US 12,394,263 B2
Analytical digital twin for nondestructive inspection of a vehicle
Mathew A. Coffman, Weldon Spring, MO (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by THE BOEING COMPANY, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Dec. 10, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/643,728.
Prior Publication US 2023/0186698 A1, Jun. 15, 2023
Int. Cl. G07C 5/08 (2006.01); G06F 16/22 (2019.01); B64F 5/60 (2017.01)
CPC G07C 5/085 (2013.01) [G06F 16/2264 (2019.01); G07C 5/0825 (2013.01); B64F 5/60 (2017.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for non-destructive testing of a surface of a vehicle, the system comprising:
a track that is configured to be secured to the surface of the vehicle, and that is structured so that the track is contoured to the surface when secured; and
an analytical system including:
a sensor assembly that is configured to be secured on the track and configured to move along the track to perform a scan of a region of the surface, wherein the sensor assembly includes a sensor, and
a computer in communication with the sensor, the computer configured to:
generate a baseline image of the surface from the scan, the baseline image having a dot matrix data structure with a matrix of baseline data points;
define a map of the surface from a computer model of the surface, the map including a matrix of locations on the surface in a coordinate system of the vehicle,
wherein a centerline of the region is determined in the coordinate system of the vehicle from the computer model, and
wherein the track is secured at a location on the surface based on using the centerline to determine the location; and
correlate the baseline image and the map to produce a mapped baseline image that includes the matrix of baseline data points registered to the locations from the matrix of the locations, the mapped baseline image formatted for non-destructive testing of the surface without the track; and;
a testing system including:
a second sensor configured to perform a second scan of the surface, at least partially within the region and without the track; and
a second computer in communication with the second sensor, the second computer configured to:
generate a test image of the surface from the second scan, the test image having the dot matrix data structure with a matrix of data points;
access the mapped baseline image of the surface produced by the computer;
correlate the test image and the mapped baseline image to produce a mapped test image that includes the matrix of test points registered to respective locations on the surface in the coordinate system of the vehicle;
perform a non-destructive testing of the surface based on the mapped test image; and
validate integrity of structure of the surface based on the non-destructive testing.