Remotely operated mobile stand-off measurement and inspection system

A portable measurement system comprising:

• a shipping container;
• a multiplicity of wheels mechanically coupled to said shipping container for movement between respective retracted positions inside said shipping container in a shipping configuration and respective extended positions outside said shipping container in a mobile platform configuration;
• a local positioning system unit mechanically coupled to said shipping container for movement between a retracted positions inside said shipping container in said shipping configuration and an extended position outside said shipping container in said mobile platform configuration, said local positioning system comprising wave energy projecting means for projecting wave energy in a direction, directional control means for orienting said wave energy projecting means to project in a direction having a selected pan angle and a selected tilt angle;
• and means for detecting wave energy returned from a target object after each projection of wave energy;
• a computer disposed inside said shipping container,
• a wireless adapter electrically coupled to said computer and capable of receiving commands from an in-range wireless network access point and transmitting said commands to said computer;
• a drivetrain disposed inside said shipping container for driving at least one of said wheels to rotate;
• and
• at least one deployment actuator disposed inside said shipping container for actuating movement of said multiplicity of wheels between said retracted and extended positions of said wheels and movement of said local positioning system between said retracted and extended positions of said local positioning system,
• wherein said computer is configured to perform the following operations:
• controlling said at least one actuator in response to a deployment command received via said wireless adapter;
• controlling said drive train to move said mobile platform to a location near a target object in accordance with a platform location command received via said wireless adapter;
• and
• controlling said local positioning system to calibrate its position and orientation relative to a coordinate system of a target object in response to a calibration command received via said wireless adapter.

A mobile non-destructive inspection system comprising:

• a shipping container;
• a multiplicity of wheels mechanically coupled to said shipping container for movement between respective retracted positions inside said shipping container in a shipping configuration and respective extended positions outside said shipping container in a mobile platform configuration;
• a pan-tilt mechanism mechanically coupled to said shipping container for movement between a retracted positions inside said shipping container in said shipping configuration and an extended position outside said shipping container in said mobile platform configuration;
• an assembly comprising a stand-off nondestructive inspection unit and a local positioning system, said assembly being mounted to said pan-tilt mechanism;
• a computer disposed inside said shipping container,
• a wireless adapter electrically coupled to said computer and capable of receiving commands from an in-range wireless network access point and transmitting said commands to said computer;
• a drivetrain disposed inside said shipping container for driving at least one of said wheels to rotate;
• at least one deployment actuator disposed inside said shipping container for actuating movement of said multiplicity of wheels between said retracted and extended positions of said wheels and movement of said assembly between said retracted and extended positions of said local positioning system,
• wherein said computer is configured to perform the following operations:
• controlling said at least one actuator in response to a deployment command received via said wireless adapter;
• controlling said drive train to move said mobile platform to a location near a target object in accordance with motion commands received via said wireless adapter;
• controlling said local positioning system to calibrate its position and orientation relative to a coordinate system of a target object in response to a calibration command received via said wireless adapter;
• and
• controlling said stand-off nondestructive inspection unit to acquire inspection data from the target object in response to an inspection command received via said wireless adapter.

A method for teleoperation of a self-powered mobile stand-off non-destructive inspection system from a command workstation, comprising:

• (a) configuring the self-powered mobile stand-off non-destructive inspection system so that a multiplicity of wheels, a local positioning system and a nondestructive inspection sensor are contained inside a shipping container in a shipping configuration along with a computer;
• (b) placing the shipping container in the shipping configuration at a remote inspection site where a target object is located;
• (c) establishing a communication channel between the computer inside the shipping container and the command workstation via a wireless connection;
• and
• (d) via the wireless connection, remotely activating a transformation of the self-powered mobile stand-off non-destructive inspection system from the shipping configuration to a deployed configuration in which the wheels, local positioning system and stand-off nondestructive inspection unit are extended outside the shipping container.