Air New Zealand, ST Engineering partner to trail DroScan:
17 June 2019:Air New Zealand has collaborated with ST Engineering to trail the use of drones for aircraft inspection. The trails are taking place at a facility next to Changi Airport in Singapore where Air New Zealand aircraft is undergoing heavy maintenance checks.
ST Engineering has developed DroScan, an unmanned drone system which sees a drone take a planned route around the outside of an aircraft to inspect its surface and produce high definition images.
A software with smart algorithms is used to process these images to detect and classify defects, which aircraft engineers can review and confirm, or perform further inspection for defects if necessary.
"Using a drone to inspect our aircraft will save time, taking around one to two hours, compared to up to six - depending on aircraft type - which means repairs can start sooner if needed, and our aircraft will be able to get back in the air more quickly," said Carrie Hurihanganui, Chief Ground Operations Officer, Air New Zealand. "We've trialed using DroScan on a number of our aircraft undergoing maintenance inspections in Singapore now and believe using a drone will also help improve inspection quality. In future, there may be an opportunity to use the device in New Zealand, for example to conduct ad hoc inspections after lightning strikes."
"Incorporating innovative technologies into aviation MRO holds great potential in enhancing the way aircraft get serviced. We are happy to be working with our like-minded partner, Air New Zealand which shares the same motivation and belief as us in exploring the full potential of technologies to improve maintenance work," said Jeffrey Lam, Deputy President, ST Engineering's Aerospace sector. "We believe solutions such as DroScan will drive great value for the aviation industry given the huge emphasis it places on safety and efficiency, and we look forward to using it to great effects after we have completed the trials successfully with Air New Zealand."
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