Winding inspection robot, control system and control method

Abstract

The invention discloses a winding machine inspection robot, a control system and a control method, and relates to the technical field of aircraft inspection, the robot comprises a robot body and a visual camera, a laser radar sensor and a processor which are installed on the robot body, and the robot body moves along a preset winding machine inspection path. In the movement process of the robot body, the processor performs three-level comparison with the last inspection result of the airplane, the initialization data of the airplane and the maintenance manual of the airplane based on the shot image obtained by the visual camera and the three-dimensional point cloud data obtained by the laser radar sensor, so as to obtain the current inspection result of the airplane. And subsequently determining whether the aircraft can be released. The method can automatically complete the winding inspection of the airplane, determines whether the airplane can be released or not, improves the release accuracy and efficiency, and reduces the cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of aircraft inspection technology, and in particular to an aircraft inspection robot, a control system, and a control method. Background Art

[0002] After landing, a maintenance engineer will conduct a walk-around inspection of the aircraft. This inspection may include inspections for exterior defects, leaks, tire wear, brake wear, engine inlet defects, fan blade defects, tail nozzle defects, and landing gear defects. If any defects are found, the engineer will verify the aircraft's original manufacturer's manual (the technical documentation provided by the aircraft manufacturer that guides aircraft maintenance, inspection, and operation) to determine whether the aircraft meets the standards for flight release.

[0003] However, the current shortcomings of manual inspection around the machine are as follows:

[0004] (1) The work skills and qualifications of aircraft maintenance line engineers are high, and human factors may affect the accuracy of release.

[0005] (2) Airport aprons are used for parking aircraft, boarding and disembarking passengers, loading and unloading cargo, replenishing supplies and energy, performing maintenance, cleaning and other ground services. The working environment is not conducive to efficiently querying the aircraft's original factory manual standards, affecting the efficiency of aircraft release, which may cause aircraft delays and may affect the accuracy of release.

[0006] (3) The costs of training, raising and paying salaries for aircraft maintenance line engineers are high. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this application is to provide an aircraft inspection robot, control system and control method, which can automatically complete the aircraft inspection, determine whether the aircraft can be released, improve the release accuracy and efficiency, and reduce costs.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following solutions:

[0009] In a first aspect, the present application provides a machine inspection robot, comprising: a robot body, and a visual camera, a laser radar sensor, and a processor mounted on the robot body, wherein the robot body, the visual camera, and the laser radar sensor are all communicatively connected to the processor;

[0010] The robot body is used to move along a preset inspection path around the machine;

[0011] The visual camera is used to continuously photograph the aircraft based on a preset inspection plan while the robot body is moving, so as to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain photographed images;

[0012] The processor is configured to compare each captured image with a previous inspection result of the aircraft based on the position of the robot body at that time, and if the comparison is unsuccessful, determine the location of the defect that failed to be successfully compared based on the captured image, and send a scanning instruction and the location of the defect that failed to be successfully compared to the lidar sensor;

[0013] The laser radar sensor is configured to scan the defect on the aircraft that was not successfully matched based on the position of the defect that was not successfully matched, upon receiving the scanning instruction, to obtain three-dimensional point cloud data;

[0014] The processor is configured to process the three-dimensional point cloud data, determine defect information of defects that were not successfully matched once, and compare the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched once with initialization data of the aircraft; if the comparison is unsuccessful, compare the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched twice with a maintenance manual of the aircraft to obtain comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched twice; the initialization data is an inspection result obtained by a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft;

[0015] The processor is used to store all the captured images, the positions of the robot bodies corresponding to the captured images, and the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully compared twice as the current inspection results of the aircraft after the movement of the robot body is completed; the current inspection results of the aircraft are used to determine whether the aircraft can be released.

[0016] Optionally, the processor is configured to issue a drive instruction based on a preset aircraft inspection path, and the robot body is configured to operate based on the drive instruction to move along the preset aircraft inspection path; wherein the aircraft inspection path is a path that moves around the aircraft once;

[0017] The processor is used to issue a shooting instruction based on a preset walk-around inspection plan, and the visual camera is used to work based on the shooting instruction, so as to continuously shoot the aircraft based on the preset walk-around inspection plan during the movement of the robot body, so as to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain captured images.

[0018] Optionally, the visual camera is used to, when the robot body moves to a shooting position in the shooting instruction, the shooting position being a position between two adjacent stations on the aircraft, shoot the area between the two adjacent stations from top to bottom to obtain a plurality of sub-images, each of the sub-images corresponding to an area between a group of two adjacent stringers, each of the sub-images having a station and a stringer, the number of the sub-images being equal to the difference between the number of stringers and 1, and all the sub-images constituting the shot image;

[0019] Determining the position of a defect that was not successfully matched based on the captured image specifically includes: for a sub-image in the captured image, locating the defect that was not successfully matched in the sub-image based on the station position and the beam in the sub-image, and obtaining the position of the defect that was not successfully matched.

