# US 12,601,658 B2 · Determining the condition of moving parts of aircraft > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,601,658 B2 - Document ID: US12601658B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/329,154 - Filed: 2023-06-05 - Published: 2024-12-05 - Granted: 2026-04-14 - Earliest claimed: 2023-06-05 - Assignees: The Boeing Company - Applicants: The Boeing Company - Inventors: Daniel David Gilbertson; John Lyle Vian - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12601658B2 ## CPC - G01M 5/0016: {of aircraft wings or blades} - G01M 99/005: {Testing of complete machines, e.g. washing-machines or mobile phones (testing of machine parts G01M13/00; testing of electric apparatus or components G01R31/50)} - B64D 45/00: Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for - G01M 5/0033: {by determining damage, crack or wear} - G01M 5/005: {by means of external apparatus, e.g. test benches or portable test systems} - G01M 5/0066: {by exciting or detecting vibration or acceleration (vibration testing of structures G01M7/00)} - G01M 5/0075: {by means of external apparatus, e.g. test benches or portable test systems (G01M5/005 takes precedence)} - G01M 5/0091: {by using electromagnetic excitation or detection} - B64D 2045/0085: {Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration} - G01M: TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - B64D: EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT ## Abstract Techniques for assessing an operational condition of an uncrewed air transport platform are presented. The techniques include: arranging the uncrewed air transport platform and at least one external sensor in proximity to each other, where the at least one external sensor includes a vibration sensor; executing a sequence of operations of the uncrewed air transport platform; acquiring sensor data of the uncrewed air transport platform from the at least one external sensor; automatically analyzing the sensor data to detect at least one non-normal health signature of the uncrewed air transport platform; automatically diagnosing one or more degradation condition in the uncrewed air transport platform based on the at least one non-normal health signature; and providing an indication of the one or more degradation condition. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of assessing an operational condition of an uncrewed air transport platform, the method comprising: arranging the uncrewed air transport platform and at least one external sensor in proximity to each other, wherein the at least one external sensor comprises a vibration sensor; directing the at least one external sensor to the uncrewed air transport platform to sense at an indicated location on the uncrewed air transport platform; executing a sequence of operations of the uncrewed air transport platform; acquiring sensor data of the uncrewed air transport platform from the at least one external sensor; automatically analyzing the sensor data to detect at least one non-normal health signature of the uncrewed air transport platform; automatically diagnosing one or more degradation condition in the uncrewed air transport platform based on the at least one non-normal health signature; and providing an indication of the one or more degradation condition. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor comprises a stand-off vibration sensor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the uncrewed air transport platform comprises at least one internal sensor that is electrically unconnected to any uncrewed air transport platform system, the method further comprising acquiring internal sensor data from the internal sensor, wherein the sensor data comprises the internal sensor data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the acquiring the internal sensor data from the internal sensor comprises: electrically connecting a wireless transceiver to the internal sensor; and wirelessly acquiring the internal sensor data. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the degradation condition comprises an indication of a fault, the method further comprising remediating the fault based on the indication of the fault. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the degradation condition comprises an indication of a potential future fault, the method further comprising performing conditional maintenance on the uncrewed air transport platform based on the indication of the potential future fault. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a fiducial marker of the indicated location on an image of the uncrewed air transport platform. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence of operations comprises an activation of an actuator, wherein the sensor data comprises actuator data of the actuator, and wherein the at least one non-normal health signature comprises an indication of a degradation condition of the actuator. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically analyzing the sensor data comprises providing the sensor data to a trained machine learning system. ### Claim 10 A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by an electronic processor, configure the electronic processor to assess an operational condition of an uncrewed air transport platform by performing actions comprising: directing that at least one external sensor sense at an indicated location on the uncrewed air transport platform; acquiring sensor data of the uncrewed air transport platform from the at least one external sensor, wherein the sensor data is obtained while executing a sequence of operations of the uncrewed air transport platform after arranging the uncrewed air transport platform and the at least one external sensor in proximity to each other, wherein the at least one external sensor comprises a vibration sensor; automatically analyzing the sensor data to detect at least one non-normal health signature of the uncrewed air transport platform; automatically diagnosing one or more degradation condition in the uncrewed air transport platform based on the at least one non-normal health signature; and providing an indication of the one or more degradation condition. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the vibration sensor comprises a stand-off vibration sensor. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the uncrewed air transport platform comprises at least one internal sensor that is electrically unconnected to any uncrewed air transport platform system, wherein the actions further comprise acquiring internal sensor data from the internal sensor, wherein the sensor data comprises the internal sensor data. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the indication of the degradation condition comprises an indication of a fault. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the indication of the degradation condition comprises an indication of a potential future fault. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the sequence of operations comprises an activation of an actuator, wherein the sensor data comprises actuator data of the actuator, and wherein the at least one non-normal health signature comprises an indication of a degradation condition of the actuator. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the automatically analyzing the sensor data comprises providing the sensor data to a trained machine learning system. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the directing comprises providing a fiducial marker of the indicated location on an image of the uncrewed air transport platform. ### Claim 18 A system for assessing an operational condition of an uncrewed air transport platform, the system comprising: at least one external sensor configured to be arranged in proximity to the uncrewed air transport platform, wherein the at least one external sensor comprises a vibration sensor; and an electronic processor communicatively coupled to the at least one external sensor, the electronic processor configured to perform actions comprising: directing that the at least one external sensor sense at an indicated location on the uncrewed air transport platform; acquiring sensor data of the uncrewed air transport platform from the at least one external sensor while the uncrewed air transport platform executed a sequence of operations; automatically analyzing the sensor data to detect at least one non-normal health signature of the uncrewed air transport platform; automatically diagnosing one or more degradation condition in the uncrewed air transport platform based on the at least one non-normal health signature; and providing an indication of the one or more degradation condition. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the vibration sensor comprises a stand-off vibration sensor. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The system, of claim 18, wherein the directing comprises providing a fiducial marker of the indicated location on an image of the uncrewed air transport platform.