Modernizing Aircraft Inspection: Conceptual Design of an Augmented Reality Inspection Support Tool.

Aircraft maintenance is critical to the Navy’s fleet readiness, however, ongoing delays in completing maintenance tasks and increases in maintenance-related mishaps, highlight a need for improvement in the fleet’s maintenance processes. Central to correcting the current maintenance shortfall is improving the training and support of maintenance personnel, as many transitioning experts are currently being replaced by junior, inexperienced maintainers. Augmented, virtual, and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) – known collectively as extended reality (XR) – present a promising avenue by which to fill these skill and knowledge gaps. The present paper details the conceptual design of an AR-based operational support tool targeting point-of-need support during nondestructive inspection of aircraft, referred to as Augmented Reality Technician Inspection for Surface Anomalies and Noncompliance (ARTISAN). ARTISAN is an AR tool that provides step-wise information for inspection procedures and overlays augmented AI predictions regarding location of anomalies to enhance operational support. It also allows for the real-time, continuous capture of identified anomalies; using an AR head-worn device (HWD), maintainers are able to take first-person point of view media and geo-spatially tag surface anomalies, reducing ambiguity associated with anomaly detection and ultimately increasing readiness. The current article describes how ARTISAN was conceptualized, from initial solution to placement of augmented content to finalized system architecture. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion on how ARTISAN was optimized for the end-user through iterative user testing via remote platforms with Naval stakeholders, SMEs, and relevant end users.