[0020] Optionally, the unsuccessful comparison means a new defect is added or the defect information of the defect has changed, and the defect is a defect occurring on the inspection object involved in the agreed inspection item, and the inspection object includes the outer surface of the aircraft, oil leak point, wheels, brakes, engine air inlet, fan blades, tail nozzle and landing gear. If the defect is a defect occurring on the outer surface of the aircraft, wheels, brakes, engine air inlet, fan blades, tail nozzle and landing gear, then the defect information includes the shape, size and position of the defect; if the defect is a defect occurring at the oil leak point, then the defect information includes the oil leakage rate.

[0021] Optionally, if the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched twice in the current inspection results of the aircraft are all successful, the aircraft can be released.

[0022] Optionally, the initialization data is data obtained by performing a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft when it is used for the first time or after completing repair work that affects the condition of the aircraft's outer surface. The repair work that affects the condition of the aircraft's outer surface includes regular inspections, structural repairs, painting, coating, and external configuration modification. The initialization data includes the aircraft MSN number and defect information, treatment plan, and release basis of the comprehensive inspection defects determined by the comprehensive inspection. The treatment plan is the repair plan used to repair the comprehensive inspection defects, and the release basis is the allowable value of the comprehensive inspection defects determined based on the aircraft's maintenance manual.

[0023] Optionally, the maintenance manual is in accordance with the aircraft manufacturer's manual standards.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present application provides a control system based on an aircraft inspection robot, comprising: an airport operation control system, an airline maintenance control system, an inspection robot operation control system, and an aircraft inspection robot, wherein the aircraft inspection robot is the above-mentioned aircraft inspection robot;

[0025] The airport operation control system is used to send first information to the inspection robot operation control system, wherein the first information includes the airport parking space number where the aircraft is to land and the robot number of the task to be performed;

[0026] The airline maintenance control system is used to send second information to the inspection robot operation control system, where the second information includes the MSN number of the aircraft, information about the airport where the aircraft is to land, landing information of the aircraft, the last inspection result of the aircraft, initialization data of the aircraft, and maintenance manual of the aircraft;

[0027] The inspection robot operation and control system is configured to generate a machine inspection path and a machine inspection plan based on the first information and the second information, and send the first information, the second information, the machine inspection path, the machine inspection plan, and the inspection instruction to the machine inspection robot with the robot number corresponding to the task to be performed;

[0028] The aircraft inspection robot is used to inspect the aircraft after receiving the inspection instruction and obtain the inspection result of the aircraft after the aircraft lands;

[0029] The inspection robot operation and control system is used to transmit the inspection results of the aircraft to the airline maintenance control system;

[0030] The airline maintenance control system is used to determine whether the aircraft can be released based on the current inspection results of the aircraft.

[0031] Optionally, the airport information where the aircraft is to land includes the name of the airport, and the landing information of the aircraft includes the time when the aircraft lands at the airport; the airline maintenance control system is used to issue a release instruction when the comparison results of the defects that have not been successfully matched twice in the current inspection results of the aircraft are all successful, and the aircraft can be released.

[0032] In a third aspect, the present application provides a control method based on a machine inspection robot, which is based on the above-mentioned control system based on the machine inspection robot and includes:

[0033] The airport operation control system sends first information to the inspection robot operation control system, where the first information includes the airport parking space number where the aircraft is to land and the robot number of the task to be performed;

[0034] The airline maintenance control system sends second information to the inspection robot operation control system. The second information includes the aircraft's MSN number, the aircraft's upcoming landing airport information, the aircraft's landing information, the aircraft's last inspection results, the aircraft's initialization data, and the aircraft's maintenance manual.

[0035] The inspection robot operation and control system generates a machine inspection path and a machine inspection plan based on the first information and the second information, and sends the first information, the second information, the machine inspection path, the machine inspection plan, and the inspection instruction to the machine inspection robot with the robot number corresponding to the task to be performed;

[0036] After receiving the inspection instruction, the aircraft inspection robot inspects the aircraft after the aircraft lands and obtains the inspection result of the aircraft;

[0037] The inspection robot's operation and control system transmits the aircraft's inspection results to the airline's maintenance control system;

[0038] The airline maintenance control system determines whether the aircraft can be released based on the aircraft's current inspection results. If the aircraft cannot be released, a dispatch instruction is issued to schedule manual intervention, and the aircraft's current inspection results are updated and saved.

