Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection
Among non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques, General Visual Inspection (GVI), global or zonal, is the most widely used, being quick and relatively less expensive. In the aeronautic industry, GVI is a basic procedure for monitoring aircraft performance and ensuring safety and serviceability, an...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Electronics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/7/12/435 |
| _version_ | 1798005255698382848 |
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| author | Umberto Papa Salvatore Ponte |
| author_facet | Umberto Papa Salvatore Ponte |
| author_sort | Umberto Papa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Among non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques, General Visual Inspection (GVI), global or zonal, is the most widely used, being quick and relatively less expensive. In the aeronautic industry, GVI is a basic procedure for monitoring aircraft performance and ensuring safety and serviceability, and over 80% of the inspections on large transport category aircrafts are based on visual testing, both directly and remotely, either unaided or aided via mirrors, lenses, endoscopes or optic fiber devices coupled to cameras. This paper develops the idea of a global and/or zonal GVI procedure implemented by means of an autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS), equipped with a low-cost, high-definition (HD) camera for carrying out damage detection of panels, and a series of distance and trajectory sensors for obstacle avoidance and inspection path planning. An ultrasonic distance keeper system (UDKS), useful to guarantee a fixed distance between the UAS and the aircraft, was developed, and several ultrasonic sensors (HC-SR-04) together with an HD camera and a microcontroller were installed on the selected platform, a small commercial quad-rotor (micro-UAV). The overall system concept design and some laboratory experimental tests are presented to show the effectiveness of entrusting aircraft inspection procedures to a small UAS and a PC-based ground station for data collection and processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:36:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-253cecba4c154fc7a5065f8af0683b6f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:36:26Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-253cecba4c154fc7a5065f8af0683b6f2022-12-22T04:23:36ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922018-12-0171243510.3390/electronics7120435electronics7120435Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual InspectionUmberto Papa0Salvatore Ponte1Department of Science and Technology, University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80143 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Engineering, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81031 Aversa (CE), ItalyAmong non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques, General Visual Inspection (GVI), global or zonal, is the most widely used, being quick and relatively less expensive. In the aeronautic industry, GVI is a basic procedure for monitoring aircraft performance and ensuring safety and serviceability, and over 80% of the inspections on large transport category aircrafts are based on visual testing, both directly and remotely, either unaided or aided via mirrors, lenses, endoscopes or optic fiber devices coupled to cameras. This paper develops the idea of a global and/or zonal GVI procedure implemented by means of an autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS), equipped with a low-cost, high-definition (HD) camera for carrying out damage detection of panels, and a series of distance and trajectory sensors for obstacle avoidance and inspection path planning. An ultrasonic distance keeper system (UDKS), useful to guarantee a fixed distance between the UAS and the aircraft, was developed, and several ultrasonic sensors (HC-SR-04) together with an HD camera and a microcontroller were installed on the selected platform, a small commercial quad-rotor (micro-UAV). The overall system concept design and some laboratory experimental tests are presented to show the effectiveness of entrusting aircraft inspection procedures to a small UAS and a PC-based ground station for data collection and processing.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/7/12/435UASaircraft maintenanceGeneral Visual Inspectionsensor fusionimage processingflight mechanics |
| spellingShingle | Umberto Papa Salvatore Ponte Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection Electronics UAS aircraft maintenance General Visual Inspection sensor fusion image processing flight mechanics |
| title | Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection |
| title_full | Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection |
| title_fullStr | Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection |
| title_short | Preliminary Design of an Unmanned Aircraft System for Aircraft General Visual Inspection |
| title_sort | preliminary design of an unmanned aircraft system for aircraft general visual inspection |
| topic | UAS aircraft maintenance General Visual Inspection sensor fusion image processing flight mechanics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/7/12/435 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT umbertopapa preliminarydesignofanunmannedaircraftsystemforaircraftgeneralvisualinspection AT salvatoreponte preliminarydesignofanunmannedaircraftsystemforaircraftgeneralvisualinspection |