solution ensures reliability and repeatability of inspections. The decrease in time taken for inspections is a major objective for aircraft manufacturers and airlines. If maintenance operations are faster, this will optimize the availability of aircraft and reduce maintenance operating costs.
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Air-Cobot
Air-Cobot (Aircraft Inspection enhanced by smaRt & Collaborative rOBOT) is a French research and development project of a wheeled collaborative mobile robot able to inspect aircraft during maintenance operations. This multi-partner project involves research laboratories and industry. Research around this prototype was developed in three domains: autonomous navigation, human-robot collaboration and nondestructive testing.
Air-Cobot is presented as the first wheeled robot able to perform visual inspections of aircraft. Inspection robots using other types of sensors have been considered before, such as the European project Robair. Since the launch of the project, other solutions based on image processing began to be developed, such as EasyJet with a drone, the swarm of drones from Toulouse company Donecle and the Aircam project of the aerospace manufacturer Airbus.
Since the beginning of the project in 2013, the Air-Cobot robot is dedicated to inspect the lower parts of an aircraft. In the continuation of the project, there is the prospect of coupling with a drone to inspect an aircraft's upper parts. In October 2016, Airbus Group launched its research project on the hangar of the future in Singapore. The robots from the Air-Cobot and Aircam projects are included in it.
Launched in January 2013, the project is part of the Interministerial Fund program of Aerospace Valley, a business cluster in southwestern France. With a budget of over one million euros, Air-Cobot aims to develop an innovative collaborative mobile robot, autonomous in its movements and able to perform the inspection of an aircraft with nondestructive testing sensors during preflight or during maintenance operations in a hangar. Testing has been performed at the premises of Airbus and Air France Industries.
The project leader is Akka Technologies. There are two academic partners; Akka Technologies and four other companies make up the five commercial partners.
Project finance is provided by banque publique d'investissement, the Aquitaine Regional Council, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departemental Council, the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Council and by the European Union.
Aircraft are inspected during maintenance operations either outdoors on an airport between flights, or in a hangar for longer-duration inspections. These inspections are conducted mainly by human operators, visually and sometimes using tools to assess defects. The project aims to improve inspections of aircraft and traceability. A database dedicated to each aircraft type, containing images and three-dimensional scans, will be updated after each maintenance. This allows for example to assess the propagation of a crack.
The human operator's eyes fatigue over time while an automatic solution ensures reliability and repeatability of inspections. The decrease in time taken for inspections is a major objective for aircraft manufacturers and airlines. If maintenance operations are faster, this will optimize the availability of aircraft and reduce maintenance operating costs.