[0039] According to the specific embodiments provided in this application, this application has the following technical effects:

[0040] The present application provides an aircraft inspection robot, a control system and a control method, comprising a robot body and a visual camera, a lidar sensor and a processor installed on the robot body. The robot body moves along a preset aircraft inspection path. The visual camera continuously photographs the aircraft based on a preset aircraft inspection plan to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain photographed images. The lidar sensor scans a defect on the aircraft that was not successfully matched based on the position of the defect and obtains three-dimensional point cloud data. The processor performs a three-level comparison with the last inspection result of the aircraft, the initialization data of the aircraft and the maintenance manual of the aircraft based on the photographed image and the three-dimensional point cloud data to obtain the current inspection result of the aircraft, which is subsequently used to determine whether the aircraft can be released. This application can automatically complete the aircraft's walk-around inspection and determine whether the aircraft can be released without human intervention. Therefore, there is no problem of high requirements for the work skills and qualifications of aircraft maintenance line engineers. It solves the high cost problem caused by the cultivation, training, and personnel salaries of aircraft maintenance line engineers, avoids the influence of human factors, improves the release accuracy, and improves the release efficiency through automatic inspection and automatic three-level comparison. It can be applied to the application scenario of inspecting aircraft during short stops / transit periods (usually only 1-2 hours, a short time). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0042] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the truss provided in Example 1 of the present application.

[0043] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the stations provided in Example 1 of the present application.

[0044] Figure 3 A structural diagram of a control system based on a machine inspection robot provided in Example 2 of the present application.

[0045] Figure 4 A flow chart of a control method based on a machine inspection robot provided in Example 3 of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] This embodiment provides a machine inspection robot, including: a robot body and a visual camera, a lidar sensor and a processor installed on the robot body, and the robot body, the visual camera and the lidar sensor are all communicatively connected to the processor.

[0049] The robot body is configured to move along a preset aircraft inspection path. Specifically, the processor is configured to issue drive instructions based on the preset aircraft inspection path, and the robot body is configured to operate based on the drive instructions to move along the preset aircraft inspection path. The aircraft inspection path is a path that circumnavigates the aircraft and is generally the same as the inspection path used during a manual aircraft inspection.

[0050] The visual camera is used to continuously photograph the aircraft based on a preset walk-around inspection plan during the movement of the robot body, so as to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain photographed images. Specifically, the processor is used to issue a photographing instruction based on the preset walk-around inspection plan, and the visual camera is used to work based on the photographing instruction, so as to continuously photograph the aircraft based on the preset walk-around inspection plan during the movement of the robot body, so as to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain photographed images. It should be noted that during the entire process of the movement of the robot body, multiple photographed images will be obtained, and there may or may not be overlapping parts between adjacent photographed images, but all photographed images need to cover all inspection objects (i.e., parts to be inspected) of the aircraft. The inspection objects can be the inspection objects involved in the inspection items agreed upon in all manuals and work order cards, including but not limited to the outer surface of the aircraft, oil leak points, wheels, brakes, engine air inlets, fan blades, tail nozzles, landing gear, etc., and can be determined according to user needs. The preset walk-around inspection plan includes the inspection object and the inspection requirements for the inspection object. For inspection objects such as the aircraft's outer surface, wheels, brakes, engine air inlets, fan blades, tail nozzles, and landing gear, the defects of the inspection objects may be pits, scratches, etc., and the inspection requirement is to take a single photo of the inspection object. For inspection objects such as oil leaks, the defects of the inspection objects may be the oil leakage rate, and the inspection requirement is to take multiple photos of the inspection object to determine the oil leakage rate of the oil leak point.

[0051] The processor is used to compare each captured image with the last inspection result of the aircraft based on the position of the robot body at that time. If the comparison is unsuccessful, the position of the defect that failed to be successfully compared is determined based on the captured image, and a scanning instruction and the position of the defect that failed to be successfully compared are sent to the lidar sensor.

[0052] The laser radar sensor is used to scan a defect on the aircraft that was not successfully matched based on the position of the defect that was not successfully matched when receiving a scanning instruction, and obtain three-dimensional point cloud data.

[0053] The processor is used to process the three-dimensional point cloud data, determine the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched once, and compare the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched once with the initialization data of the aircraft. If the comparison is unsuccessful, the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched for the second time is compared with the maintenance manual of the aircraft to obtain the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched for the second time.

[0054] After the robot body moves, the processor is used to store all captured images, the position of the robot body corresponding to the captured images, and the comparison results of defects that were not successfully matched for the second time as the current inspection results of the aircraft. The current inspection results of the aircraft are used to determine whether the aircraft can be released.

[0055] Among them, when comparing the captured image with the last inspection result of the aircraft, comparing the defect information of the defect that failed to be compared successfully once with the initialization data of the aircraft, and comparing the defect information of the defect that failed to be compared successfully for the second time with the maintenance manual of the aircraft, unsuccessful comparison means that a new defect is added or the defect information of the defect has changed. The defect is a defect occurring on the inspection object involved in the agreed inspection item, and the inspection objects include the outer surface of the aircraft, oil leak points (generally in the engine), wheels, brakes, engine air inlets, fan blades, tail nozzles and landing gear. If the defect is a defect occurring on the outer surface of the aircraft, wheels, brakes, engine air inlets, fan blades, tail nozzles, and landing gear, the defect information includes the shape, size and position of the defect. If the defect is a defect occurring at the oil leak point, the defect information includes the oil leakage rate.

