Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm
The search for dents is a consistent part of the aircraft inspection workload. The engineer is required to find, measure, and report each dent over the aircraft skin. This process is not only hazardous, but also extremely subject to human factors and environmental conditions. This study discusses th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/2/433 |
| _version_ | 1797490586955022336 |
|---|---|
| author | Pasquale Lafiosca Ip-Shing Fan Nicolas P. Avdelidis |
| author_facet | Pasquale Lafiosca Ip-Shing Fan Nicolas P. Avdelidis |
| author_sort | Pasquale Lafiosca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The search for dents is a consistent part of the aircraft inspection workload. The engineer is required to find, measure, and report each dent over the aircraft skin. This process is not only hazardous, but also extremely subject to human factors and environmental conditions. This study discusses the feasibility of automated dent scanning via a single-shot triangular stereo Fourier transform algorithm, designed to be compatible with the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The original algorithm is modified introducing two main contributions. First, the automatic estimation of the pass-band filter removes the user interaction in the phase filtering process. Secondly, the employment of a virtual reference plane reduces unwrapping errors, leading to improved accuracy independently of the chosen unwrapping algorithm. Static experiments reached a mean absolute error of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>0.1</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> at a distance of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>60</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, while dynamic experiments showed <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>0.3</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> at a distance of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>120</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. On average, the mean absolute error decreased by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>34</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, proving the validity of the proposed single-shot 3D reconstruction algorithm and suggesting its applicability for future automated dent inspections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:35:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22408de27068420c9039e0d04a842667 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:35:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-22408de27068420c9039e0d04a8426672023-11-23T15:18:33ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-01-0122243310.3390/s22020433Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry AlgorithmPasquale Lafiosca0Ip-Shing Fan1Nicolas P. Avdelidis2Integrated Vehicle Health Management Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKIntegrated Vehicle Health Management Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKIntegrated Vehicle Health Management Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKThe search for dents is a consistent part of the aircraft inspection workload. The engineer is required to find, measure, and report each dent over the aircraft skin. This process is not only hazardous, but also extremely subject to human factors and environmental conditions. This study discusses the feasibility of automated dent scanning via a single-shot triangular stereo Fourier transform algorithm, designed to be compatible with the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The original algorithm is modified introducing two main contributions. First, the automatic estimation of the pass-band filter removes the user interaction in the phase filtering process. Secondly, the employment of a virtual reference plane reduces unwrapping errors, leading to improved accuracy independently of the chosen unwrapping algorithm. Static experiments reached a mean absolute error of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>0.1</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> at a distance of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>60</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, while dynamic experiments showed <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>0.3</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> at a distance of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>120</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. On average, the mean absolute error decreased by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>34</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, proving the validity of the proposed single-shot 3D reconstruction algorithm and suggesting its applicability for future automated dent inspections.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/2/433airworthinessfringe patternspinhole camera modelstructured lightinspections |
| spellingShingle | Pasquale Lafiosca Ip-Shing Fan Nicolas P. Avdelidis Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm Sensors airworthiness fringe patterns pinhole camera model structured light inspections |
| title | Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm |
| title_full | Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm |
| title_fullStr | Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm |
| title_short | Automated Aircraft Dent Inspection via a Modified Fourier Transform Profilometry Algorithm |
| title_sort | automated aircraft dent inspection via a modified fourier transform profilometry algorithm |
| topic | airworthiness fringe patterns pinhole camera model structured light inspections |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/2/433 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pasqualelafiosca automatedaircraftdentinspectionviaamodifiedfouriertransformprofilometryalgorithm AT ipshingfan automatedaircraftdentinspectionviaamodifiedfouriertransformprofilometryalgorithm AT nicolaspavdelidis automatedaircraftdentinspectionviaamodifiedfouriertransformprofilometryalgorithm |