. 24/7 Space News .
ROBO SPACE
AFRL division wins award for cold spray robot
by Gail Forbes for AFRL News
Wright-Patterson AFB OH (SPX) Dec 22, 2022

Titan Robotics, Inc. employee Justin Ivanco tests the augmented reality-enabled cold spray robot during system development in spring 2022 at Titan Robotics, Inc. headquarters, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The system, which was installed at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia in late July 2022, has delivered significant cost savings to the Air Force, improved weapon system readiness, decreased maintenance downtime and improved material application accuracy. (Courtesy photo)

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, teamed with the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing, or ARM, Institute to win the Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award at the 2022 Defense Manufacturing Conference for the creation of an augmented reality-enabled cold spray robot, nicknamed "ARRI."

The new system, used to apply thermal coatings to refurbish worn aerospace parts, requires a human user to look through an augmented reality-enabled Microsoft Hololens and indicate via intuitive hand gestures where a coating should be applied to a workpiece. The system will deliver significant cost savings to the Air Force, improve weapon system readiness, decrease maintenance downtime and improve material application accuracy.

"This was an all-star team. I'm very proud of them," said Harry Pierson, AFRL senior general engineer and senior technical adviser in the Digital Manufacturing and Supply Chain branch. "I'm delighted they were recognized for their great work."

The Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award is given annually to teams that demonstrate significant achievements in world-class manufacturing technology capability. According to the ARM Institute, team awardees demonstrate both technical accomplishment and an ability to "affordably meets the warfighter's needs throughout the defense acquisition lifecycle."

The augmented reality-enabled cold spray robot originated in AFRL's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate in the Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies division. AFRL provided project guidance and partial funding while ARM Institute members and project integrators at the University of Connecticut and Titan Robotics, Inc. provided the additional cost share.

"It was clear to us [when we began the project] that the technology we were creating would have wide-reaching impact in enabling the proliferation of flexible robotics," said Stuart Lawrence, president and CEO of Titan Robotics, Inc., a private company based in Pennsylvania. "Our mission and goals as a company have always been highly aligned with AFRL, the USAF and now the ARM Institute as we continue to mature and transition the technology into new applications like cold spray while building new capabilities like ARRI."

The ARRI robot was installed at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, or WR-ALC, at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia in late July 2022. WR-ALC has since ordered two additional systems using Titan Robotics, Inc. ARRI-enabled controllers for a total customer investment of $1.6 million.

"We developed a technology that helps robots function in highly variable environments," Pierson said. "We thought, let's develop an interface that lets the operator walk away and the robot does the work."

Historically, cold spray robot users were required to create a specific computer-coded program for every individual part slated for refurbishment, a process that could take weeks. Now, Pierson said, ARRI can complete the cold spray application process in minutes. The addition of augmented reality to the machine eliminates the need for custom robot coding driven by each individual component and its wear state, resulting in significant time and cost savings.

"More applicants will be able to utilize this advanced technology without having years of training in specialized skills, [which lowers] the hurdles to robotic automation," Lawrence said. "[ARRI provides] a safer and more attractive work environment that increases productivity and does not displace jobs."

While the robot still requires a human operator, user training time has been reduced by 90%, from roughly two weeks to less than one day, saving $600,000 per year in depot operating costs, according to Shane Groves, robotics and automation expert at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex.

"Initially, we performed cold spray manually, then progressed to applying it with a robot that had to be programmed for specific parts," Groves said. "Both of those methods required significant operator evolvement and expertise. The ARRI robot allows someone with no cold spray experience to be trained in about a day. The system also speeds up the time it takes to spray, reduces fixture costs, and improves capacity."

The process of applying thermal coatings to parts first requires the operator to use a commercially available Microsoft HoloLens to project a virtual model of the workpiece. Then, the operator drags the model onto the physical part and draws on the workpiece indicate the worn areas where ARRI should apply the cold spray, according to the award nomination.

"The robot needs to know two things," Pierson said. "One: Where is the part? And second: where should it apply the cold spray? ARRI allows the user to show it both of these things incredibly quickly and efficiently."

According to the 2022 Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award nomination package, "Cold spray is a vital manufacturing process for refurbishing worn aircraft components which are no longer commercially available ... While cold spray is the first application, ARRI is a general solution that may be applied to any robotic surface processing application, such as coating, de-painting, media blasting and sanding."

Cold spray is an additive technology that involves firing hot metal particles at high pressure to bond them to the target, Pierson said. While the temperature of cold spray can reach up to 800 degrees Celsius, this is cold compared to other thermal spray applications that can be between 1,600 and 5,500 degrees Celsius.

FANUC Robotics supplied the industrial robotic arm for the ARRI project in partnership with the ARM Institute and Titan Robotics, Inc., Lawrence said. FANUC Robotics continues to support AFRL in other similar projects.

Pierson noted the cold spray robot's new augmented reality capability is another tool that will allow the Air Force to continue its mission uninterrupted.

"No one is producing these parts anymore," Pierson said. "This is going to mean huge cost savings for the Air Force."


Related Links
Air Force Research Laboratory
All about the robots on Earth and beyond!


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


ROBO SPACE
Should we tax robots
Boston MA (SPX) Dec 22, 2022
What if the U.S. placed a tax on robots? The concept has been publicly discussed by policy analysts, scholars, and Bill Gates (who favors the notion). Because robots can replace jobs, the idea goes, a stiff tax on them would give firms incentive to help retain workers, while also compensating for a dropoff in payroll taxes when robots are used. Thus far, South Korea has reduced incentives for firms to deploy robots; European Union policymakers, on the other hand, considered a robot tax but did not enact ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROBO SPACE
Five things to watch at CES tech megashow

AI infused everything on show at CES gadget extravaganza

Russian space chief praises US after ISS coolant leak

Northrop Grumman space navigation systems achieve galactic threshold

ROBO SPACE
Exploration power for the Moon, Mars, and Beyond

Young ESA team prepare Ariane 6 passenger

UK space regulator issues Virgin Orbit licenses ahead of UK launch

Musk says will step down as Twitter CEO once successor found

ROBO SPACE
MOXIE sets consecutive personal bests and Mars records for oxygen production

NASA explores a winter wonderland on Mars

Leaving the Amapari Drill Site: Sol 3687

NASA retires InSight Mars Lander

ROBO SPACE
Chinese space-tracking ship sets sail for new missions

China's space sector set to rocket into future

China's space station Tiangong enters new phase of application, development

China's new space station opens for business in an increasingly competitive era of space activity

ROBO SPACE
Iridium introduces its latest IoT data service

US space entities examine future space technology

Voyager Space signs MoU with Canadian Space Agency

L3Harris To Acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne

ROBO SPACE
Ditching concrete for earth to build a cleaner future

Making the unimaginable possible in materials discovery

Waste not want not: Santiago's poorest district plants recycling seed

Elucidating the mechanism of high proton conduction to develop clean energy materials

ROBO SPACE
Assembly begins on NASA's next tool to study exoplanets

Kepler's first exoplanet is spiraling toward its doom

Two exoplanets may be mostly water, Hubble and Spitzer find

ESPRESSO and CARMENES discover two potentially habitable exo-Earths around a star near the Sun

ROBO SPACE
Juno spacecraft recovering memory after 47th Flyby of Jupiter

Four decade study finds mysterious patterns in temperatures at Jupiter

Comet impacts could bring ingredients for life to Europa's ocean

Juno exploring Jovian moons during extended mission









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.