[0056] This embodiment uses a visual method and a laser three-dimensional modeling method to inspect and measure defects on the aircraft. Specifically, a visual camera is set to inspect defects on the aircraft, and a laser radar sensor is set to measure defects on the aircraft. Specifically, after the visual camera captures the captured image, the acquired captured image is compared with the last inspection result of the aircraft in real time, so as to make a judgment based on the most recent inspection result to determine whether there is a difference (i.e., a new defect is added this time compared with the last time, or the defect information of a certain defect this time is changed compared with the defect information of the defect at the same position last time). If there is no difference, the process ends and the comparison of the next captured image is performed. If there is a difference, the position of the defect that was not successfully compared (i.e., the defect that is different from the last inspection result of the aircraft) is determined (this can be done by image recognition of the captured image), and the laser radar sensor scans the defect that was not successfully compared to obtain the defect. After the three-dimensional point cloud data is obtained, the defect information of the defect that was not successfully matched once is determined based on the three-dimensional point cloud data, and the defect information of the defect that was not successfully matched once is compared with the initialization data of the aircraft, so as to judge whether there is a difference by querying the initialization data. If there is no difference, the comparison is ended and the comparison of the next captured image is performed. If there is a difference, the comparison of the next captured image is performed, and at the same time, the defects that were not successfully matched for the second time (that is, the defects that were not successfully matched once and are different from the initialization data of the aircraft) are determined, and the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched for the second time is compared with the maintenance manual of the aircraft, so as to judge whether there is a difference by querying the relevant standards in the maintenance manual of the aircraft. If there is no difference, the comparison result of the defect that was not successfully matched for the second time is determined to be a successful comparison. If there is a difference, the comparison result of the defect that was not successfully matched for the second time is determined to be an unsuccessful comparison, and it needs to be reported later to request manual intervention.

[0057] It should be noted that, for the oil leakage point, after obtaining multiple captured images, the oil leakage rate of the oil leakage point can be calculated based on the number of oil droplets on the ground in the captured images and the shooting time. Similarly, after obtaining multiple three-dimensional point cloud data, the oil leakage rate of the oil leakage point can be calculated based on the number of oil droplets on the ground in the three-dimensional point cloud data and the scanning time. After determining the defects that were not successfully matched for the second time, and before comparing the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched for the second time with the aircraft maintenance manual, the aircraft maintenance manual can be queried to determine the measurement standard for the oil leakage rate of the oil leakage point. The oil leakage rate of the oil leakage point is measured according to the measurement standard, and the measurement result is compared with the standard in the aircraft maintenance manual to determine whether it is qualified, and the comparison result of the defect that was not successfully matched for the second time is obtained. If it exceeds the standard, the comparison result is an unsuccessful comparison; otherwise, the comparison result is a successful comparison.

[0058] If the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched twice in the current inspection results of the aircraft are all successful, the aircraft can be released.

[0059] This embodiment performs a three-level comparison. The first level is a comparison with the last inspection result of the aircraft, the second level is a comparison with the initialization data of the aircraft, and the third level is a comparison with the maintenance manual of the aircraft. The purpose of this design is to improve the comparison efficiency and further improve the release efficiency. The reason for improving the comparison efficiency is that the last inspection result of the aircraft is the inspection result obtained by the last round-robin inspection of the aircraft, the initialization data is the inspection result obtained by the comprehensive inspection of the aircraft, and the maintenance manual of the aircraft is the standard of the original manual of the aircraft. Since the initialization data of the aircraft is The inspection results obtained from a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft take longer to complete than the last walk-around inspection of the aircraft. The inspection results obtained are more accurate than the last inspection results of the aircraft and have a larger amount of data. The aircraft maintenance manual is more accurate than the aircraft initialization data and has a larger amount of data. By first comparing with the last inspection results of the aircraft, then comparing with the aircraft initialization data, and finally comparing with the aircraft maintenance manual, the comparison efficiency can be improved, thereby significantly improving the efficiency of the aircraft walk-around inspection and improving the release efficiency.

[0060] When positioning the robot body, GPS, Beidou and differential positioning methods based on the airport's dedicated 5G network can be used. By positioning the robot body, the position of the robot body can be obtained. Subsequently, the captured image obtained at this time can be compared with the captured image of the robot body's position taken from the previous inspection results of the aircraft.

