Aircraft Inspection using Drone

Project Title

Project Area of Specialization

Artificial Intelligence

Project Summary

Aircraft inspection is one of a very important and challenging task throughout the world. Mostly aircraft inspection is a manual and time consuming activity. In this project of Aircraft Inspection using Drone (Flying Machine) we proposed drone based aircraft inspection, which is easy to screen the aircraft outer body in a more proper manner. This system is automated, effective, and time efficient method. For that we used drone to inspect the aircraft after every flight, and in the duration of aircraft arrival and departure. This system application first connect with the inspector of aircraft with a pre-defined username and password for the security purposes and then will initiate the drone to fly and captures the images of aircraft complete and then the images are directly stored in system database. This application compared the captured images of aircraft with the standard images of aircraft and reported in case of any crack in the aircraft body. System generated reports, maintain the database and send this report of inspected aircraft to the aircraft technical team for necessary actions.

Project Objectives

To automate the process of Aircraft Inspection
Inspection of aircraft using Drone.
Capturing images of aircraft by drone.
Effective Detections of faults/crack in body.
Chances of error due to human fatigue will reduce by machine and provide accurate result.
Time Efficient
History: Maintaining the database of inspected aircraft before and after the damages control.

Project Implementation Method

METHODOLOGY:

The Aircraft Inspection using Flying Machine is divided into two phase hardware and software. The initial phase is hardware based, which is supporting to software by delivering the images. Once the original images of all the aircrafts inserted in the system database of AIuFM, it can perform inspection. The drone is used to capture the images of aircraft. The images send to file server for inspection. Now the software phase starts, the inspector first select the aircraft details for which the inspection is performed then inspect the images. We are using Matlab for image processing function. Once the Images are compared then it shows the report with tiny boxes over the damages.

Analysis

Aircraft Inspection using Flying machine (AIuFM) helps to inspect the aircraft automatically instead manual inspection. It is based on capturing the aircraft images and identify the damage, broken areas of aircraft which can create a risk factor for the flight of that particular aircraft. AIuFM is divided into two approaches in software area.

The controls of the software is built on a web application.

The inspection is done on MATLAB software.

Similarly in hardware area:

The Drone will be used to inspect and captured the images of aircraft.

Both will be used together to get the inspection done perfectly.

Image Processing

The main purpose of this application is to identify the damages and cracks in the body of aircraft. For this purpose image processing techniques are used to find the cracks and damage areas.

Database

This application contained a big amount of data from user information to aircraft images which is very valuable, important and confidential. In developed application at each level application domain is specified by login and password. An inspector having his/her domain to control drone and send images to the application database. Based on certain criteria cracks in images were analyzed and report generated and forwarded to the authorities for further inspection and maintenance.

Overall Processes

The processes of the Aircraft Inspection System
Project Cycle

Application Login Screen Shot

Error Detection from Captured Image

Benefits of the Project

Aircraft Inspection using Drone (Flying Machine) is a product which inspects the aircraft and is a solution to automate the current process to achieve more accuracy, efficiency, and can reduce the cost and processing time as compared to manual inspection of aircraft inspection.

By our model of AIuFM, we can inspect aircraft though drone and can cover the upper body of aircraft which is difficult to inspect manually and human life risk will remove. Our software area detect the damages of aircraft efficiently as compared to human naked eye and maintain the database which store the damage detected images, user information, data and aircraft related information. A report is generated after each inspection through system.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

An automated aircraft inspection system, which can detect damages and cracks from the surface of aircraft using drone, then using image processing techniques defect detected and reported to authorities for necessary actions.