Systems and methods for stand-off inspection of aircraft structures

A method for stand-off inspection comprising:

• (a) acquiring position measurement data representing the position of an area on a surface of a target object relative to a coordinate system of the target object using a local positioning system;
• (b) rotating an assembly comprising a camera affixed to a nondestructive evaluation instrument so that the camera is directed toward the area;
• (c) acquiring image data representing the area;
• (d) processing the image data to determine whether the image data includes information indicating the presence of an anomaly in the area;
• (e) if it is determined in step (d) that the image data includes information indicating the presence of an anomaly in the area, determining coordinates of a position of the anomaly relative to the coordinate system of the target object based on the image data;
• (f) recording said coordinates of the position of the anomaly;
• (g) rotating the assembly so that the nondestructive evaluation instrument is directed toward an area on the target object having said recorded coordinates;
• and
• (h) acquiring nondestructive evaluation measurement data using a stand-off nondestructive evaluation technique.

A method for detecting and determining a position of a visible anomaly on a target object, said method comprising:

• (a) locating, by position and orientation, a local positioning system comprising a camera having a nondestructive evaluation instrument affixed thereto with respect to a target object;
• (b) determining the position and orientation offset between the position and orientation of the local positioning system located in step (a) and a prior position and orientation of a local positioning system previously utilized to collect a set of reference images of the target object, the prior position and orientation being in the coordinate system of the target object;
• (c) relocating, by position and orientation, the local positioning system with respect to the target object in accordance with the offset determined in step (b);
• (d) using the camera to acquire a set of images of the target object from the position and orientation of the relocated local positioning system;
• (e) comparing the set of images to corresponding images within the set of reference images to detect a difference between the acquired images and the corresponding reference images;
• (f) determining coordinates of a position of the detected difference in the coordinate system of the target object based on the acquired images and the corresponding reference images;
• (g) recording said coordinates of the position of the detected difference;
• and
• (h) relocating, by position and orientation, the local positioning system with respect to the target object so that nondestructive evaluation instrument is directed toward the detected difference using said recorded coordinates.

A method for nondestructive evaluation inspection of an area on a surface of a target object using a camera and a nondestructive evaluation instrument which are affixed to each other, comprising:

• determining, relative to a coordinate system associated with a target object, coordinates of a position for a visibly detectable anomaly on a surface of a target object based on image data captured by the camera;
• directing the nondestructive evaluation instrument toward the visibly detectable anomaly using said recorded coordinates;
• acquiring measurement data representing a characteristic of the visibly detectable anomaly using the nondestructive evaluation instrument;
• and
• processing the measurement data to determine a value for the characteristic of the visibly detectable anomaly.

A system for stand-off inspection comprising a video camera, a laser range meter, a nondestructive evaluation instrument, and a motion-controlled pan-tilt mechanism, said video camera, said laser range meter, and said nondestructive evaluation instrument being supported by said motion-controlled pan-tilt mechanism and fixed relative to each, and further comprising a computer system programmed to perform the following operations:

• controlling said motion-controlled pan-tilt mechanism so that a line of sight of said camera is directed toward an area on a surface of the target object;
• processing said image data to determine whether an anomaly is present in said area;
• if an anomaly is present, determining coordinates of a position of said anomaly in a coordinate system of said target object based on said imaging data;
• controlling said motion-controlled pan-tilt mechanism to direct said nondestructive evaluation instrument toward a position corresponding to said coordinates;
• and
• controlling said nondestructive evaluation instrument so that nondestructive evaluation measurement data is acquired by said nondestructive evaluation instrument while directed toward said position corresponding to said coordinates.