[0061] Considering the presence of stringers, stations and other features on the aircraft, stringers are horizontal lines on the aircraft, with multiple stringers from top to bottom, such as Figure 1As shown in the figure, it is a cross-sectional view of the aircraft when viewed from the nose. S stands for stringer, and the number after S stands for the stringer number. L stands for left side, and R stands for right side. For example, S-2L stands for stringer No. 2 on the left side. The station is a vertical line on the aircraft. There are multiple stations from left to right, such as Figure 2 As shown, STA stands for station, and the number after STA represents the number of the station. For example, STA130 represents stringer No. 130. The stringers and stations can grid the aircraft, and the aircraft is divided into multiple grids, which can help determine the position and height of each component of the aircraft. Based on this, in order to improve the positioning accuracy of defects on the outer surface of the aircraft, this embodiment designs a defect positioning method based on stringers and stations to locate defects. When the robot body moves to the shooting position in the shooting instruction, the visual camera is used to shoot the area between two adjacent stations on the aircraft from top to bottom to obtain multiple sub-images. Each sub-image corresponds to the area between a group of two adjacent stringers. Each sub-image has stations and stringers. The number of sub-images is equal to the difference between the number of stringers and 1. All sub-images constitute a captured image. The number of captured images is equal to the difference between the number of stations and 1. At this time, the processor is based on the captured image. For example, determining the position of a defect that was not successfully matched once includes: for a sub-image in a captured image, locating the defect that was not successfully matched once in the sub-image based on the station and stringer in the sub-image, and obtaining the position of the defect that was not successfully matched once. The position of the defect that was not successfully matched once is not necessarily described by the stringer and the station. For example, the defect that was not successfully matched once is located 10 cm above which stringer and 5 cm to the left of which station. Thus, the precise position information of the defect is obtained through the calibrated positions of the stringers and stations of the aircraft fuselage and wings, and the error can reach the cm level, which is convenient for subsequent comparison with the defect information at the same position in the aircraft's initialization data.

[0062] In this embodiment, the initialization data may be data obtained by performing a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft when it is used for the first time or after completing repair work that affects the condition of the aircraft's exterior surface. The repair work that affects the condition of the aircraft's exterior surface includes periodic inspections, structural repairs, painting, coating, and external configuration modifications. The initialization data includes the aircraft's MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number, a unique serial number assigned by the aircraft manufacturer to each aircraft during the production process for identifying and tracking the aircraft's production, maintenance, and repair status) and defect information, a treatment plan, and a release basis for comprehensive inspection defects determined by the comprehensive inspection. The treatment plan is a repair plan used to repair the comprehensive inspection defects, and the release basis is the allowable value of the comprehensive inspection defect determined based on the aircraft's maintenance manual at the time of the comprehensive inspection.

[0063] Specifically, before the aircraft inspection robot of this embodiment is put into use (i.e., when it is used for the first time), the airline maintenance control system issues instructions to the relevant departments of the airline to conduct a comprehensive scan of each aircraft and obtain the aircraft's initialization data. The initialization data includes: aircraft MSN number, defect information, treatment plan and release basis, etc. The initialization data can be stored in the airline maintenance control system as part of the aircraft's single-aircraft file. The aircraft's single-aircraft file generally refers to a summary of the aircraft's use and maintenance information since it leaves the factory. For an aircraft, each aircraft has its own independent aircraft single-aircraft file. The operator's responsibility is to establish its own aircraft single-aircraft file for each aircraft. Its main purpose is to be used for operators and authorities to regularly evaluate and grasp the aircraft's airworthiness. This embodiment can obtain the aircraft's configuration (overall design and structural layout) and maintenance / inspection records (specifically including the aircraft's initialization data and the aircraft's last inspection results) from the aircraft's single-aircraft file.

[0064] After completing regular maintenance, structural repairs, painting, coating, external configuration modifications, and other repairs that may affect the aircraft's exterior surface condition, the aircraft should be fully scanned again to update the initialization data. When using the aircraft's initialization data for comparison, the most recent aircraft initialization data must be used.

[0065] The aircraft maintenance manual of this embodiment can be the aircraft original factory manual standard. Due to the different models and users of different aircraft, the aircraft original factory manual standard may be adjusted based on user needs. In this case, the aircraft maintenance manual can be the adjusted aircraft original factory manual standard, so the aircraft maintenance manual can also be called the aircraft's personalized maintenance manual.

[0066] The inspection robot of this embodiment has the function of completing various inspections according to the prescribed route. The path is completely correct and there will be no missed inspections or wrong inspections. It can automatically avoid obstacles and work according to the prescribed time points and paths without interfering with other workers, machinery, etc. in the same area and at the same time.

[0067] In this embodiment, a patrol inspection robot performs an external feature inspection of an aircraft on the ground. The inspection is completed by checking the aircraft's appearance, oil leakage and other defects, and performing a three-level comparison with the aircraft's original factory manual standards and the aircraft's individual files. The inspection result of the aircraft is obtained, and based on the aircraft's current inspection result, a decision is made whether the aircraft can be released. No human intervention is required, so there are no high requirements for the work skills and qualifications of aircraft maintenance line engineers. The high cost of cultivating, training, and salary of aircraft maintenance line engineers is solved, the influence of human factors is avoided, and the release accuracy is improved. Through automatic patrol inspection and automatic three-level comparison, the release efficiency is improved. The embodiment is suitable for application scenarios where aircraft are inspected during short stops / transit times.

[0068] Example 2

[0069] This embodiment provides a control system based on a machine inspection robot, such as Figure 3 As shown, it includes: an airport operation control system, an airline maintenance control system, an inspection robot operation control system and an aircraft inspection robot. The aircraft inspection robot is the aircraft inspection robot described in Example 1.

