A robotic cockroach from Rolls-Royce will repair an aircraft engine
Miniaturization of technology can significantly speed up engine maintenanceoin airborne. The Rolls-Royce company, in addition to manufacturing luxury carsow, is also the second-largest manufacturer of engineoin to the aircraftoin the world. Such engines require constant overhaulow, which, due to its design, is not easy to do. Company officials said they are developing miniature robot technologyoin appearance resembling a cockroach, whichore have pomoc in drive reviewsow.
The cockroach robots have significantly skrohe maintenance process of the engineow. Their small size will allow them to get inside the engine, thus speeding up propulsion inspections. They will serve the engineers as their eyes and hands. This will eliminate the need to remove the engine from the aircraft for inspection.
Rolls-Royce engineers’and in working on the tiny robots they have joined forces with researchers from Harvard University and the University of Nottingham. The company shared the latest developments in robot research at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Sebastian de Rivaz of Harvard University admitted that the inspiration for the whole project came from cockroaches. He added that the technology has already been in development for eight years. The first prototypes have already been produced, but they are too big. Work is currently underway to reduce their size so that they are about 15 millimeters longoIn height and weighed a few tens of gramsow. Experts say they will be able to achieve this within a few years.
Such a small size will allow without obstaclesod get inside the engine and squeeze into every crevice between its components. Each such robotic cockroach will be equipped with a camera so engineers can see what’s going on inside the drive without taking it apart.
– Overhauling an engine by traditional methods takes about five hours. With the help of these small roboticoIn, who knows, it could take five minutes – said James Cell, technology development spec at Rolls-Royce.
The assumption is that the cockroach robots will work in teams. Dozens of such machines could share responsibilities. One could be used to clean the combustion chamber and repair minor defects. Others to assess the condition of the engine.
