Autonomous Localization of Missing Items with Aerial Robots in an Aircraft Factory

Abstract

Missing tools is a problem in aircraft factories. It may reduce the productivity of the assembly line and missing items may cause FOD (Foreign Object Damage) if they are lost inside the aerostructure. This paper proposes a method which uses aerial robots to search and locate missing tools. Each tool will be equipped with a radio tag with an ID that can listen and respond to request messages from the aerial robot. Thus, the robot can take range measurements to the missing tools from different locations while performing other tasks in the factory. The range measurements are used to estimate the location of every missing tool using a Particle Filter (PF) which will eventually converge to an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). The proposed method was evaluated and validated in real experiments performed in an emulated scenario very similar to the real factory. Preliminary tests were also performed in the Airbus DS CBC factory with good results.