[0070] The airport operation control system is used to send the first information to the inspection robot operation control system. The first information includes the airport parking stand number where the aircraft is to land and the robot number of the robot to perform the task. The airport parking stand number refers to the unique identification number assigned by the airport to each parking stand. The airport parking stand number is used to determine the aircraft's parking stand. Each aircraft inspection robot has a robot number, and different aircraft inspection robots have different robot numbers. The robot number is used to determine the aircraft inspection robot that performs aircraft inspection.

[0071] The airline maintenance control system is used to send the second information to the inspection robot operation control system. The second information includes the aircraft's MSN number, the aircraft's upcoming landing airport information, the aircraft's landing information, the aircraft's last inspection result, the aircraft's initialization data, and the aircraft's maintenance manual. The aircraft's upcoming landing airport information includes the airport name, and the aircraft's landing information includes the time the aircraft landed at the airport.

[0072] The inspection robot operation and control system is used to generate a perimeter inspection path and a perimeter inspection plan based on the first information and the second information. Specifically, the perimeter inspection path is determined after calculation based on the parking stand information (including the shape and size of the parking stand, determined by the airport parking stand number in the first information), the airport map (determined by the airport name in the second information), the model appearance data of the aircraft designated for inspection, the nose (for example, B737-800 stand SAT130), and other information (determined by the MSN number of the aircraft in the second information, specifically obtained from the aircraft's single aircraft file based on the aircraft's MSN number). The perimeter inspection path can be the same as the inspection path during manual perimeter inspection. The perimeter inspection plan can be set according to needs, and the first information, second information, perimeter inspection path, perimeter inspection plan, and inspection instructions are sent to the perimeter inspection robot with the robot number corresponding to the task to be performed.

[0073] The aircraft inspection robot is used to move to the initial position of the aircraft inspection path after receiving the inspection instruction and when the aircraft lands (determined based on the landing information in the second information), start inspecting the aircraft, and obtain the inspection results of the aircraft.

[0074] The machine inspection robot of this embodiment can also determine whether the robot number in the received first information is the same as its own robot number. If it is the same, it starts working; if it is different, it sends an error message to the inspection robot operation and control system.

[0075] The inspection robot operation and control system is used to transmit the aircraft's inspection results to the airline's maintenance control system.

[0076] The airline maintenance control system is used to determine whether the aircraft can be released based on the aircraft's current inspection results.

[0077] The control system of this embodiment is composed of an airport operation control system, an airline maintenance control system, an inspection robot operation control system, and an aircraft inspection robot that executes instructions. The various parts can establish connections through a 5G network. The airport operation control system is mainly used to transmit the first information to the inspection robot operation control system. The airline maintenance control system is mainly used to transmit the second information to the inspection robot operation control system, and receive the inspection result information fed back by the inspection robot operation control system (i.e., the aircraft's current inspection result) to determine whether the aircraft can be released. The inspection robot operation control system includes an instruction module and a path planning module. The instruction module is used to generate inspection instructions and issue the first information. , the second information, the aircraft patrol path, the aircraft inspection plan and the inspection instructions are sent to the aircraft patrol robot, the path planning module is used to determine the aircraft patrol path, the aircraft patrol robot includes a communication module, an image acquisition module, an information comparison module, a position calibration module, and a laser measurement module. The communication module is used to receive the first information, the second information, the aircraft patrol path, the aircraft inspection plan and the inspection instructions, and send the aircraft's inspection results to the inspection robot operation and control system. The image acquisition module uses a visual camera to work, the information comparison module is used to perform three-level comparison, the position calibration module uses a visual camera to work, and the laser measurement module uses a lidar sensor to work.

[0078] The airport operation control system and the airline maintenance control system provide relevant data to the inspection robot operation control system respectively according to the operation tasks of the aircraft. The airport operation control system sends the first information to the inspection robot operation control system, and the airline maintenance control system sends the second information to the inspection robot operation control system. The inspection robot operation control system sends the first information and the second information to the corresponding aircraft patrol robot. At the same time, the aircraft patrol path, aircraft inspection plan and inspection instructions are sent to the corresponding aircraft patrol robot. After the aircraft approaches (i.e. lands), the aircraft patrol robot is dispatched to the designated location by the inspection robot operation control system. The aircraft patrol robot performs inspections according to the specified aircraft patrol path and, based on the specified aircraft inspection plan, uses vision and laser to The current defect information is obtained by measurement, and the position of the defect is determined by positioning through the stringers and stations. A three-level data comparison is performed to obtain the current inspection result of the aircraft. The current inspection result of the aircraft is forwarded to the airline maintenance control system through the inspection robot operation and control system. If it is qualified, a release permission information is given, and the aviation maintenance control system (which can be the maintenance management system of the aircraft operating airline) records the current inspection result of the aircraft; if it is unqualified, a release permission information is given, and the aviation maintenance control system dispatches the airport maintenance staff to intervene manually to handle the defect. After the manual processing is completed, the release permission information is given, and the current inspection result of the aircraft is manually updated, and the aviation maintenance control system records the current inspection result of the aircraft.

