Design Interactive, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N201-015

Description

Improving aircraft readiness is paramount, especially in the context of corrosion maintenance which is responsible for more than 20% of the U.S. Navy’s maintenance costs. Unfortunately, most inspections and repairs of corrosion are completed manually, which can be time-consuming for maintainers. In similar domain spaces, maintenance operations have looked towards augmented reality to improve work efficiency, reduce downtime, and increase overall readiness. Towards this end, DI have developed AUGMENTOR™, an AR-based job performance aid for maintenance operations. AUGMENTOR™ is currently being used by the 367 TSS of the U.S. Air Force to develop and deliver maintenance training and JPAs to aviation maintainers. To meet the specific need of corrosion-related inspections, DI proposes the development of Augmented Reality Technician Inspection for Surface Anomalies and Noncompliance (ARTISAN), an expansion to the existing AUGMENTORTM system that will provide procedural step-wise information regarding inspection processes to maintainers. ARTISAN will provide AR-based procedural guides for corrosion inspections that require high degrees of precision and accuracy. While completing the corrosion inspection, maintainers will be able to capture content and data to be used in updates to procedures and/or as cataloged historical data.