Active Polarimetric-Hyperspectral Imaging (P-HSI) for Nondestructive Inspection of Landing Gear Components

Inspection of Landing Gear (LG) components is an essential part of standard maintenance procedures to ensure the long-term health of aircrafts. Existing non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques, such as fluorescent penetrant inspection, magnetic particles, eddy current, ultrasound etc., often require the removal of coatings and or are not efficient. We propose to develop and test a novel NDI system using active polarimetric hyperspectral imaging for LG component inspection. It is an automated component inspection system that can significantly decrease LG maintenance time and cost in depot applications. The proposed design uses advanced sensing technology derived from state-of-the-art polarimetric hyper-spectral imaging, advanced ultrasonic grain scattering imaging, utilizes advanced machine vision algorithms and a deep learning framework to identify degradation and defects in LG components, and integrates robotic automation to maneuver the imaging system, thereby ensuring consistency, accuracy, and rapid inspection times. Phase I program has demonstrated the feasibility of technology; Phase II will focus on detailed design and produce a prototype of the sensor system for testing on actual LG components.