[0079] At the same time, the inspection results of the aircraft also include basis information, which refers to the content based on which the result of successful or unsuccessful comparison is obtained in the three-level comparison.

[0080] At this time, in this embodiment, the airline maintenance control system is used to issue a release instruction when the comparison results of the defects that have not been successfully matched twice in the current inspection results of the aircraft are all successful, and the aircraft can be released; otherwise, a manual intervention instruction is issued and the aircraft cannot be released.

[0081] The aircraft inspection robot of this embodiment has the functions of real-time scanning, positioning, communication, storage, network processing, etc. Defects are discovered through the scanning function of the aircraft inspection robot, and the position and truss information of the aircraft fuselage and wings are located through the positioning function, so as to accurately locate the defects. The aircraft is inspected and measured for defects through visual methods and laser three-dimensional modeling methods, and can communicate with the inspection robot operation and control system. Through the cooperation of the aircraft inspection robot, the airport operation and control system, the airline maintenance control system, and the inspection robot operation and control system, the release accuracy and efficiency can be improved, and the airline cost and the impact of human factors can be reduced. Specifically, it has the following advantages: (1) The aircraft inspection robot has higher work efficiency, longer continuous working time, and lower cost; (2) The saved human resources can be used for work with higher technical requirements such as troubleshooting; (3) Improved accuracy and reliability.

[0082] Example 3

[0083] This embodiment provides a control method based on a machine inspection robot, based on the control system based on the machine inspection robot described in Example 2, such as Figure 4 Shown, including:

[0084] S1: The airport operation control system sends first information to the inspection robot operation control system, where the first information includes the airport parking position number where the aircraft is to land and the robot number of the task to be performed.

[0085] S2: The airline maintenance control system sends the second information to the inspection robot operation control system. The second information includes the aircraft's MSN number, the airport information where the aircraft is to land, the aircraft's landing information, the aircraft's last inspection results, the aircraft's initialization data, and the aircraft's maintenance manual.

[0086] S3: The inspection robot operation and control system generates a machine inspection path and a machine inspection plan based on the first information and the second information, and sends the first information, the second information, the machine inspection path, the machine inspection plan and the inspection instruction to the machine inspection robot with the robot number corresponding to the task to be performed.

[0087] S4: After receiving the inspection instruction, the aircraft inspection robot inspects the aircraft after the aircraft lands and obtains the inspection result of the aircraft.

[0088] S5: The inspection robot operation and control system transmits the aircraft's inspection results to the airline's maintenance control system.

[0089] S6: The airline maintenance control system determines whether the aircraft can be released based on the aircraft's current inspection results. If the aircraft cannot be released, a dispatch instruction is issued to schedule manual intervention, and the aircraft's current inspection results are updated and saved.

[0090] It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use and processing of relevant data must comply with relevant regulations.

[0091] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0092] This document uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The description of the above examples is only intended to help understand the method and core concept of this application. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, based on the concept of this application, there may be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting this application.

Claims

1. A machine inspection robot, characterized in that: include: A robot body and a visual camera, a laser radar sensor, and a processor mounted on the robot body, wherein the robot body, the visual camera, and the laser radar sensor are all communicatively connected to the processor; The robot body is used to move along a preset inspection path around the machine; The visual camera is used to continuously photograph the aircraft based on a preset inspection plan while the robot body is moving, so as to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain photographed images; The processor is configured to compare each captured image with a previous inspection result of the aircraft based on the position of the robot body at that time, and if the comparison is unsuccessful, determine the location of the defect that failed to be successfully compared based on the captured image, and send a scanning instruction and the location of the defect that failed to be successfully compared to the lidar sensor; The laser radar sensor is configured to scan the defect on the aircraft that was not successfully matched based on the position of the defect that was not successfully matched, upon receiving the scanning instruction, to obtain three-dimensional point cloud data; The processor is configured to process the three-dimensional point cloud data, determine defect information of defects that were not successfully matched once, and compare the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched once with initialization data of the aircraft; if the comparison is unsuccessful, compare the defect information of the defects that were not successfully matched twice with a maintenance manual of the aircraft to obtain comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched twice; the initialization data is an inspection result obtained by a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft; The processor is used to store all the captured images, the positions of the robot bodies corresponding to the captured images, and the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully compared twice as the current inspection results of the aircraft after the movement of the robot body is completed; the current inspection results of the aircraft are used to determine whether the aircraft can be released.

2. The machine inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The processor is used to issue a drive instruction based on a preset aircraft inspection path, and the robot body is used to operate based on the drive instruction to move along the preset aircraft inspection path; wherein the aircraft inspection path is a path that moves around the aircraft once; The processor is used to issue a shooting instruction based on a preset walk-around inspection plan, and the visual camera is used to work based on the shooting instruction, so as to continuously shoot the aircraft based on the preset walk-around inspection plan during the movement of the robot body, so as to inspect defects on the aircraft and obtain captured images.

