What it does
Our Bluetooth-controlled robotic crawler automates aircraft inspections using low-cost ultrasonic and visual testing, solving the problems of manual inspections, expensive UT equipment, and inefficient paper-based reporting.
Your inspiration
We identified that current aircraft inspections are slow, risky, and expensive due to manual methods, high-cost ultrasonic equipment, and outdated paper-based reporting. The idea came from combining robotics, affordable UT technology, and real-time data systems to make inspections safer, cheaper, and more efficient, especially for hard-to-reach aircraft areas.
How it works
Our design is a compact, Bluetooth-controlled robotic crawler that automates aircraft inspections. It moves on reusable adhesive tracks, allowing it to grip surfaces like aluminium and composites, even vertically or upside down. The crawler carries a low-cost ultrasonic sensor that sends sound waves into the material to detect hidden cracks or defects. It also has a camera for visual inspections. Data from both systems is sent in real-time to a mobile app, replacing slow, paper-based reporting. This system improves safety, lowers costs, and ensures faster, more reliable aircraft inspections.
Design process
Our project began by identifying three key problems in aerospace NDT: manual inspections, high UT equipment costs, and inefficient paper reporting. The initial concept was a compact, Bluetooth-controlled crawler with a low-cost ultrasonic sensor, visual camera, and cloud-based data reporting. The first prototype featured a basic adhesive track crawler with off-the-shelf ultrasonic sensors and simple Bluetooth control. Testing revealed poor surface adhesion on curves and limited UT performance. We improved the design by upgrading to reusable adhesive tracks for better grip on curved, vertical, and inverted surfaces. Simultaneously, we developed a custom low-cost ultrasonic transducer to reduce system costs while maintaining defect detection capabilities. The latest prototype integrates enhanced adhesion, accurate UT and visual inspections, and real-time data transmission to a mobile app. The system now offers safe, reliable inspections for hard-to-reach aircraft areas, addressing cost, safety, and efficiency challenges.
How it is different
Our design is unique because it combines a low-cost, self-developed ultrasonic transducer with a Bluetooth-controlled robotic crawler using reusable adhesive tracks, allowing movement on both ferromagnetic and composite aircraft surfaces—even vertically or inverted—without suction or magnets. Unlike existing systems that rely on expensive UT devices or only visual inspections, our crawler integrates ultrasonic and visual testing into one compact unit. It replaces manual inspections, reduces equipment costs, and eliminates inefficient paper-based reporting with a real-time, app-based cloud system, making inspections safer, more affordable, and data-driven.
Future plans
The next steps involve refining the crawler's adhesive track system for better performance on complex surfaces, enhancing the sensitivity of our low-cost ultrasonic transducer, and completing full system integration with the mobile app for real-time reporting. Future goals include field-testing on aircraft structures, improving defect detection accuracy, and scaling the system for broader use in aerospace maintenance to offer a safer, more affordable, and efficient NDT solution.
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