Pilatus tests AEON humanoid for PC-24 airframe inspections

Pilatus Aircraft is testing Hexagon Robotics’ AEON humanoid for quality checks in the airframe of its PC-24 business jet at its assembly plant in Stans, Switzerland, according to ASSEMBLY Magazine. The reported application is inspection rather than aircraft assembly itself, giving the trial a specific quality control task within the manufacturer’s production operations.

ASSEMBLY describes AEON as combining sensors, artificial intelligence, precision measurement and advanced motion control. Its capabilities include manipulating objects, inspecting parts, making digital recordings and navigating complex surroundings autonomously. Those are platform capabilities described in the report, rather than a breakdown of the work performed at Pilatus. Hexagon Robotics has also been working with BMW and other manufacturers to test multipurpose robots in production environments, according to the magazine.

“The ultimate goal of this use case is to tighten up quality inspections and improve overall quality,” Roman Emmenegger, Pilatus’ vice president of manufacturing, told ASSEMBLY. He described the objective as supporting workers and improving their operations rather than replacing people. Beyond the current inspection trial, Pilatus plans to deploy humanoids to improve safety, increase autonomy and assist employees with repetitive or physically demanding work.

Source: CredSpark