3. The machine inspection robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The visual camera is used to, when the robot body moves to the shooting position in the shooting instruction, the shooting position being the position between two adjacent stations on the aircraft, shoot the area between the two adjacent stations from top to bottom to obtain a plurality of sub-images, each of the sub-images corresponding to the area between a group of two adjacent stringers, each of the sub-images having a station and a stringer, the number of the sub-images being equal to the difference between the number of stringers and 1, and all the sub-images constituting the shot image; Determining the position of a defect that was not successfully matched based on the captured image specifically includes: for a sub-image in the captured image, locating the defect that was not successfully matched in the sub-image based on the station position and the beam in the sub-image, and obtaining the position of the defect that was not successfully matched.

4. The machine inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Unsuccessful comparison means a new defect is added or the defect information of the defect has changed. The defect is a defect occurring on the inspection object involved in the agreed inspection item, and the inspection object includes the aircraft's outer surface, oil leak point, wheels, brakes, engine air inlet, fan blades, tail nozzle and landing gear. If the defect is a defect occurring on the aircraft's outer surface, wheels, brakes, engine air inlet, fan blades, tail nozzle and landing gear, the defect information includes the shape, size and location of the defect; if the defect is a defect occurring at the oil leak point, the defect information includes the oil leakage rate.

5. The machine inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched twice in the current inspection results of the aircraft are all successful, the aircraft can be released.

6. The machine inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The initialization data is data obtained from a comprehensive inspection of the aircraft when it is used for the first time or after completing repair work that affects the condition of the aircraft's exterior surface. Completed repair work that affects the condition of the aircraft's exterior surface includes regular maintenance, structural repair, painting, coating, and external configuration modification. The initialization data includes the aircraft's MSN number and defect information, treatment plan, and release basis of comprehensive inspection defects determined by the comprehensive inspection. The treatment plan is the repair plan used to repair the comprehensive inspection defects, and the release basis is the allowable value of the comprehensive inspection defects determined based on the aircraft's maintenance manual.

7. The machine inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The maintenance manual described above is in accordance with the aircraft's original manufacturer's manual standards.

8. A control system based on a machine inspection robot, characterized in that: include: Airport operation control system, airline maintenance control system, inspection robot operation control system and aircraft inspection robot, wherein the aircraft inspection robot is the aircraft inspection robot according to claim 1; The airport operation control system is used to send first information to the inspection robot operation control system, wherein the first information includes the airport parking space number where the aircraft is to land and the robot number of the task to be performed; The airline maintenance control system is used to send second information to the inspection robot operation control system, where the second information includes the MSN number of the aircraft, information about the airport where the aircraft is to land, landing information of the aircraft, the last inspection result of the aircraft, initialization data of the aircraft, and maintenance manual of the aircraft; The inspection robot operation and control system is configured to generate a machine inspection path and a machine inspection plan based on the first information and the second information, and send the first information, the second information, the machine inspection path, the machine inspection plan, and the inspection instruction to the machine inspection robot with the robot number corresponding to the task to be performed; The aircraft inspection robot is used to inspect the aircraft after receiving the inspection instruction and obtain the inspection result of the aircraft after the aircraft lands; The inspection robot operation and control system is used to transmit the inspection results of the aircraft to the airline maintenance control system; The airline maintenance control system is used to determine whether the aircraft can be released based on the current inspection results of the aircraft.

9. The control system based on the machine inspection robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: The airport information where the aircraft is to land includes the name of the airport, and the landing information of the aircraft includes the time when the aircraft landed at the airport; the airline maintenance control system is used to issue a release instruction when the comparison results of the defects that were not successfully matched twice in the current inspection results of the aircraft are all successful, so that the aircraft can be released.

10. A control method based on a machine inspection robot, based on the control system based on the machine inspection robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: include: The airport operation control system sends first information to the inspection robot operation control system, where the first information includes the airport parking space number where the aircraft is to land and the robot number of the task to be performed; The airline maintenance control system sends second information to the inspection robot operation control system. The second information includes the aircraft's MSN number, the aircraft's upcoming landing airport information, the aircraft's landing information, the aircraft's last inspection results, the aircraft's initialization data, and the aircraft's maintenance manual. The inspection robot operation and control system generates a machine inspection path and a machine inspection plan based on the first information and the second information, and sends the first information, the second information, the machine inspection path, the machine inspection plan, and the inspection instruction to the machine inspection robot with the robot number corresponding to the task to be performed; After receiving the inspection instruction, the aircraft inspection robot inspects the aircraft after the aircraft lands and obtains the inspection result of the aircraft; The inspection robot's operation and control system transmits the aircraft's inspection results to the airline's maintenance control system; The airline maintenance control system determines whether the aircraft can be released based on the aircraft's current inspection results. If the aircraft cannot be released, a dispatch instruction is issued to schedule manual intervention, and the aircraft's current inspection results are updated and saved.

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