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has been recognised by him receiving a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). “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. Colaw said: “Using drones and this type of scanning technology really opens the door to better understand our product and to cost- effectively substantiate the quality of our products in a way that we can’t currently do because we are limited by human bandwidth.”
The current STTR award includes options for even further advancements. Of great importance to Lockheed Martin is identifying any delamination
source to transfer heat through the material,” said 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
To help, Relec’s TFT displays can be used in temperatures ranging
from -40˚C to +80˚C. The LEDs used in the backlighting have a long operating life and a longevity of supply. Models are available that provide up to 1500cd/m2
and contrast up to 1,000 for clear, discernible
viewing angles from any direction. Displays can also be mounted and viewed in portrait or landscape mode, with no degradation to viewing angles, to ensure they’re optimised for the specific application. For some operating conditions, PCAP touch panels allow
operation even when wearing thick gloves or with water on the glass. These models have a cover glass measuring up to 1cm thick and the highest signal to noise ratio to maximise EMC immunity for secure operation. These PCAP touch panels incorporate a sophisticated FPC design which also aides in the EMI shielding. Customisation ranges from Rocktouch shielding for EMC immunity
(equivalent to 30V/m), to custom optical stacks, LCD and touch panel, and options such as adding optical bonding, EMC filter, privacy filter and layers of glass. Further specialist customisation can include rugged cover lenses and bezels, and custom backlight designs.
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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. Here, highly sensitive IR cameras can be used to inspect beneath the composite surface of the craft to effectively visualise and identify any anomalies. “The IR flash lamps act as an excitation
and the camera identifies these hot spots and points out the adjacent fault areas.” 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 utilising 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 0.025mm) inspection platform for
large body craft that removes human error and safety risk from the manufacturing environment.
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