Page 22 - AAA JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 Online Magazine

in accordance with the new digital era we all need to contribute value. Our image analysis software provides
towards in order to reap its benefits.” Donecle is also making head- strong indications on what we think the drone
way into the military market. The company is collaborating with Air has found on the aircraft, but in the short term,
France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance for inspections a human inspector’s experience is invaluable to
on the AWACS military aircraft. The company has also partnered confirm the software output.”
with Dassault Aviation and Cimpa to develop automated inspection
solutions for the Rafale fighter aircraft. Next Step: Taking Drones
Donecle co-founder Josselin Bequet is confident that the com- Outside
pany has a product that stands out from the competition. Most In spite of all the obvious benefits they provide
off-the-shelf drones are either remotely piloted or semi-automated users, aircraft inspection drones still remain
using GPS, which is unusable in a closed maintenance hangar, but confined to maintenance hangars. Drone
Donecle’s drone is fully automated and can navigate around an makers, MROs and carriers believe the indus-
aircraft without input from a human pilot, he says. The system was try should push for regulations permitting the
built from the ground up for aircraft inspections, with a different use of such drones in airfield as well.
mindset from companies which are trying to combine off-the-shelf “There is a clear demand from maintenance
hardware and software, he adds. hangars for new tools to inspect aircraft faster,
more efficiently and more reliably,” says Bequet.
“WE HAVE DEVELOPED A LASER POSITIONING “However, decision-making processes are
slower in adopting new technology and only
TECHNOLOGY WHICH ENABLES OUR UAV the opinion leaders are willing to take risks and
TO AUTOMATE ITS FLIGHT AND ACCURATELY move away from the established standards.
REPOSITION ON THE AIRCRAFT ALL THE DATA Regulations are also lagging behind in some
(IMAGES) IT ACQUIRES,” says Bequet. regions and do not encourage implementation
of groundbreaking technologies.”
“WE HAVE DEVELOPED MULTIPLE COMPUTER
VISION TOOLS AND ALGORITHMS WHICH The delay on the part of regulators in approving
ANALYZE ALL THE IMAGES ACQUIRED BY THE UAV the use of inspection drones outside hangars is
primarily because they fear that the UAVs could
TO LOOK FOR DEFECTS, MARKINGS, AND ASSESS fly away into a flight path or hit an aircraft. At
PAINT QUALITY. OUR SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO MRO Americas in April this year, Bequet and
REQUIRE MINIMAL TRAINING AND PROVIDE other experts discussed the issue.
INSPECTORS THE ABILITY TO ACQUIRE AND Delta Air Lines, which has to contend with
ANALYZE THE HEALTH OF THEIR AIRCRAFT AS about 1,800-2,000 lighting strike events every
QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO GET IT BACK IN THE year, is not the only carrier that is waiting for
AIR.” regulators to approve the use of drones for
inspection outside hangars. “At Delta, we abso-
The Donecle co-founder, however, doesn’t expect inspection lutely want to fly outside,” David Piotrowski,
drones to replace human inspectors. “We believe drones or other senior principal engineer at TechOps, Delta
automated inspection equipment are decision-aiding tools which Air Lines’ maintenance arm, said. “It’s going
complement human inspectors. We are essentially removing the to happen. I just don’t know on what timeline.”
tedious, dangerous and lengthy component of the inspection pro- “It’s still probably a few years before it gets
cess to enable human inspectors to focus on areas where they add accepted by regulators,” admitted Bequet.

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