How NASA Uses RoboDK For Multi-Robot Inspection

When it comes to making aircraft, safety is paramount… and that means inspection. One team at NASA is using RoboDK to achieve multi-robot inspection to increase the safety of their aircraft.

您认为飞机制造最重要的部分是什么？安全问题可能是您关注的列表之上。

A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center is using multiple robots and RoboDK to automate and streamline the inspection of aircraft fuselages.

我们第一次报告这个项目几年前当团队开始使用Robodk时。此时，它们仅使用一个UR10机器人用于红外线检查系统，使用短脉冲。当时，他们只是创造了第一个概念验证：

“[We wanted] to show that we can do as good a job or better than we can do manually using the robotic system, with less labor involved.”

该项目在过去两年中肯定先进了！该团队现在使用双机器人，与外轴相结合，以及更复杂的红外线检查。

这是NASA如何使用Robodk以及为什么现在使用多个机器人。

解释NASA的新检验任务

团队表演的检验任务是一种“无损评估”。这个词是指一大群测试过程当名称表明时，它用于在不破坏产品的情况下检测制造产品中的缺陷。

特别是，Langley的团队执行红外检测，涉及加热机身，然后使用红外相机检测加热材料中的缺陷。

作为分支头Elliott Cramer解释说：

“在传统的断层扫描中，你加热一个大面积，然后一次检查一个区域。目前，大多数检查都是按一定点完成的。您将检查一个小区域，您可以手动或使用某种扫描系统在系统的表面上移动该检查系统。“

使用dual robots has allowed them to change the method that they use to “line scan tomography.” This involves moving a heating element and an infra-red camera in a consistent line.

He said:

“This is actually a moving inspection that’s very well suited to the use of robotics.”

超过1的机器人的好处

当我们上次赶上该项目时，他们只使用一个带有一个传感器的机器人。这种新的检查方法需要两个机器人协同工作。

两个机器人（两者ur10s.）执行以下功能：

第一机器人保持加热元件，其沿着机身在一致的线中移动。
第二个机器人持有一个Flir.infra-red camera. This moves along the fuselage immediately behind the heating element. The captured image is used to form a scan which the team analyzes to detect defects in the material.

为了增加任务的工作空间，两个机器人固定在一个Festo 7th Axis external axis。这允许它们沿着机身长度移动，并确保机器人以完全相同的速度移动。

为什么NASA需要机器人检查

Elliot Cramer explained that there are several benefits to using robots in this type of inspection, compared to performing the scans manually.

重复性

One of the major problems with manual scanning is that you can never position the sensor in exactly the same place every time. Re-positioning the sensor by hand to double check a reading would take forever.

使用robots removes this problem.

Cramer explained:

“The main advantage is repeatability. If you need to go back to an inspection location again, either to re-inspect or with another technique. Having the robots do it allows you to go back very accurately.”

Speed and Accuracy

手动检查的另一个问题是它需要很长时间。提高这种速度是本申请的核心目标：

“The goal of this project is to increase the rate of inspection and the accuracy of inspection that’s currently going on, whether that’s done in the manufacturing environment right after the fuselages have been made or if it’s done at a later time during in-service inspection of the aircraft.

“你现在可以覆盖大面积，你可以处理飞机的复杂曲线，但以更快的方式。这旨在速度加速，但仍然得到相同的准确性。“

自主权和覆盖范围

该团队以前的手动检查需要若干技术人员一起工作。这是效率低下。然而，即使有多个人，也不确定他们由于手动放置传感器而导致的不准确性，他们将完全覆盖飞机机身。

克莱默说解释说，通过使用机器人系统已经克服了这两个问题：

“一旦被编程，它就可以自动下发并进行检查，我们确保100％覆盖范围。”

How NASA Uses RoboDK

RoboDK plays a key part in NASA’s inspection application. It’s easy to combine multiple robots with RoboDK as well as to incorporate external axes into the programming.

这是他们用于检查的过程：

With aCreaform optical scanner那the engineers first create a surface map of the fuselage. This is carried out manually.
使用the scanned data, they are able to accurately locate the fuselage in space and relative to the robots.
They create the path in RoboDK which automatically generates robot code.
The robots perform the inspection task and build an infra-red scan of the fuselage.
使用Matlab,然后工程师分析扫描的缺陷。

正如您所看到的，这是一个多软件工作流程的完美示例，RoboDK is designed to facilitate。