International. AkzoNobel has acquired a minority stake in Donecle, a business of automated inspections using drone technology to optimize maintenance and replacement programs for aerospace coatings.
Donecle's technology was originally developed to automate and increase the efficiency of aircraft general visual inspections (GVI), including lightning detection and identification.
It has now evolved to be able to detect paint defects, scratches and other coating problems, such as rivet tears, in exactly the same way, every time. The findings are then analyzed to determine the overall "health" of the coating and if and when a recoat may be required.
Patrick Bourguignon, BU Director at AkzoNobel Automotive & Specialty Coatings, says the investment reflects the company's strategy of partnering with best-in-class technologies: “It aligns with our commitment to developing new and increasingly innovative services and solutions that “Help our aerospace customers reduce costs, improve efficiency and support a significantly more sustainable operation.”
Matthieu Claybrough, CEO of Donecle, is excited to have the support of such a prestigious global brand: “We have already been collaborating to develop the new Aerofleet Coatings Management service and will work closely with their teams to develop this and other services to help keeping our aerospace customers one step ahead of the competition.”
As part of the Aerofleet Coatings Management solution, drones fly in a fixed grid over the aircraft surface and take up to 1,000 high-definition photographs. These are then analyzed using a custom Donecle machine learning algorithm based on a two-stage deep neural network to identify problems on the paint surface.
Drones can reach parts of an aircraft faster than a person, while their patented laser positioning technology makes flights fully automated. Navigation sensors allow the drone to fly and land safely.
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