Internship: Sensors for automatic aircraft walkaround inspection

Background

Aircraft and parts require regular maintenance. That work is now often done by highly trained and scarce technicians. The NLR is investigating whether some maintenance tasks can also be carried out by robots. For this purpose, the NLR has already built several robots capable of performing maintenance tasks.

We would like to know which sensors are suitable for maintenance robots. In this study, we're looking for sensors to identify specific defects, and we're testing appropriate sensors and algorithms.

• Internship: Sensors for automatic aircraft walkaround inspection
• Hybrid
• Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
• Aerospace Systems

Assignment

Technological developments are opening up new opportunities. It may be possible in the future to have more aircraft maintenance tasks performed by robots. You investigate which sensors are suitable for identifying a specific defect, and you try out suitable sensors in a test environment. During this investigation, you will:

• Make an inventory which sensors are suitable for identifying a specific defect (for example, fuel and oil leakage). In doing so, you look at the practicality, quality and cost of the sensors.
• Test the sensors in a test environment.
• Develop algorithms to create meaningful information from the sensor output.
• Make recommendations for future use of sensors to identify a specific defect.

Results

The final outcomes of this assignment will be:

• An overview of sensors and potential defects the sensors can detect in the context of walkaround aircraft inspections
• An evaluation of specific sensor-defect combinations, including experimental validation
• Development of algorithms to automatically detect defects based on the chosen sensor
• A technical report, either an internship report or a graduation thesis following the guidelines of your program, describing the approach, results, and conclusions of the work.

Duration

For an internship, the duration is 5-6 months, depending on the requirements of your study program.

Profile

• You are an MSc student or HBO graduate student in Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Technical Computer Science or a similar master/bachelor.
• You are interested in aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul.
• The NLR is looking for an innovative trainee who is fascinated by the possibilities of modern technologies and can turn ideas into tangible and functional designs and successful experiments.

What we offer

• A challenging graduation project/internship in a high-tech result orientated work environment.
• Weekly supervision and availability of the technical staff for support.
• An internship allowance.
• Working in an actual R&D project as part of the team.
• Internship results to be used in the current and future projects.

About NLR

Over 800 driven professionals work on research and innovation, from aircraft engineers to psychologists and from mathematicians to application experts. This assignment will be managed by the Avionics Systems and Maintenance Engineering (ASAM) department.

A positive VOG screening is necessary for this position.