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.
Project description
Objectives
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.
Partners
The project leader is Akka Technologies. There are two academic partners; Akka Technologies and four other companies make up the five commercial partners.
Academic partners
Armines and Institut Clément Ader of the École des mines d'Albi-Carmaux are in charge of nondestructive testing. Laboratoire d'analyse et d'architecture des systèmes (LAAS-CNRS) with the Robotics, Action and Perception (RAP) team handles the autonomous navigation.
Industrial partners
Akka Technologies, particularly the center for research and development Akka Research Toulouse, leads the project and brings skills in image analysis, navigation and aircraft maintenance. Airbus Innovations is the initiator of the project, providing CAD models of the Airbus A320 and developing operating scenarios. 2MoRO Solutions, a company based in the French Basque Country, is in charge of the maintenance information system. M3 System, a Toulouse-based company, takes care of the outdoor localization solution based on the Global Positioning System (GPS). Sterela, based in the south of Toulouse, provides the 4MOB mobile platform.
Project finance
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.
Expected benefits
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.
Robot equipment
All electronics equipment is carried by the 4MOB mobile platform manufactured by Sterela. The off-road platform, equipped with four-wheel drive, can move at a speed of 2 metres per second (). Its lithium-ion battery allows an operating time of eight hours. Two bumpers are located at the front and at the rear. These are obstacle detection bumpers. They stop the platform if they are compressed.