Portable AR Device for Aircraft Damage Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for assessing aircraft damage are time-consuming and costly, requiring specialized personnel to travel to remote locations, and are inefficient in accurately determining damage severity, especially in critical areas like RVSM airspace.
Innovation Solution
A portable electronic device with a processor and structural database that uses a reference marker to determine the actual size of damage by comparing it to a maximum allowable size, allowing for quick and accurate assessments without specialized training, and updates flight maintenance and dispatch databases accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a qualified mechanic travels to the outstation to inspect the damaged aircraft, then the damage assessment accuracy is improved, but the travel time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the aircraft's structural data and damage assessment capabilities in the form of a portable electronic device with augmented reality display. This copying principle allows the assessment functionality to be replicated and deployed to any location without requiring physical travel of specialized personnel, thereby maintaining assessment accuracy while eliminating travel time losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable electronic device acts as an intermediary between the damaged aircraft and the assessment process. It captures images of the damage, compares them against structural databases, and provides guidance through augmented reality display, serving as a mediator that enables accurate assessment without requiring the presence of qualified mechanics at the remote location.
2Reliability
If specialized personnel are deployed for damage assessment, then the reliability of assessment is improved, but the operational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service damage assessment through the portable electronic device that autonomously captures damage images, processes them through the structural database, and provides assessment results. The augmented reality display guides users through the process, allowing non-specialized personnel to perform reliable assessments without requiring specialized expertise, thereby eliminating the need to deploy expensive specialized personnel while maintaining assessment reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of deploying human specialists with an automated electronic system. The portable device with processor, structural database, and augmented reality display substitutes for the physical presence of qualified mechanics, providing reliable assessment functionality through automated image processing and comparison algorithms while significantly reducing operational costs.
3Device complexity
If manual measurement and diagram comparison methods are used, then the equipment complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters of the assessment process by using digital image capture and processing instead of manual measurement. The portable electronic device captures images with known reference markers, uses processors to automatically calculate damage dimensions based on pixel-to-real-world conversions, and compares against digital structural databases. This parameter change from manual to automated digital measurement maintains equipment simplicity while dramatically improving measurement precision.
4Reliability
If the aircraft is restricted to non-RVSM airspace due to damage, then the safety is improved, but the productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary damage assessment using the portable electronic device and augmented reality display before making routing decisions. By providing immediate, accurate damage evaluation at the outstation location, the system enables dispatchers to make informed decisions about whether the aircraft can operate in RVSM airspace or requires restrictions. This preliminary assessment prevents unnecessary productivity losses by avoiding automatic grounding or routing restrictions when the damage may not actually require such limitations.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable electronic device for assessing an affected area of an aircraft is disclosed. A reference marker having a known size is located on the aircraft. The portable electronic device includes a processor in communication with a structural database, where the structural database includes a template that defines a maximum allowable size of damage to the aircraft. The processor executes instructions for determining an actual size of the affected area based on the known size of the reference marker. The processor also executes instructions for comparing the actual size of the affected area with the maximum allowable size of damage to the aircraft. The processor further executes instructions for determining that the actual size of the affected area exceeds the maximum allowable size of damage to the aircraft.