The future of MRO

1. MRO Drone

UK-based MRO Drone is one of the first global providers of drone-based inspection systems. By using the company’s Remote Automated Plane Inspections and Dissemination (RAPID) system, aircraft can be examined quickly and effectively, through an unmanned process. The company is a collaboration between Blue Bear Systems Research and Irish aircraft engineering specialists Output 42. Blue Bear created a concept named Remote Intelligent Survey Equipment or Radiation (RISER) that utilised drones to take 3D images of damaged or contaminated work spaces, such as nuclear power stations, which is where RAPID was birthed. The RISER is now being used by airlines such as easyJet in the UK.

The drone employs flight control, automation and sensor technologies with 3D visualisation and damage localisation tools to reduce cost and time. The system can complete the inspection 90 per cent faster than normal MRO checks. So, what does the drone actually do? Using the RAPID app created by MRO Drone, the data from the inspection will be captured and reviewed, collated through the system and then dispersed through the airline’s reporting system.

According to the company, it uses high-definition General Visual (GVI) and Detailed Visual (DVI) equivalent imagery for features as small as one millimetre and its most appealing feature is that there is little to no training involved from the client, and requires no previous drone qualifications. MRO Drone said that traditional methods are not only time consuming, but often need a dedicated facility for checks. But with them, RAPID uses “no heavy or cumbersome equipment” that cause damage or puts engineers at risk – which is a key factor of non-destructive testing (NDT).

Honeywell recently published a report called Optimize Workflows with Mobile Robotics and noted that “technologies developed for self-driving vehicles” have enabled robotics to “share the road” with human co-workers to “respond to rapid changes in orders or logistics needs — all without human intervention”, which is a key reason why digital MRO systems will continue to thrive.

2. Invert Robotics

Invert Robotics, which was founded in New Zealand and now has moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ireland, is a company that utilises robotic platforms for the “safe, fast and cost-effective” aspect of NDT aircraft solutions. Invert Robotics explained the system best: “While your inspectors work from a safe location, our robot easily manoeuvres across the aircraft’s surface: whatever the weather and whatever the height.”

The Dublin-based company offers V, H, and M (under development) series of robotic platforms, all designed for different surfaces. Their robots are designed to carry up to five kilograms of custom-fitted NDT inspection tools for performing GVI and DVI checks. The concept did not originally derive from inspecting hazardous areas, but inspecting curved surfaces of stainless-steel tanks used in the dairy, food and drink industry. While Invert Robotics offers multiple services, its MRO versions of robots can operate on dry and wet surfaces – fit for aircraft stored in hangars and outside locations.

Its main aircraft robot is part of the V series, the V1800 Crawler. It is mostly suited for larger vessels, light chemical vessels and aircraft fuselages. The crawler weighs eight kilograms, made from plastic, rubber and aluminium and its cable length can stretch up to 100 meters. The V1800 requires a standard game controller, and has an active vacuum pump system to prevent the robot from falling in case of power loss.

Each robot is equipped with an inspection camera which can record and transfer images to engineers on the ground for detecting repairs needed and the condition of the aircraft overtime. They can also be fitted with additional sensors for detecting damage inside the aircraft, not visible to the human eye. The full assessment can be completed within 72 hours.
Managing director Neil Fletcher spoke to Aerospace Manufacturing in 2018 and said initially, the aviation aspect of Invert Robotics was considered, but focusing on an area with less regulation around inspection and maintenance allowed the company to catch the “attention of the MRO industry”.

“The suction methodology in use on Invert’s climbing robots is a world first and built specifically to climb on smooth (including curved) surfaces.

“The system is fully automated to enable operators to focus on the task at hand,” Fletcher added. “Our robots can climb any smooth surface and can cross obstacles such as joins between panels, weld seams, edges of doors and other surface discontinuities.”

Invert Robotics was able to trial its inspection system with Air New Zealand in 2016 successfully.

3. OC Robotics | A GE Aviation company

OC Robotics, founded in 1997 and acquired by GE Aviation in 2017, manufactures inspection technology for “confined and hazardous environments” – using its snake-arm robots. The robots are equipped with a reach of over three metres and a cumulative bend of more than 180 degrees, designed for small and compact spaces that are considered unsafe for human inspectors. The robots are driven by wire ropes and controlled by OC Robotics’ software and equipped to navigate cluttered and messy environments.

The snake-arm robots are designed with a hollow core, allowing other equipment needed with the tool to be laced through the centre of its body. OC operates two types of snake-arm robots: spatial snake-arm and planar snake-arm.

Spatial snake-arm robot

This robot is designed with two degrees of freedom at each joint of its body, which is how it can ‘snake’ through its environment, especially confined spaces. In situations where access is through a thick wall or an unusual part of the aircraft, a ‘rigid base link’ can be linked with the arm to improve its reach and maintain its strength to uphold the robot where its flexibility is being used.

Planar snake-arm robots

The planar is able to operate in one aircraft, which can be mounted on mobile vehicles allowing the arm to manoeuvre, providing the same coverage that the spatial arm can reach.

Robotics are also catching the eye of military operations, which is a huge step for the industry. OC Robotics collaborated with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in 2015 at its base in Dayton, Ohio. The partnership was for OC to develop non-destructive inspection robots for confined and inaccessible spaces. The three-year project was to assist in developing equipment for the Air Force’s future fleets “by enabling more inspections to be performed with minimal disassembly or disturbance of structures”, according to OC Robotics’ press release.

Before this test, inspections at the US Air Force were governed by technical orders, requiring human inspectors to look for any potential damage. But the program was designed to reduce cost and utilise less invasive systems of MRO. “This effort offers the potential to increase the speed of inspection; capture critical data; and enable timely analysis and decision making by aircraft structural integrity personnel,” added OC Robotics. This is part of non-destructive testing, which is especially important for military aircraft.

4. EXSYN Aviation Solutions

While data processing is the less appealing part of MRO systems, it is the backbone of any inspection. Founded in 2011 and based in the Netherlands, EXSYN Aviation Solutions offers various products and services to improve fleet performance by digitising its clients’ aircraft data and airworthiness management. When the company was first formed, founder Sander De Bree based it off three principal ideas, and in summary said: Airlines can improve operations through becoming digital, human errors can be significantly reduced and in our life time, technology will ‘outsmart human capabilities’, which will revolutionise how travel and the aviation industry works.

Through the company’s Robotic Process Automation (RPA), clients essentially use a software robot that mimics the actions a human employee would do. The RPA will replicate the normal processes done in a company. EXSYN provided an example of downloading files. The system can move files from A to B, download them, fill out forms and enter air worthiness data into management applications – essentially, mundane tasks become automated.

EXSYN said the main purpose is for airlines to re-delegate “manhours to value creating processes, that require creativity and will boost the overall motivation of the workers”.
Here are some of the examples of RPA bots provided by EXSYN:

Download of work packages

Automated creation of maintenance work-packages, including planning, ground-time, material, man power and stations.

Download of Airworthiness Directives

The APA can download any Federal Aviation Administration or European Union Aviation Safety Agency airworthiness directives, including a PDF document and content allowing entry of data into an MRO system.

Creation of repair orders

The robot can create repair orders based on decisions such as supplier contracts, shop capabilities, prices and historic performance.

In April this year, EXSYN joined together with Chennai-based aviation software provider Ramco Systems to offer joint implementation of services in data migration. Clients who join Ramco will be able to smoothly transfer their data from existing systems, through the help of EXSYN’s technology. These types of systems – robotic data processing – are gaining momentum across numerous industries as companies find ways to reduce costs and the need for manpower.