FEATURE:AEROSPACE
How imaging puts AI into aircraft manufacturing
Computer vision and imaging technologies are becoming key to ensuring the quality and safety of aircraft, before and after they roll off the assembly line. Lenses, sensors and screens implemented with AI facilitate rapidly evolving use cases, finds Aaron Hurst
M
achine vision and imaging technologies are gradually bolstering and optimising
aerospace supply chains, reducing errors in production and easing testing and deployment. Algorithms, fed with increasingly
accurate image data, are becoming vital towards maintaining the long- term functionality and security of the entire vehicle – a critical, ongoing endeavour across aerospace operations. Manufacturers and quality assurance professionals in this industry have gravitated towards automated hardware tools to bolster accuracy, and improve insights going forward. Avionics – the field of engineering that concerns implementation of electronic systems in this industry – now offers a vast variety of components for aircraft, spacecraft and satellites, underpinned by artificial intelligence. The automation of additive manufacturing, testing and deployment taking place reduces strain on engineers, while speeding up completion of tasks.
The use of AI in the aerospace industry, including machine vision, is forecast by Vantage Market Research to become worth $6bn by 2030, from $0.3bn in 2022. Much of this predicted rise in revenue
comes due to increasing air travel demand, as well as the need for more efficient maintenance and navigation systems across aircraft.
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) robotics speed up initial construction of aerospace vehicle parts
Driving this growth is frequent engineering collaborations with component vendors in the machine vision and imaging spaces, in-house investment in research and development, and scaled- up training schemes for aerospace staff. Sam Lopez, senior director at Zebra
Technologies Canada, a provider of the Aurora machine vision suite to aerospace customers, says: “In aerospace and beyond, companies are looking to develop their own applications and achieve specific use cases, including 3D, without requiring an army of programmers with really high machine vision expertise. “Although AI has been with us for a
long time, there are still vast developments and improvements to be brought to the machine vision market, regarding
28 IMAGING AND MACHINE VISION EUROPE AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2024
manufacturing and quality control.” Major aviation and aerospace players, including Airbus, GE Aviation and Lockheed Martin, have been notably keen to invest in such equipment and software. Machine vision and imaging capabilities can improve aerospace manufacturing, condition monitoring, maintenance and quality assurance on the ground; as well as low-orbit operations and navigation while airborne. At last year’s Paris Air Show, Pratt &
Whitney launched Percept, an AI-based analysis tool for aircraft engines. Percept is a computer vision product
that operates on top of the Awiros Video Intelligence Operating System (OS). Its cloud-based interface allows users to capture images and videos of aircraft
Lockheed Martin UK, Ampthill
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