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Manufacturing Technology Insights | Thursday, September 19, 2024
Since the late 1960s, uncrewed aerial vehicles have played a vital role in battle, notably for reconnaissance missions. Today, with the support of AI, small, autonomous drones like Skydio's sUAS platforms may use this reconnaissance capability to address one of fleet readiness's most persistent challenges: corrosion.
Fremont, CA: Corrosion can be reduced to some amount but cannot be eliminated. Furthermore, the corrosion rate aboard any given ship during any mission cannot be accurately predicted. This implies that scheduled preventive maintenance is frequently performed either too early, wasting money, or too late, putting the structural integrity of a ship's hull in danger while giving ships an appearance that is not representative of the United States as a global naval power.
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Condition-based maintenance, on the other hand, matches a hull's most current condition, ensuring an appropriate maintenance schedule. This is where self-driving drones come in. Visual data provides commanders and naval engineering teams with a near-real-time corrosion evaluation, allowing them to precisely estimate the timing and quantity of maintenance required for optimal maintenance operations.
Sailors continue to inspect hulls on painter boards. This archaic technique has three flaws. First, it diverts crew members away from their primary responsibilities at a time when several ships are already understaffed. Second, the outcomes of personal observations are communicated verbally or in writing, with a restricted number of words. The level of detail and potential urgency may be misinterpreted depending on who provides and receives the reports. Third, personal observation is a slow and laborious process.
Drones provide visual data that is more exact than words and available in near real-time. This speed, useful for inspections, is critical during or following kinetic or dynamic occurrences. The AI-powered platform can conduct fast damage assessments. Detailed visual data can be supplied to shipyards before the ship's arrival, allowing for optimal planning, ensuring that resources are correctly allocated, aligned, and timed, eliminating maintenance backlogs and returning ships to sea faster.
Small drones operated manually have a well-deserved reputation for being challenging to fly. Skydio's sUAS systems leverage artificial intelligence to bring unprecedented consistency to flight operations, putting safe, secure, repeatable, and reproducible results in the hands of anyone. Software-defined obstacle avoidance streamlines and automates pilot operations while lowering the time required for operators to be skilled in flying missions. More workers can be taught faster, challenging flying missions can be carried out, and critical infrastructure may be inspected securely and regularly. Other AI-powered features include automated workflows that build textured models on the drone in minutes, with no additional computers or systems required - and no need for particular expertise. Machines should assist human team members rather than add unaccounted-for burdens, and the correct autonomous drones can accomplish just that for ship commanders, sailors, and maintainers, eventually transforming the landscape of naval maintenance.
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