Apparatus for smart material analysis

A movable apparatus for inspecting an object including a photonic material comprising:

• a radiation source for irradiating a section of the structure;
• a radiation sensor for receiving radiation diffracted from a photonic material in the section of the structure;
• a processor coupled to the sensor configured to determine a deformation of the photonic material as a function of at least one of i) an intensity ii) a position and iii) a wavelength of the radiation received, and to determine if a magnitude of the deformation is higher than a threshold;
• and
• a storage medium coupled to the processor;
• wherein if the magnitude of the deformation is higher than the threshold the processor directs data concerning the deformation of the photonic material to the storage medium;
• wherein if the magnitude of the deformation is not higher than the threshold, the processor causes a stoppage of the inspection at the location of the photonic material, and transmits a signal causing the inspection apparatus to move and to inspect another section of the structure;
• and
• wherein the processor further determines deformation as a function of a distance between the radiation source and the radiation sensor.

A method of inspecting a structure including a photonic material using a movable inspection apparatus, the method comprising:

• irradiating a section of the structure;
• receiving radiation diffracted from a photonic material in the section of the structure;
• determining a deformation of the photonic material as a function of at least one a position and wavelength of the radiation received;
• and
• determining if a magnitude of the deformation is higher than a threshold;
• if the magnitude of the deformation is higher than the threshold:
• storing data concerning the deformation of the photonic material;
• if the magnitude of the deformation is not higher than the threshold:
• i) stopping the inspection at the location of the photonic material;
• and
• ii) moving the inspection apparatus to inspect another section of the structure;
• wherein the section of the photonic material is irradiated with multi-chromatic radiation and received by a camera sensor and the inspection apparatus includes a radiation source and the position of the radiation received comprises a pixel position of captured radiation at the camera sensor, wherein the deformation is further determined as a function of (i) a radiation source position with respect to the section of the structure irradiated and (ii) a distance between the radiation source and the camera sensor;
• and wherein the camera sensor includes a plurality of pixel elements that respond to received radiation by expressing a hue, and wherein a wavelength of the received radiation is determined as a function of the expressed hue.