Korean Air plans to use drone swarms to inspect aircraft. [Photo: Korean Airlines]
Key Takeaways:
Korean Air has developed and demonstrated a pioneering drone swarm technology that uses multiple unmanned aerial vehicles simultaneously to inspect aircraft exteriors for damage and wear.
This automated inspection method significantly enhances safety, speed, and accuracy, reducing inspection time from 10 hours to about 4 hours and detecting defects as small as 1 millimeter, while also minimizing aircraft downtime.
The inspection data is cloud-shared, and the system incorporates collision avoidance and geo-fencing for safety, with official deployment planned for next year after further trials.
Other companies, like Mainblades, are also advancing automated drone inspections, including fully automated outdoor airport inspections, to further save time and costs associated with traditional manual checks and hangar space.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on FreightWaves.com.
One of the latest applications for drones is inspecting aircraft for damage and wear during maintenance inspections. Korean Air is taking the concept to the next level by using multiple robot aircraft to make the work faster and easier.
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Eric is the Air Cargo Market Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government coverage and news analysis, and was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. Eric is based in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com
