System, method and apparatus for airship manufacture using robotics
AssigneeH2 Clipper, Inc.
InventorsRinaldo S. Brutoco, Robert H. Shelton, Michael R. Everman
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Abstract
A system, method and apparatus are proposed to assist in assembling the frame, attaching the skin, and performing other tasks in manufacturing an airship and constructing other structures that are otherwise challenging, inefficient, or unsuitable for humans to perform, and/or that traditionally require significant investments in capital intensive manufacturing facilities. Several embodiments are proposed in which these and other recurring manufacturing tasks can be performed safely and efficiently with the assistance of autonomous, semi-autonomous, and/or human-directed robots, acting independently and in robot swarms.
Claims10
A method of robotically manufacturing an aerospace asset from the top down, the method comprising:
- placing a partially completed assembly of said aerospace asset onto at least one truss held by at least one supporting robot;
- using one or more specialized robot worker classes to complete a construction task cycle on a selected work surface of said partially completed assembly thereby completing a construction task cycle on upper sections of the aerospace asset;
- robotically elevating the active assembly work surface of said partially completed assembly with at least one supporting lift robot;
- selecting a further lower active assembly work surface and robotically completing a construction task cycle on said further selected lower assembly work surface;
- and
- repeatedly elevating subsequent lower active assembly work surface and robotically completing a construction task cycle on subsequent selected lower active assembly work surfaces until the aerospace asset has been fully constructed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.